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April 06 I SAW A BLUEBIRDI SAW A BLUEBIRD
I saw a bluebird today in my yard. It’s such a wonderful sight. Bluebirds are a very special blue. I’ll bet there is no other shade of blue like it in the whole world. Why do we have “sky blue” as a color but not “bluebird blue”? Bluebirds tend to swoop in flight, dip, turn in the air, and when they do, the blue feathers on their backs and the backs of their wings flash in the sunlight. You can actually see a flash of blue. Fluorescent. Unparalleled. There are other birds of a blue color, of course, but none so worthy of the name blue bird as the bluebird. The blue jays are plentiful and are blue, a deeper blue. They are bigger, and loud, with a shriek hardly distinguishable from the caw-caw of crows. I’ve heard the call of a bluebird on my Audubon bird video and it is not particularly remarkable, but still lovely.
Previously posted on my Web site COOKIES AND TEA ON February 19, 2007.
April 05 THE GRANNIES WEAR BIG HATS
THE GRANNIES WEAR BIG HATS
(An imaginative way of protesting the war.)
One thing I miss about the good-old-days is Easter hats. Women used to wear colorful, flowery hats on Easter Sunday, big broad-brimmed hats, with ribbons and bits of netting.
Maybe hats went out with the arrival of the blow dryer. Or maybe it was earlier, when teased, helmet hair, lacquered with hair spray was the “in” hair style for women. You really couldn’t plop a hat on top of a puffed-up hairdo like that. It would mess it up. I suppose the Queen of England still wears hats.
The Grannies wear big hats. The Raging Grannies are a group of women (many of them older women, I guess) who march at anti-war rallies protesting the war, all decked out in big hats and flowing skirts. These women are quite a sight. I’ve seen their photos in the news. Their hats are broad-brimmed hats like straw summer hats, some all covered with flowers.
You can get very realistic-looking artificial flowers at your local crafts store these days, and that’s what they do. They buy a summer hat and then stick on the artificial flowers. Each hat is an original work of art. I would really like to see some of these marvelous hats in person.
But the Grannies don’t just march. They sing! They are a choral group and they sing songs about the war and foreign policy; some songs amusing, some irreverent, some even barbed. These songs are ditties set to well-known tunes. They sing as they march. They also sing in local performances. Always with the hats. It’s all in fun (serious fun). Maybe someday I’ll get to listen to them sing.
The Raging Grannies reportedly have dozens of chapters throughout the US and Canada, but none near me as far as I know.
March 30 THE TYRANNY OF THE MAIL BOX
THE TYRANNY OF THE MAIL BOX
Sunday is my favorite day. No mail. Sunday plus a federal holiday, even better. No mail for two days. All other days of the week I dutifully trudge to the mail box like so many millions of others to throw out my junk mail. Think of all the trees killed for junk mail – what a waste. (There’s no way to recycle that paper here.) I suppose it’s a good idea to empty the mail box once a day to stay ahead of thieves. In the days before the invention of the Internet (and before the telephone), it was important to have daily mail pick-up and delivery. But now? Hey, if mail came only M-W-F, that would be a distinct improvement.
Previously posted on my Website COOKIES AND TEA on January 25, 2007.
March 24 DRAWING – MIND BIRTHS MIND
This image is entitled, “Mind Births Mind,” and is part of a series I created for someone’s birthday.
At one level it is a picture of mind giving birth to mind in a process called life. At another level it is a picture of an alien spaceship traversing the wide universe. Are they coming to rescue us? From ourselves (ha, ha)?
I started creating the image in Windows Paint. This software is fairly easy to learn by yourself (click Start / Programs / Accessories / Paint). I grayed the background with Adobe Photo Deluxe.
I used Windows Paint to color the “Blue Color Spaceship” and I used Adobe Photo Deluxe to color the “Rose Color Spaceship,” other images in this series.
To view the series, go to my folder, “Color and Perspective.”
March 20 THE HOUSE BELOW A DAM
THE HOUSE BELOW A DAM
Would you live right below a dam?
There is a property about a mile from my home where the owner constructed an earthen dam to block a stream and create a pond. The dam is about ten feet high. The pond is large and covers about an acre. Downstream from the dam and next to it (30-60 feet away I guess), is a two-story house.
I have to wonder what loopholes in the county permitting system would allow the dam and house to be so close together. I have to wonder if the house owner can even buy flood insurance. I read somewhere about the failure rate of earthen dams in our State – it wasn’t good.
I have to wonder who would buy a house next door to a dam. Maybe they got a good deal. Or maybe they like the view from their upstairs windows of geese, ducks, and an occasional swan floating by right before their eyes.
A house next to a dam would not be my first choice. Before I bought my house, I went to the county offices to view maps of flood plains, topographical maps, zoning maps, and aerial photographs; and pinpointed the locations of all floodable rivers and streams, the locations of all dams, and made sure the land was high enough so that if and when global warming melted the Earth’s polar ice caps and the sea levels rose, I would be high and dry. You did this, too – right?
At some point while I was crafting this post, I suddenly realized that the dam might be the same type of construction or very similar to that used to build the levees of New Orleans, just on a smaller scale.
It’s a good guess that a lot more levees are going to be built in years to come as the seas encroach on coastal cities. People will continue to live behind levees and below dams and in flood plains – after all, people are still in New Orleans, even after Katrina. Some of them have no real choice about where they live. Some don’t mind the risk.
March 17 WATCHING PRAYING MANTISES EMERGE FROM THEIR EGG CASEWATCHING PRAYING MANTISES EMERGE FROM THEIR EGG CASE
Praying mantises are beneficial insects in the garden, eating many harmful insects. I felt very privileged to witness the emergence of baby praying mantises from their egg case during the weekend of April 8 and 9, 2006. This was the first time I had seen this happen.
Saturday, I caught a glimpse of something under a praying mantis egg case and I thought, “Something has damaged the egg case.” But when I looked closer I saw it was a tangle of baby praying mantises hanging below the case. These babies are called “nymphs.” More were emerging from the bottom of the case. They wiggled out, head first, like little snakes writhing. When they came out their legs and antennae were swept alongside them and not really very visible. They were pale beige, almost translucent. Their eyes were dark pigment, two tiny specks. There were a hundred or so I would guess – each about a half inch long, much bigger than I would have thought.
Gravity likely aided their descent from the egg case. Only the peripheral ones could separate themselves from the tangled bodies of their siblings. I guess they had to flex their limbs before moving off. The tangle was about two or three inches long. It was pouring rain off and on and whether this aided or impeded them I’m not sure.
The egg case was about an inch wide and sort of bell-shaped. How could so many of them fit into such a small space and how could they find their way out? How did they endure the harsh winter? The egg case was one I had removed from the drain field prior to its being mowed. I had left enough plant stem around the egg case to support it and tied the stem to the branches of a bush.
I tried to look at one nymph by holding up a magnifying glass. It reacted by jumping to another branch. When I tried again, it jumped again. It didn’t take long for them to be responsive and agile. I didn’t risk trying to look at any more this way for fear of making them jump too far.
It wasn’t that warm out, hardly ideal for insects, and many nymphs clung to the branches of the leafless bush the egg case was on, like a coating of tiny white crystals. That was what they looked like from a distance. I could see the tangled bunch with my binoculars, and could monitor them from indoors.
