A few days ago, I blogged about my whiteboard in my dining room, which we use for all manner of educational review and learning, though right now it's mostly foreign language. This lead to a question about learning foreign languages. In that post about learning foreign languages, I mentioned using podcasts, especially via iTunes, and briefly shared that they can be burned onto CDs, put on iPods or other MP3 players, etc.
After that post, I had a few emails, and some local (In Real Life) readers who asked me to come over and show them how to use iTunes because they weren't completely sure about it. Well, after that I realized that if one person is confused, then there are probably a few more confused out there (and since I had more than one person say they were confused, there was probably a heap of confused people).
I started to create a blog post on how to use Podcasts with iTunes. I soon realized that this is a visual thing, and so I created a video to help you see it better. I pray this video helps you to better visualize the process.
Showing posts with label tech momma. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tech momma. Show all posts
Friday, January 16, 2009
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Viruses--anyone help?
If you're wondering why I have been rather silent lately, it's because of some nasty virus problems on my computer. I am so frustrated I could scream (and have). I am resorting to working on a much older, slower, computer right now. I crave prayer. All of this is happening while I am still struggling with my badly injured and very painful shoulder.
A few weeks ago, I downloaded a driver for my video camera (with the permission of two different virus scan softwares!) , and shortly after that I had a problem with someone hijacking my web browser and Windows Explorer (opening all sorts of new windows all over my computer), and later my computer freezing up. I couldn't ctr+alt+del or even power down (I had to physically remove the battery to shut off the computer!). The amount of damage this Trojan is able to do seems to be progressively growing and advancing, to my disappointment.
Long story short, though my virus and malware scanning software keeps finding and removing the programs, they keep coming back over and over again. No matter what I do, it comes back.
We tried to do a system restore, and we ran the Dell Diagnostics to no effect. The tech people we called at Dell were clueless as to what to do too. Windows finally stopped working so we are booting up off of the CD Rom now. We tried to reinstall Windows XP but that won't work either.
So, if anyone has any suggestions, post a comment. :-) We have been told I simply need a new computer...but that is no good as I have clients waiting for graphic work that I can't do on this older computer (the programs won't run), and we can't get a Windows Vista computer as my graphics programs won't work with Vista either.
A few weeks ago, I downloaded a driver for my video camera (with the permission of two different virus scan softwares!) , and shortly after that I had a problem with someone hijacking my web browser and Windows Explorer (opening all sorts of new windows all over my computer), and later my computer freezing up. I couldn't ctr+alt+del or even power down (I had to physically remove the battery to shut off the computer!). The amount of damage this Trojan is able to do seems to be progressively growing and advancing, to my disappointment.
Long story short, though my virus and malware scanning software keeps finding and removing the programs, they keep coming back over and over again. No matter what I do, it comes back.
We tried to do a system restore, and we ran the Dell Diagnostics to no effect. The tech people we called at Dell were clueless as to what to do too. Windows finally stopped working so we are booting up off of the CD Rom now. We tried to reinstall Windows XP but that won't work either.
So, if anyone has any suggestions, post a comment. :-) We have been told I simply need a new computer...but that is no good as I have clients waiting for graphic work that I can't do on this older computer (the programs won't run), and we can't get a Windows Vista computer as my graphics programs won't work with Vista either.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Master or Servant? Tech in Balance (Part Two)
To read part one, click here
About three months ago, I lost my cell phone while at the grocery store. I had been talking on the phone, and put it down, and apparently forgot it in the shopping cart. I know. Pretty stupid. I was panic stricken as I called the grocery store, and they didn't find it but took my number down. I finally just took a deep breath, prayed, and trusted God would work it all out. I hated the thought of costing our family more money due to negligence. When I got home, my husband told me that he had tried to call me on my cell phone because he had just gotten an interesting email. Apparently since I had my cell phone for so long and my model of cell phone was so old, I was being given a HUGE credit towards an upgrade. Seriously? Woo hoo! Praise God. I was pretty geeked up to say the least, given the fact that I had deliberately ignored the latest tech in the area of cell phone paraphernalia to guard my heart.
Off my hubby and I went to the cell phone paraphernalia shop (my kind of date night :-)), where I got to spend my upgrade credits....and low and behold, of all the blessings that could have befallen me, there was a BlackBerry Curve on sale for just $9 above the amount of the credit after rebate. I almost wondered at this point if it wasn't a dream. I wanted a BlackBerry (a perfect mesh of my obsessions with both planners and with tech), but I knew it was out of the question at the normal price...but lo and behold, here it was in my reach. Woo Hoo and Praise God again.