Hours passed while more and more emerged and separated from the tangled bunch. Some seemed to be coming out of different holes and these did not get tangled. I wondered if they had to chew holes in the egg case so they could come out. Praying mantis egg cases are very sturdy and tough, and somewhat with the feel and weight of Styrofoam.
There were tiny web-like strands, barely visible, preventing the newly-emerged from tumbling into the abyss. The webbing, if such it is, prevents the tangle from being blown down and tossed by the wind, and there were occasionally strong gusts of wind.
It’s amazing that the nymphs could move about on their fragile-looking legs, each leg seemingly no wider than a hair. Each nymph looked like a miniature praying mantis with six legs and two antennae.
Whether these beige nymphs would turn green later, I don’t know. I haven’t figured out which species these were. We also have brown-colored praying mantises here as well. I don’t know if the brown ones are the same species as the green.
In the evening it got much colder. The nymphs just stood around, clinging to the bush. The tangle shrank very slowly.
The next morning, Sunday, I counted 15 praying mantises that were so still, I thought they were dead. Those remaining in the tangle did not seem much alive, either. I thought maybe it had been too cold during the night. After a few hours the 15 “dead” had either been carried off by ants (and I saw no ant activity in that area), or they had warmed up and walked off.
More nymphs were emerging, even on the second day.
Once they were mobile they crept up and down the branches of the bush and up and down its stem. They had no trouble jumping directly to the ground. It was only a height of about 12 inches. Most preferred to jump to the tree roots right next to the bush, head toward the sun and then (I guess) find their way among the lush leafy growth of coreopsis all around in that area. Like adults, they shunned the gravel driveway alongside the coreopsis bed.
There were globs of webbing under the egg case where web material had built up. There were other strands of web, some three inches long among the branches of the bush, presumably more nymph webbing and not a spider’s. The nymphs did not seem to use their webbing when they jumped to the ground; anyway, I did not see any strands longer than about three inches. The globs of accumulated web under the egg case made a safety net for new arrivals.
One new arrival Sunday, exited through the side of the egg case instead of the bottom like most of the others, but was able to squirm out of the case anyway, even though gravity did not help as much.
As the day went on, the tangle was slowly being resolved, fewer and fewer were stuck in it. This is the main reason I believe the 15 revived. I had assumed those in the tangle were beyond hope and yet they revived, so the others likely revived as well. Over the course of the next few hours, every nymph but one left the tangle.
It’s interesting that when nymphs first emerge, the head shape is narrow and streamlined but by the next day, the head transforms into that triangular shape similar to the adult. Sunday, I was able to compare the heads of newly-emerged with older siblings – quite a striking and rapid metamorphosis.
By mid-afternoon Sunday only a half dozen lingered in the vicinity of the egg case.
The next weekend, I took the egg case off the bush and looked at it. At the bottom I found a hole just big enough for nymphs to pass through. Also, very interesting, the hole was in a row or band of what looked like small gills or leaf-like layers. Whether these are supposed to provide protection, are openings for breathing or for emergence, are closed, or are merely decorative, was not clear to me. How does water get into the egg case to hydrate the growing nymphs during the winter? How does water / waste get out? Do the “gills” play a role?
It’s difficult to fathom how such delicate structures are formed on each egg case. I realized I didn’t know if the egg case is just “goo” secreted by the female or if it is composed of cells that organize. I looked at other egg cases and each had a band of “gills.” However, the other “gills” were on an upward side. Maybe I had tied the egg case on the bush upside down!
I went online to look for more information. One Web site said that there are “chambers” within the egg case created by the movement of the female as she secretes the “goo” that later hardens into the egg case. While I have observed that the female makes motions while secreting, can this account for the finely fashioned gills?
One evening I sectioned the empty egg case with a sharp blade, cutting through the row of “gills.” My impression is that these “gills” are apparently the edges of a multitude of internal leaf-like layers that separate the nymphs. These layers are like stories or floors in an apartment building. Also each nymph has its own tunnel, with many tunnels lying in parallel on each layer, like individual apartments in a building. The layering that extends beyond the tunnels might function as a sort of barricade to keep out predator pests. All these structures are incredibly delicate and complex; a honey bee’s comb comes to mind.
This photo shows the cross-section; the jagged feathery edges on the left are the ends of the leaf-like layers.
It’s not clear to me whether the nymphs are supposed to exit through the “gills” or some other way. I did not see tunnel ends when I pushed apart some of the leaf layers. I guess the extended layers are for protection and for ventilation, but not for exiting, because in this instance anyway, nearly all the nymphs exited from the same hole, at the base of the band of “gills.” There was a hollowed out area on the far side of the egg case, away from the “gills.” Perhaps they exited into that hollow space and from there went out the hole I observed. With better tools and a microscope, I could get a better idea of the structure and maybe understand what path they took to exit.
The layers might be created by the female’s movement; however, could the tunnels be formed by the young feeding within the case? It’s interesting though, that all the tunnels are parallel. Do the young necessarily feed and grow in straight lines?
The tunnels must be a tight fit for nymphs; in fact, the tunnels seem too small to fit them. How do the nymphs propel themselves out of their narrow tunnels? Do they push with their feet? Their legs are swept alongside them and so apparently they don’t use their legs. Perhaps they can wiggle their feet and get out that way. What triggers their emergence? Lack of space? More light? More warmth? Probably not warmth, since January was so unseasonably warm.
I did not find much useful information online, just a lot of talk about these insects supposedly being “cannibals,” with the female eating the male and the young eating each other. I would guess that under normal circumstances there is not much of that; it would hardly help the species survive if the young ate each other. The nymphs I saw did not seem to have any interest in attacking each other. It’s very interesting that when newly-emerged they could distinguish between their siblings and all else. Or maybe they were simply not hungry yet and so refrained from attacking each other. I’ve heard that the female praying mantis eating her mate is likely only an outcome when they are both captive and the male cannot leave her; and that under normal circumstances, the male wanders off and survives.
I should add, however, that I don’t think I’ve ever found more than one praying mantis on the same bush, hmmm . . . . That doesn’t necessarily mean they are cannibals though. It could just be a good survival strategy for the species, to not have more than one hunter in the same location.
There were more than 12 praying mantis egg cases in my garden, but this was the only one to produce, that I noticed. Just a theory: It may be that rain can interfere by diluting whatever fluid lubricates the nymphs, and without rainy weather they would slip out of the case quickly without getting tangled together, and thus their emergence wouldn’t be as readily observable. More than a month later, I was still finding baby praying mantises the size of those newly-emerged, so I guess that was a good indication that other egg cases were producing.
I hope you have enjoyed reading my story about praying mantises. It is not meant to be a scientific treatise, so if you want hard “facts” about this subject you had better research them yourself!
Too bad praying mantises don’t like to eat Japanese beetles very much.
END OF POST
May 2006
HOW TO MAKE THE BEAD PEACE SUNCATCHER
HOW TO MAKE THE BEAD PEACE SUNCATCHER
Do you want to make a bead peace suncatcher to hang in your window?
MATERIALS YOU WILL NEED
BEADS
You will need beads of at least two colors, 267 beads for the letters and 395 beads for the background, size 6mm, “faceted,” not pony beads. Using the pattern shown above, your suncatcher will be approximately 9 inches wide and 5 inches high. If you use smaller beads, your suncatcher will be smaller. A bag of 1,000 6mm beads should be about three dollars ($3.00).
THREAD
You will need strong thread such as clear nylon thread or a fine dental floss (not waxed). You will need 26 strands of thread, each strand three feet long, for a total of 78 feet of thread (approximately 26 meters total).