Well, my vote is in. I love my BlackBerry. I love it so much that for my birthday I got an 8GB microSD card because I had used up most of my memory with my entire music collection, writing new ebooks on my phone, keeping track of recipes, my shopping list, address book, an entire Bible, and I even have Pac Man on there for when I'm bored, to say nothing of the fact that I can answer email while waiting in line at Walmart. I especially love that it beeps to remind me of upcoming appointments on my calendar. That was the fatal flaw of paper planners. You had to look at them and remind yourself, and I'm not always so disciplined.
But, there's also a danger here. My BlackBerry does so much for me I could stay absorbed in it for hours or days if I didn't deliberately pull myself away. As I said in my last post...tech in and of itself is not evil....but allowing something to be your master is not pleasing to God. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should.
In this world we live in, with everyone plugged in to their bluetooth devices, walking around Walmart like a bunch of crazy people talking to themselves, the irony is that this telecommunications revolution has brought a disconnect in the area of face to face relationships.
Do you notice the lady at the checkout? Do you smile to her or do you just continue to talk on the phone while checking out?
Are you open to being a blessing to those God brings across your path?
Do you unplug your headphones long enough to hear the Lord?
Make your tech your servant and not your master.
About three months ago, I lost my cell phone while at the grocery store. I had been talking on the phone, and put it down, and apparently forgot it in the shopping cart. I know. Pretty stupid. I was panic stricken as I called the grocery store, and they didn't find it but took my number down. I finally just took a deep breath, prayed, and trusted God would work it all out. I hated the thought of costing our family more money due to negligence. When I got home, my husband told me that he had tried to call me on my cell phone because he had just gotten an interesting email. Apparently since I had my cell phone for so long and my model of cell phone was so old, I was being given a HUGE credit towards an upgrade. Seriously? Woo hoo! Praise God. I was pretty geeked up to say the least, given the fact that I had deliberately ignored the latest tech in the area of cell phone paraphernalia to guard my heart.
Off my hubby and I went to the cell phone paraphernalia shop (my kind of date night :-)), where I got to spend my upgrade credits....and low and behold, of all the blessings that could have befallen me, there was a BlackBerry Curve on sale for just $9 above the amount of the credit after rebate. I almost wondered at this point if it wasn't a dream. I wanted a BlackBerry (a perfect mesh of my obsessions with both planners and with tech), but I knew it was out of the question at the normal price...but lo and behold, here it was in my reach. Woo Hoo and Praise God again.
Well, my vote is in. I love my BlackBerry. I love it so much that for my birthday I got an 8GB microSD card because I had used up most of my memory with my entire music collection, writing new ebooks on my phone, keeping track of recipes, my shopping list, address book, an entire Bible, and I even have Pac Man on there for when I'm bored, to say nothing of the fact that I can answer email while waiting in line at Walmart. I especially love that it beeps to remind me of upcoming appointments on my calendar. That was the fatal flaw of paper planners. You had to look at them and remind yourself, and I'm not always so disciplined.
But, there's also a danger here. My BlackBerry does so much for me I could stay absorbed in it for hours or days if I didn't deliberately pull myself away. As I said in my last post...tech in and of itself is not evil....but allowing something to be your master is not pleasing to God. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should.
In this world we live in, with everyone plugged in to their bluetooth devices, walking around Walmart like a bunch of crazy people talking to themselves, the irony is that this telecommunications revolution has brought a disconnect in the area of face to face relationships.
Do you notice the lady at the checkout? Do you smile to her or do you just continue to talk on the phone while checking out?
Are you open to being a blessing to those God brings across your path?
Do you unplug your headphones long enough to hear the Lord?
Make your tech your servant and not your master.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Master or Servant? Technology in Balance (part one)
We all have our areas of weakness which normally get us off track or "coveting" after things we don't yet have, and for me this has been mostly high tech things and art supplies for most of my life. When I was 14 I saved up all of my pennies (and dollars, and so forth) until I could buy my own Commadore 64 personal computer, which my parents of course thought was ridiculous, but I just had to have it. Since that time, I have had to have a selection of other cool toys...the stereo...the huge record collection (just saying that no doubt reveals I am pushing 40)...being one of the first people to study Computer graphics at our college of art and design (learning, as I have said before, things my 9 year old daughter Isobel now does as a matter of course...my degree is a teensy bit out of date)...I also have a problem with planners. I have a plethora of planner books, and I have always diligently kept a journal and planner, and have been on the prowl for the ultimate planner that would make me organized (since, by nature, I'm just not at all there in this area of orderliness).