NEEDLES
You will need two needles, one needle for each end of a strand of thread. Knot each end of the strand of thread to a needle so the thread does not come loose while you string beads. The eye of the needle has to be wide enough to accept the thread. The needle has to be narrow enough to pass through a bead when threaded.
SCISSORS
You will need scissors to cut the thread. Leave the thread ends long enough after you finish a column of beads so you can later tie the completed suncatcher to a rod.
ROD
You will need a stick, curtain rod, clothes hanger, or some other rod-type object from which to hang your finished suncatcher.
RIBBON
You will need a piece of ribbon, yarn, or string to attach to either end of the rod to hang up your suncatcher.
Some of these materials might present a hazard to young children. This is not a project for young children.
INSTRUCTIONS
You will notice in the pattern below that each vertical bore bead (C) joins two upward bound strands of thread, except for the beads on the far left (B) and far right sides. In each horizontal bore bead (D), the two ends of a single strand cross, except in the bottom beads (A). Each column of beads is started by stringing the bottom bead (A) first.
ENJOY
You can photograph or scan your finished suncatcher and e-mail the image to everyone you know. Enjoy !!!
-2007-
March 12 MUSK OXEN PREPARE TO BUTT HEADS
MUSK OXEN PREPARE TO BUTT HEADS
On my video of the high Arctic, two big shaggy male musk oxen prepare to butt heads in their mating rut. They have such nasty pointed horns. (Capable of damaging an opponent?) I wondered at the mindlessness of the head butting. Does their testosterone make them do it? I also wondered about the females. Do they just passively accept the “victor”? The older females perhaps remember a long history of such fighting and perhaps wish they could do something about their males’ tendency to do this.
Previously posted on my Web site COOKIES AND TEA ON Jan 23 2007.
March 11 LIST OF LINKS TO MY POSTSLINKS TO MY POSTS
MUSK OXEN PREPARE TO BUTT HEADS
POSSIBLY USEFUL E-MAIL AND WEB TIPS part I
POSSIBLY USEFUL E-MAIL AND WEB TIPS part II
HOW TO MAKE THE BEAD PEACE SUNCATCHER
THE SECRET TO MAKING MUSIC ON A KEYBOARD
HOW TO MAKE YOUR SCREEN MORE READABLE
HOW TO RECORD AND PLAY SOUND WITH WINDOWS
WHAT HE SAID ABOUT PEACE AND LOVE SO LONG AGO
WATCHING PRAYING MANTISES EMERGE FROM THEIR EGG CASE
MY VERY FIRST COMPOST
MY VERY FIRST COMPOST
I used to wait until April 15 when I started planting seeds to start turning the garden soil but I’ve discovered over the years that you have to do this when the soil is neither too wet nor too dry. Too wet and it is mushy or worse, clay-like. Too dry and it congeals and is almost as tough as concrete to break up. Today, the garden soil was just the right consistency. So it’s better to start early and pick a day when the conditions are right.
Now for the first time, I’ve been keeping a compost bin and I’ve had it throughout the winter. Yesterday I had the “ugh” experience of shoveling compost (decayed food scraps from the kitchen) into trenches in the garden and covering it over with soil. I was so surprised to see how much of the garbage had turned to dirt!!! Well, that’s what’s supposed to happen but it was a surprise anyway.
I probably should have let it cook a bit longer, or started my composting earlier, like last spring. The egg shells hadn’t rotted a bit, but in theory, will eventually add important nutrients to the soil. I probably should have added more soil and some earth worms when I began composting and probably should have mixed it up periodically. If I had one of those “remove the compost from the bottom” bins, that would be really neat.
Whenever I garden, I wonder how ancestors who had to grow their own food managed to survive. It’s hard work but it’s fun and it’s a lot more fun than staring at a computer screen. March 04 OH DEAR, A DEER HAS BEEN HERE
OH DEAR, A DEER HAS BEEN HERE
Yesterday, I found that a deer had chomped off one of my tulip plants, almost down to the roots. Well, I guess the culprit was a deer. There were deer hoof prints in the soil. I knew I had to do something right away to protect the remaining plants. The deer would be back in the evening.
In theory, deer will not chomp on a plant if it is closely surrounded by enough upright tree sticks or small stakes that are taller than the plant. Small plants such as strawberry plants can be protected this way.
A few days ago I spent quite a while cleaning up and weeding around my six strawberry plants. I adjusted the sticks and brush I had placed over these plants to protect them from deer. In this case, the plants are protected with the dried stalks of the three-foot tall zinnia plants and with the bushy dried remains of the small marigold plants that were in the garden last summer.
Deer are basically very timid animals (or very stupid?) and generally will not attempt to push past upright sticks or little stakes around the strawberry plants even though deer like to eat the strawberry leaves.
Upright sticks have also helped shield chrysanthemums and lily-of-the-valley plants in my garden. Some other lily-of-the-valley plants grow protected by overhanging blackberry brambles. The upright sticks look a bit weird in the garden but are nowhere near as unsightly as plastic deer netting all over. Sticks are a good strategy for small numbers of small plants.
Weeks ago, I had removed the dried flower stalks from the Siberian iris plants to prepare for spring. These iris grow about two feet high and their flower stalks, when dry, are fairly firm. Each year I’ve saved the stalks for a while, but never found a use for them – until yesterday.
I put the dried iris stalks around the tulip plants, pushing the stalks into the soil – fortuitously mushy soft from the recent rainfall. Each of five tulip plants is now protected by three concentric rings of iris stalks, about 20 stalks per plant – very natural looking, better than upright tree sticks. It’ll be really interesting to find out if this will deter the deer, especially when the tulip flower buds appear.
Of course, the best way to keep deer away from the garden is to not grow any plants that they like, but then I’d have to go to the trouble of digging up the tulips, hostas, chrysanthemums, day lilies, lily-of-the-valley plants, etc. February 26 WELCOME !!! YOU CAN MAKE A WISH AT THE WISHING WELL
MAKE A WISH AT THE WISHING WELL
**Make a wish upon a star.** **Blow out the candles on your birthday cake and make a wish.** **Toss a coin in the wishing well and make a wish.**
If you make a wish, will it come true?
What do you wish for?
MAKE A WISH
Write your wish below (click "add a comment"). FREE MUSIC DOWNLOADS, FREE MUSIC LISTENINGFREE MUSIC DOWNLOADS AT THE MUSIC DOOR FREE MUSIC LISTENING
Announcing a new music link at THE MUSIC DOOR “Consonant Chorus” – Music by MAC. Easy-listening, soothing music.
WELCOME TO THE MUSIC DOOR
Come on through the music door. Listen to one tune or more; Music that I play my way. Then come back another day. Is it music of the spheres? Is it music to your ears?
Free music downloads, featuring MUSIC BY MAC, copyright MAC.
Enjoy!
January 31 PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENTGUEST BOOK Got a minute? Please leave a comment so I'll know you were here and so I can visit your space. Enjoy!
January 19 WHAT HE SAID ABOUT PEACE AND LOVE SO LONG AGO
WHAT HE SAID ABOUT PEACE AND LOVE SO LONG AGO
What follows are quotes from the Bible with selected sayings of Jesus of Nazareth highlighted in red. These are some of his sayings on peacefulness, love, forgiveness, and non-resistance. To spice things up, I have added some of his pointed remarks on hypocrisy and superficial, self-serving piety near the end of this post.
Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.”
Luke 6: 31 “Do to others as you would have them do to you.”
Matthew 5:43 - 45 “You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”
Luke 6:27 - 28 “But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”
Luke 6:35 - 36 “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”
Matthew 18:21-22 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”
Luke 17:4 “If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I repent,' forgive him.”
Matthew 5:38-40 “You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.”
Luke 6:29 - 30 “If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.”
Matthew 5:41 “If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.”
Matthew 19:18 - 19 Jesus replied, “ 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,' and 'love your neighbor as yourself.'”
Matthew 22:38-40 “This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Mark 12:28 - 33 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these.” “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
Luke 10:27 - 28 He answered: “ 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'” “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
Matthew 6:11 - 12 “Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”
Matthew 6:14 - 15 “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
Mark 11:25 “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”
Luke 6:36 - 38 “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
Matthew 5:21 - 22 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.”
Matthew 5:23 - 24 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.”
Luke 10:29 – 37 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.' Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Matthew 16:24 - 26 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?”
Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”
Matthew 19:13 - 15 Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.
Luke 6:46 - 49 “Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say? I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”
Matthew 7:21 - 23
“Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”
John 10:27 - 28 “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.”
Matthew 7:15 - 20 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”
Luke 6:43 - 44 “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers.”
Matthew 23:27 - 28 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.”
Matthew 6:5 - 6 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen.”
Matthew 7:13 - 14 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
To give credit where due:
Quotes are from a search on: Bible Gateway
END OF POST
September 2006
January 18 HOW TO RECORD AND PLAY SOUND WITH WINDOWS
HOW TO RECORD AND PLAY SOUND WITH WINDOWS 2000
WHAT I HAVE LEARNED SO FAR and NOT NECESSARILY CORRECT
(1) PLUG IN YOUR MICROPHONE AND TURN IT ON
Plug your microphone or other sound making device (music keyboard, cassette tape player) into the microphone jack on your computer. On an IBM laptop, this is the pink-rimmed jack. This is the nearest of three colored jacks on the left side of your laptop as you face the keyboard as you normally would while working. The middle jack is blue and is audio-in also, but does not work for me. The furthest jack is lime and is audio-out and this is where you can put headphones or download audio.
Your microphone plug must be one-eighth inch wide. If it is a quarter inch plug, you will need to use an adaptor. The adaptor has a one-eight inch plug at one end and accepts a quarter inch plug at the other end. The adaptor can be a couple inches long or may be a chord.
Make sure the switch on the microphone is turned on.
You can record on a music keyboard or cassette tape player and download to the laptop (look for an audio-out jack on the keyboard or tape player) if you have a connecting chord with the correct size plugs at each end.
(2) OPEN SOUND RECORDER
Click START/ PROGRAMS/ ACCESSORIES/ ENTERTAINMENT/ SOUND RECORDER. The sequence may be different on your WINDOWS XP, but the program should be there somewhere. It may take a minute to open the first time. You will see a small menu only a few inches wide. It is designed to look like a cassette tape recorder across the bottom. The buttons from left to right are 1- double arrow left means return to beginning (time is 0.0); 2 – double arrow right means go to end; 3 – right arrow means play; 4 – square means stop; 5 – circle means record.
This software will get you started recording. More sophisticated software can be purchased.
(3) OPEN A NEW FILE
Click FILE/ NEW.
(4) START RECORDING
Click the button with the circle, far right. You will notice that you are limited to 60 seconds. To go longer than 60 seconds, see below.
If you are achieving sound input, you will see little blips going across the tiny center window of SOUND RECORDER. The goal is to have the volume of your audio input loud enough to make the blips fill about one-half to three-fourths of the height of the tiny window – I’m guessing here, but it seems to work.
To increase volume, move the microphone closer to your lips and/or speak or sing louder. I found I needed to have my mouth almost touching the microphone to get even minimal volume. It probably makes a difference whether you speak/sing to the top or the side of the microphone. (For input from a cassette tape recorder, adjust its volume control.)
If you use the EFFECTS button (top row) to decrease or increase volume after recording, you risk distortion in your recording; better to get the input volume at the right level during recording.
You can re-record a recording, just as you can with a cassette tape recorder.
(5) STOP RECORDING
Click the button with the square, fourth from left.
(6) FILE THE RECORDING
Click FILE/ SAVE AS.
Caution: If you do not plan to save using the default, you must save your “new” file (setting saving format and attributes) before you record, and then save again with the same settings after you record.
Changing the default: On the SAVE AS MENU I click on CHANGE beneath SAVE AS TYPE. This brings up the SOUND SELECTION MENU. Click the down arrow at NAME. Then click CD QUALITY – this level of quality is the only (?) kind of music that will be recognized by your IBM RECORD (music-CD making program). You will notice that selecting CD QUALITY brings up the ATTRIBUTE “44,100 kHz, 16 Bit, Stereo, 172 kb/sec.” This level of quality uses up your PC space at a huge rate, approximately 10 MB per minute. For smaller files for emailing I have opted for 8,000 kHz, 8 Bit, Mono, 7kb/sec (approximately 1 MB per minute). All these are PCM FORMAT. One can also just use whatever default appears, I suppose. Don’t save on the SOUND SELECTION MENU (unless you want to save a setting), just click OK. This returns you to the SAVE AS MENU where you can save your file.
(7) PLAY THE RECORDING.
Click FILE/ OPEN if the file is not already open. Select the file to be played.
Click the double arrow left button to return to 0.0, the beginning, if the position is not already there.
Click the single right arrow button to play.
There is no way to adjust the volume while playing as there is with WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER; however, playing the recording in SOUND RECORDER allows you to determine if the volume is going to be OK when played on other machines.
To stop click the square button.
To start at a particular point, move the slider which is below the tiny window to where you want to start.
(8) TO LENGTHEN YOUR AVAILABLE RECORDING SECONDS
The best way I have found to deal with this problem is to create and save a blank recording of 60 seconds (run the record process with no audio input and save a blank file). Then have that file open and insert the very same file into the open file using the INSERT function. To insert, have your file open, move the slider which is below the tiny window to where you want to insert the insertion. Click EDIT/ INSERT FILE/ then select the file to be inserted. Inserting a 60 second blank into a 60 second blank gives you 120 seconds of time. Save the 120 second file and repeat the process to get 240 seconds, and so on.
If you get an error message that you do not have enough memory, try inserting a smaller file instead.
An insertion replaces any original sound from that point forward.
An alternative method for creating a blank that is longer than 60 seconds is to run the record process with no audio input until the slider reaches the end. Then click the record button again and the program will automatically add 60 seconds for a total of 120 seconds. Repeat as necessary.
Create and save your blank file with the same format and attribute as what you want in the finished product. If you open a low quality blank and record, the computer may appear to save it as CD quality, but you may in fact not get that because there was not enough room for that much detail in the level of quality in the blank (?) If you want CD quality, record using a blank that was first opened as “new,” given inserts that were only CD quality, and saved only as CD quality. Likewise, if you record using a CD quality type blank, and then save as email quality, the program may do some compressing, possibly introducing distortion(?) I’m not sure if such precautions are necessary, but it’s my best guess.
Remember, first save (setting file format and attribute), then record, then save again (using the very same file format and attribute).
Always insert a blank 6 second stretch at the end of each recording. This is the way to get a pause between tracks when you make a CD. Make sure your 6 second stretch was created and saved with the same format and attribute as what you want in the finished product.