From time to time, in an effort to break the chains that bind me (namely, my covetousness problem relating to high tech gadgetry and office supplies), I have done tech fasts. I also live a fairly old fashioned lifestyle by choice: I'm a stay at home mom, I have a big garden, I can my own food, I am paranoid of cooking with a microwave, I own a whirly pop (and use it!), I make my bread by hand, and sew quite a bit, among other things. I'm also, while living in a rural homestead, a freelance web and graphic designer (often working on my laptop, with my canning apron on, standing up in my kitchen, surrounded by bushels of tomatoes to peel, if you can only picture it).
Because God, in His providence, allowed me graciously to be born for such a time as this, my view has been to use that which is available to me in this decade for His glory, rather than, as some, to long for the Little House on the Prairie days. Although living a slower life would be a blessing, starting my chicken dinner with catching a chicken, killing, and plucking it would not be. There are some modern conveniences I would rather not do without...but the key is using these modern conveniences to be better able to give God glory in whatever God has called us to...whether as a keeper at home, mother of many, student, or what have you.
As I was thinking and praying, and studying the Word recently, I came across a familiar passage...one that actually influenced me greatly when I was a new Christian. That verse is this: "All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any." (1 Corinthians 6:12) The problem is not technology. Technology is a tool that can be super helpful in enabling us as we serve the Lord in any way He call us. The trick is to remember who is the master and who is the servant here. Tech makes a great servant but a lousy master.
From time to time, in an effort to break the chains that bind me (namely, my covetousness problem relating to high tech gadgetry and office supplies), I have done tech fasts. I also live a fairly old fashioned lifestyle by choice: I'm a stay at home mom, I have a big garden, I can my own food, I am paranoid of cooking with a microwave, I own a whirly pop (and use it!), I make my bread by hand, and sew quite a bit, among other things. I'm also, while living in a rural homestead, a freelance web and graphic designer (often working on my laptop, with my canning apron on, standing up in my kitchen, surrounded by bushels of tomatoes to peel, if you can only picture it).
Because God, in His providence, allowed me graciously to be born for such a time as this, my view has been to use that which is available to me in this decade for His glory, rather than, as some, to long for the Little House on the Prairie days. Although living a slower life would be a blessing, starting my chicken dinner with catching a chicken, killing, and plucking it would not be. There are some modern conveniences I would rather not do without...but the key is using these modern conveniences to be better able to give God glory in whatever God has called us to...whether as a keeper at home, mother of many, student, or what have you.
As I was thinking and praying, and studying the Word recently, I came across a familiar passage...one that actually influenced me greatly when I was a new Christian. That verse is this: "All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any." (1 Corinthians 6:12) The problem is not technology. Technology is a tool that can be super helpful in enabling us as we serve the Lord in any way He call us. The trick is to remember who is the master and who is the servant here. Tech makes a great servant but a lousy master.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Goodbye, Old Friend
One of the bits of sage advice my husband gave me early on in our marriage is that you can't hold on to computers for sentimental reasons. This is actually quite true...in the age in which we live, technology changes so fast that in a few years it is no longer a reasonable thing to keep fixing a 15 year old computer.
When we got married, we didn't just combine the usual things....housewares, china, t-shirts, and automobiles in disrepair. We each brought a computer into the marriage too, both of us being geeks and such. Mine was a 486 (oooh....ahhhh....)with a whopping 3 MB of hard drive space, which was quite amazing at the time. It had something like 1 MB of ram...which means it probably wouldn't be able to run my email program in my current computer. When it was finally about to give up the ghost, I didn't want to let go, and my husband said, "You don't hang onto computers for sentimental reasons! Be reasonable!" Sniffle. It got me through college, and my first writing job. I was attached....until he gave me a newer computer that year for our anniversary (who needs diamonds?).
I forgot the old dinosaur.
I was thinking about her just this week, when my "new" computer was starting to show signs of age. You see for every human year, that's 7 in dog years, and 20 in computer years.
While working on a website for someone all of a sudden it just died.
I was freaking out in a serious way because like ALL of the graphics for this lady were on my computuer....all of the photos I had just edited....all of the documents...not to mention a few newly edited ebooks I am working on...can you say panic attack? I am so, so bad about backing things up...but at least most of it was on my external hard drive...just not the stuff I was working on when old bessie died.
I heard my sleepy husband stumble in behind me as I was still trying to figure out what to do...he said I screamed which I didn't remember doing, but obviously must have if I woke him up all the way upstairs...
What a guy! He pulled the hard drive out of my computer and put it into his (much slower) computer, and I was at least able to back everything up. Whew. Thank you Jesus. We make quite a team. I'm the software/programming/design girl, and he's the programming and hardware guy...it's a match made in heaven.