(9) USE THE HELP BUTTON FOR SOUND RECORDER
It is easy to read because it is brief. Also, check out commands EDIT/ DELETE BEFORE CURRENT POSITION and EDIT/ DELETE AFTER CURRENT POSITION – useful.
(10) TO MAKE A CD ON AN IBM LAPTOP
Click START/ PROGRAMS/ IBM RECORD NOW/ IBM RECORD
There are three choices including “MAKE A MUSIC DISK” and “MAKE A DATA DISK.” A music disk, if you use CD-R, can be played in a CD player. A data disk made using CD-R/W, is not meant to be played, rather the purpose would be to back up files. If you select “MAKE A MUSIC DISK” the program will only let you select CD quality files. If you want to preserve other quality music, make a data disk.
End of Post
September 2005
January 15 HOW TO MAKE YOUR SCREEN MORE READABLEThere is no guarantee these instructions are correct or will work with your computer.
HOW TO MAKE YOUR SCREEN MORE READABLE
………………………
Close all applications before you use the following instructions. Keep track of what you are doing so you can reverse any changes you don’t like.
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(1) TO GET A LARGER FONT IN YOUR WINDOWS XP DISPLAY
Start / Control Panel / Display / Appearance tab (top) / Font Size down arrow (near bottom) / click Large or Extra Large / Apply / OK
Larger lettering will be mainly in the menus. Some menus might become unreadable because some larger letters won’t fit.
(2) WINDOWS XP HIGH CONTRAST OPTION – EVEN LARGER FONTS
The High Contrast option should give you larger fonts and more widespread use of larger fonts. This option could be a prerequisite to getting larger fonts in a given application.
CAUTION: This option will change your Windows and Buttons setting and your Color Scheme setting under Control Panel / Display / Appearance tab. Write these settings down so you can reverse changes if you wish. This option will wipe out your desktop wallpaper (background image behind the icons) under Control Panel / Display / Desktop tab. Write down the Background, Position, and Color settings so you can reverse changes if you wish. See below to re-set the wallpaper.
Start / Control Panel / Accessibility Options / Display (different from “Display” above) / High Contrast (check the box for Use High Contrast) / click Settings button / Use Shortcut is already checked / under High Contrast Appearance Scheme, the default scheme is High Contrast Black Large; click High Contrast White Large if you prefer a white background with black letters / Apply / OK
When you are finished the “C” in Control Panel should be about 3/16 inch high.
(3) SET OR RESTORE YOUR WALLPAPER
Start / Control Panel / Display / Desktop tab (top) / select a Background / select a Color and Position (if applicable) / Apply / OK
If you select None for a Background, and then select a color, you should get a solid color with no pattern behind your desktop icons. A dark color will give less glare.
(4) TURN DOWN THE BRIGHTNESS
Selecting the High Contrast option above will likely make your screen appear brighter. To turn down the brightness on your IBM laptop, press the End key while holding down the Fn key (function key). A small menu will appear showing a changing pattern as you continue to click the End key. The Fn key is in the lower left corner of your keyboard, and says “Fn” in very pale blue lettering. You will notice that the End key has an extremely tiny very pale blue image of a sun, denoting brightness, and a downward pointing arrow. To increase brightness, press the Home key while holding down the Fn key. The laptop should remember the brightness setting. Check the brightness menu next time you turn on the machine.
Buying a glare screen (to cover your computer screen and to filter out glare) is an option.
(5) TO MAKE A LARGER, MORE VISIBLE CURSOR
Start / Control Panel / Accessibility Options / Display / Cursor options / (move bead from narrow end to wider where you want it – watch the indicator near the bead to see how wide the cursor will be) / Apply / OK.
(6) ADJUSTING FONT SIZE IN MICROSOFT INTERNET EXPLORER
Open Internet Explorer / click View / click Text Size to adjust font size larger or smaller depending on how it changed as a result of your selecting the High Contrast option above. Without High Contrast, click to make text larger.
(7) ADJUSTING FONT SIZE IN MSN EXPLORER
Open MSN Explorer / click View / click Text Size to adjust font size larger or smaller depending on how it changed as a result of your selecting the High Contrast option above. Without High Contrast, click to make text larger.
(8) ENLARGING YOUR VIEW OF A MICROSOFT WORD DOCUMENT
Open Word. On the top toolbar look for a button that says “100%.” To enlarge, type in a percentage greater than 100. For example, “200” should make the lettering twice as large. Then press Enter.
Alternatively, click the down arrow next to the 100% button. Click 150% or 200% or whatever you wish.
Alternatively: Click “View” at the top of your screen. Click “Zoom.” Use up and down arrows next to “Percent,” or use other features on that menu. Click OK.
(9) READING YOUR MAIL IN LOTUS NOTES 6
The following steps will likely change your in-box so that unread mail is bolded, but still the same color as mail that has been read – not ideal. However, the content of opened e-mails should appear larger.
Step one: selecting Windows XP High Contrast (above) is a prerequisite in LN6 for the next two steps.
Step two: Open LN. File / Preferences / User Preferences / under Additional Options, check Use System Colors (second to last item) / OK. You might have to close LN for this change to take effect. Close and re-open.
Step three: In LN click View / Text Size / Larger or Largest (this menu appears as a result of doing the previous two steps?). You will have to repeat step three each time you open LN.
END OF POST
March 2006
THE SECRET TO MAKING MUSIC ON A KEYBOARD
THE SECRET TO MAKING MUSIC ON A KEYBOARD
This is the secret to playing a music keyboard “by ear,” that is, without a music book. This is the secret to making up your own music on a keyboard.
This is what I have learned so far, and it is not necessarily correct:
(1) START WITH A FEW CHORDS
You can make good music with just a few chords. Very common chords are:
C Major (C) G Major-Seventh (G7) F Major (F)
For moody songs use:
D Minor (Dm) A Minor (Am)
(2) PLAY CHORDS WITH YOUR LEFT HAND
On a keyboard you play the accompaniment with your left hand. Press the “single finger” mode button. Use only one or two fingers. Use the left end of the keyboard to play chords.
To play a Major chord, press the key with the same name as the chord root. For example, to play C Major, press a C.
To play a Major-Seventh chord, press the key with the same name as the chord root and at the same time press any white key to the left of that key. For example, to play G Major-Seventh, press a G and a white key to the left of that G.
To play a Minor chord, press the key with the same name as the chord root and at the same time press any black key to the left of that key. For example, to play A Minor, press an A and a black key to the left of that A.
(3) PLAY A MELODY WITH YOUR RIGHT HAND
Which notes in a melody can go with which chord? To start, you can safely play any of the notes that make up a particular chord when you are using that same chord:
With chord C, play notes C, E, or G. With chord G7, play notes G, B, D, or F. With chord F, play notes F, A, or C. With chord Dm, play notes D, F, or A. With chord Am, play notes A, C, or E.
In the beginning, you may find it easier to try to match notes to a chord, rather than trying to match chords to a melody.
(4) PUT YOUR CHORDS IN ORDER
Put your chords in order. Try this progression:
C to G7 to C to F to C
(5) LEARN MORE CHORDS
All chords in the same category follow the same pattern. You can find the notes that make up any chord by counting like this (make sure you count both the white and black keys):
Major Play a note, skip a note, skip, skip, play, skip, skip, play.
Major-Seventh Play a note, skip a note, skip, skip, play, skip, skip, play, skip, skip, play.
Minor Play a note, skip a note, skip, play, skip, skip, skip, play.
The chord is named after the “first” or “root” note in the chord using this or similar methods. However, the notes of a chord can be played in any order and no note is really “first.”
Try to learn to play with chords C7, A7, D7 next.
(6) READ THE INSTRUCTION MANUAL
Find the section about chords. Also find the instructions for how to record and play back your songs. These will be the most useful sections.
(7) SING YOUR OWN SONG
Sing your own song, follow your heart, follow your star, be true to yourself and do not be deterred by potholes in the road, or a rainy day. Make your music for yourself and anyone who cares to listen carefully.
End of post
September 2005
January 12 POSSIBLY USEFUL E-MAIL AND WEB TIPS part IMs. Edna E-mailer is not a computer expert but she has been paying attention. This is her list:
POSSIBLY USEFUL E-MAIL AND WEB TIPS part I
Do you agree or disagree with these tips? Did you already know about these tips?
1 E-mail is not private
If you send your innermost thoughts and feelings to your friend she can forward that e-mail to everyone she knows. E-mails can circumnavigate the Earth. Always assume your e-mails will be forwarded. (Don’t write anything you would not want Ms. E. to read.)
Also, in-boxes are located on servers and can be read by anyone who knows how to access in-boxes on a server. Always assume you are writing publicly.
2 E-mail can be permanent
While so many e-mails are deleted, e-mails can be saved and can last forever, or at least as long as there are computers. What you write when you are 18 years old can come back to haunt you at 45 or 75 (as in scandal, blackmail, or lost opportunities). Always assume your e-mails will be saved and not just by your friends and their friends. Internet service providers (ISPs), big companies, and other large organizations backup their servers and save e-mails, at least for a while.
3 Empty your e-mail address book
If you keep e-mail addresses in your e-mail address book, a simple virus can use your address book to replicate itself and send virus laden e-mails to everyone in your address book. These e-mails will appear to have come from you. Instead, keep e-mail addresses inside a Microsoft Word document or other word processing document on a floppy, and copy them as needed to your outgoing e-mails. To avoid misspellings, highlight, copy, and paste addresses, instead of re-typing them (ctrl-C to copy; ctrl-V to paste). Index cards are good for quick reference and backups, but carry the risk of misspellings.
4 Use the “bcc” blank for broadcasts
If you load up your e-mails with e-mail addresses, anyone who gets your e-mail can copy the e-mail addresses, unless you use “bcc.”
>> Ms. E. can go through these and add your e-mail addresses to her list of addresses.
>> Spammers can send spam to your e-mail addresses.
>> Junk mailers can send junk mail to your e-mail addresses.
>> Virus writers can send viruses to your e-mail addresses.
>> Identity thieves can research the names in or associated with your e-mail addresses.
>> Data gatherers can gather your e-mail addresses (perhaps even the linkages – data on who sends to whom).
Instead of putting your e-mail addresses in the “to” or “cc” blanks, put the e-mail addresses in the “bcc” blank instead. That way the addresses of the recipients are shielded; that is, most people will not be able to view the addresses. Nevertheless, bcc’s can be read by those who know how. Think about it – the servers read the bcc addresses when they deliver e-mails.
One possible alternative to broadcasting; it’s more tedious, but maybe worthwhile to protect the privacy of your close family and friends: Send e-mails to them only one or two people at a time – why make it easy for snoopers?
It’s better to not mix your family’s e-mail addresses with friends’ e-mail addresses. Of course, keep business e-mail addresses separate.
5 Use your delete key
To protect privacy when forwarding an e-mail message, use your delete key to remove the e-mail address of the person who sent you the incoming e-mail. Delete all the from/to/cc/sent/subject information. If you forward e-mail addresses, these can be harvested by future recipients as the e-mail is forwarded over and over.
Anyway, who wants to page down through a bunch of forward-headers to get to the message at the very bottom?
6 This guy wants your e-mail addresses and more
If you visit one of the many Web sites that say things like, “Send this newspaper article to a friend,” or “Send this e-mail greeting card to a friend,” or “Send your slide show to your family – put your photos here;” ask yourself: Do I really want to hand over the e-mail addresses of family members and my friends to the stranger who owns this Web site? He would not have to be a rocket scientist to figure out some names from the e-mail addresses. What could he do with the names, the e-mail addresses, and the linkages (data on who sends to whom)? What is his motive for offering a “free” service to you? Unless you have permission of family and friends, don’t give their e-mail addresses to such a Web site. That is just common courtesy.
You don’t get something for nothing. Be wary of free offers or discounts to certain groups or categories of people, such as “free to anyone over 50,” or “discount for anyone employed at this kind of job.” While such offers will create a feeding frenzy among the unwary, ask yourself: “What sort of data are they collecting and for what purpose?”
7 Put your family photos here???
Before you post your photos on one of those Put-Your-Photos-Here Web sites; ask yourself: Do I really want to hand over my personal family photos and the e-mail addresses of my entire family to the stranger who owns this Web site? She would not have to be a rocket scientist to figure out some family names from the e-mail addresses. What could she do with the names, the e-mail addresses, and the linkages (data on who sends to whom)? What is her motive for offering this “free” photo service to you? Unless you have permission of family and friends, don’t give their e-mail addresses to such a Web site. That is just common courtesy.
Be aware that the friends and family members you designate to receive the “invitation” link in an e-mail generated by the Web site can forward that e-mailed invitation link. The invitation link will work for whoever receives the forwarded e-mail and any number of people can receive and use the forwarded invitation link to view your supposedly “private” photos, including people who are complete strangers to you.
Every digital photo has a file name even if it is only a number. If you have photos online, and if you can type your file names into Google/Images/Advanced and bring up your posted photos, then anyone with access to Google can bring up your posted photos if their search criteria happen to match the file names of your photos. Your personal family photos might be viewed and copied by some voyeuristic and predatory Web surfer you might not care to be acquainted with. (Eeeee-ew !!!) Are there big identity clues in your photos like car license plates or distinctive house numbers?
8 Where did this come from?
When you are forwarding an e-mail and you delete the sender’s e-mail address to protect the sender’s privacy, add a few words that will let your recipient know you did not write the content. If you are silent, your recipients might assume you wrote it. Say, “I got this yesterday,” or “Victoria sent this to me,” without her last name, unless a last name is needed for some reason.
9 I don’t necessarily like it
If you don’t want to take the credit or you don’t necessarily agree with what you are about to forward, write “for your information” or “FYI,” or make it clearer: Write “The sender does not necessarily agree with the contents of what is being forwarded.” If you are silent, your recipients might assume you forwarded the e-mail because you liked it or because you agreed with it.
10 Watch out for suspicious links
A link in an e-mail or in a pop-up can be set up to launch a download of malicious code (virus, spyware) to your computer when you click on the link. Likewise, don’t visit Web sites just because someone says they are “fun” or “really cool.” There could be infecting links on the Web site. Click only on links to reputable Web sites or you could get a virus or spyware.
11 Open an e-card and catch a virus
If you receive an e-mail that says, “Click on this link to view your e-greeting card sent to you by your friend, Regina.” or “Click here to view her slide show,” … don’t, unless you know the link is to a reputable Web site. In some cases, the e-mail could appear to be from your friend, but it isn’t really. She visited the Web site, left her e-mail address there, and yours, then the Web site generated an e-mail that appeared to be from her. With any complex transmission to your computer (such as an e-greeting card with audio and animation, a radio show, a video, or a slide show) there is the possibility that the transmission can hide a download of malicious code (virus, spyware) to your computer.
12 Protect your minor children
Use filters on the children’s computers to automatically screen out harmful Web sites and make it impossible for the children to correspond except with those people you approve in advance.
Is it safe to put photos of your minor children on your Web site if it is password protected? Are there people out there who will know how to get around your password and who can use captions or other information on your Web site to find family names, Google the location of your home and your children – and then come to your home? Can they copy the photos of your children and alter the photos for pornography? Who knows? Let’s not find out.
13 Things to not put on your Web site
Don’t put photos of your family and friends up on your Web site without their permission. That is just common courtesy. Maybe Ms. E. won’t like that photo of herself or maybe she won’t like that cute caption you plan to write about her. Don’t put your street address or any other family street address on your Web site. Get a PO Box if you need an address for regular mail.
14 Why take a chance
With every little step you take you might think the risk is small. But that thought will hardly be a consolation to you if there are dire consequences. Should you be creating risk for your family even a little bit in a world where there is so much malice?
Think twice before sending e-mail photos or posting Web photos with identity or location clues – your car with the license plate clearly visible, your home showing the house number; or photos of your possessions – your new wide screen TV, your heirloom diamond jewelry, cozy living room, adorable children, with the witty captions all pointing to you and your family. It’s not likely you’d get an unwelcome visitor (thief, kidnapper, lunatic, etc.) but why take a chance?
If you can’t resist distributing photos, put them in e-mails instead of posting on a Web site and send only to people who “need to know.” Examine your photos carefully, especially the background. Are any identifying features shown that could be potentially useful to a nefarious stranger, features like the street signs on the corner outside your home, or like a T-shirt with the name of your minor child’s school? Is there anything in a photo that could cause some viewer to become concerned or angry enough to want to reach you?
15 Somebody might actually read your blog
Your family and friends would have to be unusually tolerant people to not mind having reports about them going up on the Internet on a daily basis. If you write unkind things about your family or friends in your blog, they might read it and be hurt. Their last names should not be used. (A “blog” is an online personal diary or opinion page posted for the whole world to read).
16 Hey, download your spyware protection
Do not download spyware protection from just any Web site that shouts, “Hey, download your spyware protection here.” That link could install spyware on your computer, not protection. Buy from a reputable dealer. (“Spyware” is malicious code that can infect your computer and is designed to send specific types of information that reside on your computer to a remote computer. Spyware can be designed to transmit keystrokes, credit card numbers, passwords, even whole e-mails to that remote computer.)
17 Private information on your computer
If you keep private information on your online computer, such as bank account numbers, credit card numbers, names of family members, names of your minor children, your address, addresses of family or friends, birthdates, and social security numbers; then you could be making this information available to online data gatherers. Better not assume you can eliminate every last bit of spyware or that your firewall will stop everything.
18 When you are tired
If you go online when you are tired, or worse than tired; later on you could be wondering why you sent a love letter to the Pope. It’s not worth it to stay up all night writing e-mails.
19 Watch out for weird
If you forward an incoming e-mail (or click “reply” to an e-mail), when the e-mail is weird, profane, obscene, or otherwise nasty, you could be accused of originating it. How could you prove you didn’t? It would be difficult to prove. After all, any sender can modify or even completely re-write the contents of the e-mail he is forwarding. Also, any sender can click “reply” and then edit the incoming message that attaches to the reply he is sending.
20 Take these people off
Don’t you just hate it when someone modifies the content of your e-mail unfairly and leaves your name on it, when they forward it or reply to it? Who knows what changes they will make next to your e-mails? Better take them off your distribution list. As long as you are being fair, you can choose to forward only a part of an incoming e-mail. Of course you should snip off the incoming e-mail address to protect the privacy of the sender.
21 Bogus e-mails
You’ve seen those bogus virus warnings that say, “Forward this virus warning to everyone you know.” Unless the warning comes from someone you trust like your office IT coordinator or you have checked it out on your virus protection vender’s Web site, ignore it. No one will appreciate it if you “cry wolf.” Also disregard e-mails that say, “Send this to at least ten people and you will receive good luck and blessings as a result.”
These chain-mail type messages clog and slow servers. Some chain e-mails are originated expressly for the purpose of harvesting e-mail addresses. The originator can track the progress of the e-mail as it is forwarded over and over. When it goes to a new in-box he collects the address. Such e-mails can have frivolous or even false content but have broad appeal and generate big bucks for any originator harvesting and selling huge quantities of e-mail addresses.
To break a chain: If you want to distribute the message, don’t click forward; instead, highlight and copy the e-mail’s content, and paste it into an entirely new e-mail (ctrl-C to copy; ctrl-V to paste). You might have to take extra steps to transfer images and attachments. Only handle images and attachments you know are free of malicious code.
Also, wisely disregard “urban legends” that circulate. “Urban legends” are strange and untrue tales in e-mails that often end with, “phone this number,” “click this link,” or “send this to everyone you know.” Watch out for hoaxes.
Don’t believe everything you read online. Be wary. Question everything you read.
END OF PART I
February 2006 POSSIBLY USEFUL E-MAIL AND WEB TIPS part II
[There is a surprise at the end.]
Ms. Edna E-mailer is not a computer expert but she has been paying attention. This is her list:
POSSIBLY USEFUL E-MAIL AND WEB TIPS part II
Do you agree or disagree with these tips? Did you already know about these tips? 22 Your work e-mail address
If you give out your work e-mail address to friends and family your work e-mail in-box will be cluttered with their e-mails.
Also, if your friends and your children use your work e-mail address, then that address will be what they put on the e-mails they broadcast. Assume these e-mails will be forwarded. If your name and your employer’s name are in the e-mail address, the employer’s name and your employment can be very visible and obvious to anyone who receives the broadcast e-mail. Does everyone need to know where you work?
That wildly indiscrete e-mail your child broadcasts to the whole world goes out with your employer’s name on it. Any recipient down the line can get it back to your employer with comments.
Any personal e-mails you send from your work out-box (maybe despite office policy to the contrary), can eventually end up in the bosses’ in-box. It’s far better to have your own separate commercial Internet service provider for your political activities, family discussions, Internet surfing, etc.
However, if you access your commercial ISP from within your office’s network, that access, including your personal password and your incoming and outgoing e-mails, can be subject to whatever monitoring the office has for its network. Consider also that your recipients may be opening their mail from within their office network(s).
23 Watch out for suspicious attachments
If there is malicious code in a file attached to an e-mail, opening the attachment can activate the malicious code. Don’t open an attachment to an e-mail, unless you scan it first, and unless you know the sender and you know if you are expecting some attachment from that sender. Remember a virus can send an e-mail from your friend’s computer and make it appear that the e-mail is coming from your friend.
If you save an infected file attachment, you could infect your computer.
24 Explain your attachments
When you send an attachment, it is helpful to write an explanation that could only have been written by you and tell how you made the attachment or tell where it came from; for example, “This attachment is from Ms. E. I made this myself on my scanner, so it is OK to open it. It is similar to the file I sent you yesterday that you said you liked.” This way your recipient knows it is safe to open the attachment.
25 Write clever subject lines
It’s good to put some word or phrase in the subject line that could only have been written by you so the recipient knows it is really from you and not from a virus that took over your computer and is now sending e-mails with your name on them. For example: “Thanks for Ms. E.’s wonderful list,” is better than “Thanks.” Don’t open e-mails that come with a blank subject line.
26 Your bank won’t do this
Your bank won’t send you an e-mail asking you to go to their Web site and reveal your personal information (password and account number). There is an e-mail scam where you receive an e-mail that pretends to be from a bank – maybe the e-mail happens to have your bank’s name on it. The e-mail has a link to a Web site that looks just like the bank’s Web site but of course is a fake. If you receive such an e-mail and if you click the link and enter your account number and password as requested, these can be stolen by the operators of the fake Web site.
27 Give credit where due
If you are sending copyrighted material like a book excerpt, news article, or Web site clip, say where you got it; for example, “I got this from the National Geographic.” Observe “Fair Use” copyright laws.
28 Get virus protection
Make sure you have virus protection, spyware protection, and a firewall on your computer. Do scans. Update protection regularly. Get Windows patches. Backup important files to a floppy or CD. Backup your important e-mail addresses. Backup the addresses (URLs) for your favorite Web sites. Empty the trash-box and recycle bin. Don’t give your password to anyone, not even your best friend. Be on guard against e-mails or pop-ups that pretend to be from virus protection companies or pretend to be from Microsoft.
29 How many people can get your e-mail?
Question: If an e-mail is forwarded 25 times and each time it is forwarded, each person sends it to two (2) other people, how many people will receive the e-mail? (Those of you who remember high school will be able to do this math. Ms. E.’s calculator couldn’t handle it.)
Have you noticed how you get some of the same e-mails in your in-box over and over again? Can the total number of potential forwards for one e-mail exceed the population of the planet and approach infinity? Theoretically your e-mail can be circulated for as long as the Internet exists.
Sometimes people click “reply to all” by mistake instead of “reply;” and it’s clear they meant to send to only one person, not 800. (“I’ll meet you for lunch at noon.”) This seems to happen fairly often.
30 Did you subscribe to it?
What happens if you send a reply e-mail in order to “unsubscribe” to a list you never subscribed to? By sending the reply e-mail, you are confirming that your e-mail address is still a valid e-mail address and you might receive more junk mail. The same principle applies for any junk mail – if you reply, you might get more.
31 Keep your credit card number to yourself
Avoid typing in your full credit card number when buying online. If given the choice of typing in only four digits and phoning in the rest, take it. Buy only at secure Web sites and from reputable dealers that you know. There are many opportunities for credit card numbers to be stolen.
It’s probably best to not use your debit card or your checking account number online unless you can afford to have all the money in your checking account stolen.
32 Spelling counts
Be careful to type in the Web address (URL) exactly or you might end up at a site that is a fake, yet seems to look like the real thing. Be especially careful spelling if you plan to enter personal information like a credit card number, bank account number, password, social security number, etc. Type the correct tail for the address: .com, .org, or .gov. Schemers bet that people will misspell and lie in wait for you. Your personal information can be stolen if you type it into a fake Web site.
If you misspell an e-mail address, your e-mail could end up in a stranger’s in-box, or go nowhere.
33 Your name and the time on your e-mail
If you don’t want your name to show in an e-mail, set up your computer and pick your e-mail address so your name does not show. Without precautions, your name might show in the recipient’s in-box, might show in the e-mail header, or might show when someone moves their cursor over your e-mail address in an e-mail that you originated, or moves their cursor over your e-mail address that was clipped, not just typed, from an e-mail you originated. (These things happen only with some ISPs, not others?) Of course many people want their name to show so their recipients know who the e-mail is from and that could be your preference.
If the correct date and time of sending is important for you to have on your e-mails, make sure your computer’s clock is set right.
34 Long-winded e-mails
If you compose a particularly long e-mail with complex ideas, you run the risk that few people will make time to read through it. Put all the most important ideas in the first paragraph. (Ms. E. has not quite mastered everything on this list.)
35 Be health-wise
Take time off at least once a week when you do not touch a computer or look at a screen (not even a TV screen) for at least 24 hours. Are you able to do this? Clicking a mouse or staring at fast moving TV images for hours is not a natural activity for a human brain. Give yourself this little vacation.
You’ve probably seen people sitting hunched up and contorted in front of their computers instead of sitting up straight. They could get bent and old-looking before their time.
36 Did I just make a binding agreement?
Can you make a binding legal agreement just by clicking a button that says, “Yes, I agree” or “I accept”? If you have just typed in personal data such as a password, social security number, or credit card number; the Web site owners can make a pretty good argument that you really did click the button and it couldn’t have been anyone else. Read and know if you agree with all of it before you click.
37 Before you send
Before you click the send button ALWAYS get up and do something else or work at something else for at least a few minutes. You will be amazed at how many changes you think of making in just a short time. Better to wait a minute or two before sending, than to think of changes right after sending.
If you are angry or upset, wait until you are calm before sending. Refuse to carry on an argument via e-mail; and don’t broadcast disagreements.
38 Disconnect completely
Make your computer completely inaccessible to online saboteurs when you are finished online. Simply shutting down the computer and/or turning it off with the switch on the computer is not sufficient because your computer can be turned on remotely by a hacker, if it is still connected to its phone or DSL line and still connected to a power source (the electric grid or laptop battery), and if he can get past your firewall. If you have Broadband over Power Lines (BPL), then the electric grid is your Internet connection and disconnecting from the electric wall socket is sufficient. (Wireless is beyond the scope of this discussion.)
39 Promoting your own name
Does the name of your Web site point to you or your family? Unless you are promoting your name, think twice before making your name part of your Web site’s name as in MyFirstNameLastName.com especially if your Web site has controversial or personal material. (“Hey, here’s my name; come and get me.” …… Yes, it is possible your home address can be found online.) Also, it is better to not have your name be part of, or associated with, the “contact us” e-mail address on your Web site.
40 E-mail can be monitored
Be mindful that your computer use at your office, at a public library, or at your school or college could possibly be monitored by the employer, the library, or school/college, if you are using their computer or their network. There can also be government surveillance of e-mail for various purposes.
41 A warning from the phone company
The following warning on clicking “yes” came with Ms. E.’s phone bill: “…. Consumers should carefully scrutinize what they agree to when they click on Web site pop-up ads and are asked to respond to a series of questions. In some cases, dial-up consumers who clicked ‘yes’ to several pop-up ad questions have found their computer modems re-programmed to make expensive long distance calls. Pop-up ads are a legitimate way of advertising on Web sites – but consumers should read the fine print and make sure they know what they’re agreeing to when they click the ‘yes’ button in response to questions in such an ad. It could be a costly mistake.”
42 A warning from the IRS
The following warning is in instructions for tax year 2005: “The IRS does not request personal tax-payer information through e-mail. If you receive this type of request, it may be an attempt by identity thieves to get your private tax information.”
43 Take me off your list
Do not send e-mail to someone who wrote to you, “Take me off your distribution list.” Send only to people who might reasonably be expected to not object to receiving an e-mail from you. There is a law that covers sending unwelcome e-mail.
44 Chat rooms and IM
Your conversations in a chat room or in instant messaging can be saved and are not any more secure than any other kind of e-mail.
45 The surprise mentioned at the beginning
SURPRISE !!! There is no surprise. Don’t believe everything you read online. Be wary. Question everything you read.
THE END
February 2006 |
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