It was pretty good timing too, in a way. In a few days, Dell computers will stop giving you the option of having Windows XP on your computer, and you'll be stuck with Vista (ew). Given the fact that I have a significant investment tied up in graphics software that is not Vista compliant, that would be a nightmare....so with reluctance, I got an early birthday present that should be arriving next week...
I just wish I could fathom how my first computer cost more than my van...but had less memory and ram than my cell phone...but this new one that is arriving can do more than the other computers combined, but cost less than my monthly grocery bill. LOL
Monday, June 09, 2008
Combining Passions
I love it when my passions collide.
Right now, I am doing a few different websites for people who sell herbal products. I love doing websites, and I definately love herbs.
Melvin's site is basically done, though he has a few changes here and there he wants me to take care of when I get a moment.
Judy also has a great herb website, and all that is lacking is some verbage for the front page. Overall I am pleased with the way that it looks, especially since I love lavender. :-)) (those are some of my lavender plants in the picture behind her logo).
Caroline's is a bit more complex because I am doing a full shopping cart for her, and though the layout is done, my oldest daughter designed the buttons on the site, and we like the look, now comes the tedious task of slowly entering each of the products into the shopping cart. This is something any computer literate amateur can easily do because of the GUI interface, and thus she's going to enter most of her own products, but I loaded in the first 20 to get her started. (Come back by the end of the summer for some great herbal products).
On Saturday, when it began to poor rain outside right as I was making some progress weeding, I sat down with my 15 year old daughter Ruth, to begin my search for some stock photos of herbs (at least, herbs I didn't already have pictures for, since that is a passion of mine, as I said). Finding some Almonds was fairly easy, as was a photo to represent "apricot kernel" (for the apricot kernel oil, which I will tell you now, is the ultimate when you are giving birth...it helped me have my 11 lb baby, Isobel, with nary a stitch--and to think I didn't like apricots before that).
Finding a photo for Anise seed was more difficult. For one thing, my Anise plant outside decided not to bloom yet (bummer). And, there are several things in the herb world which are titled Anise. I guess it is a very good thing that I know my herbs or else I would have just slapped up one of those hundreds of attractive photos of Star Anise (which is AWESOME in chai tea and some stir fry's and spiced rice dishes, I will add), or Florence Fennel (which is an Italian vegetable and among my favorite things to eat), or Fennel Seed (which is a major seasoning in sausage, and though it tastes similar it is something entirely different), and even Anise Hyssop (a variety of Hyssop, not Anise at all). The Anise Hyssop also looks better than a plain pile of anise seed too.
About half of the photos I found were of Biscotti, and Anise Cookies, both of which are also things I like to eat, which caused my daughter to get up and fetch us both a biscotti and cup of coffee while we continued our search. We had recently baked the biscotti as a birthday present for a friend, and of course, kept some for our family too. Anise flavored biscotti...buono.
I even found out, in my quest for a royalty free picture of Anise Seed, that there is such a thing as candy coated Anise seed...though it is unclear, because of the aforementioned confusion concerning "things named anise that aren't what I am looking for", whether the photo was of Anise Seed or just Fennel Seed, coated up like a dish of M & M's. People eat candied anise?? Seriously?
It got my daughter and I wondering two things:
Rabbit Trail! After spending a few moments googling "Candy-coated Anise Seed", we got back down to business, and finally found a picture of a pile of anise seed on iStockphoto...and from there, moved on to Basil, which as you may have guessed, caused us to crave some pesto sauce. I volunteered to walk out in the rain to the garden and fetch us some basil for tonight's side dish, while she added the basil photo.
Needless to say, it's Monday, and we are still working on it. ;)
Right now, I am doing a few different websites for people who sell herbal products. I love doing websites, and I definately love herbs.
Melvin's site is basically done, though he has a few changes here and there he wants me to take care of when I get a moment.
Judy also has a great herb website, and all that is lacking is some verbage for the front page. Overall I am pleased with the way that it looks, especially since I love lavender. :-)) (those are some of my lavender plants in the picture behind her logo).
Caroline's is a bit more complex because I am doing a full shopping cart for her, and though the layout is done, my oldest daughter designed the buttons on the site, and we like the look, now comes the tedious task of slowly entering each of the products into the shopping cart. This is something any computer literate amateur can easily do because of the GUI interface, and thus she's going to enter most of her own products, but I loaded in the first 20 to get her started. (Come back by the end of the summer for some great herbal products).
On Saturday, when it began to poor rain outside right as I was making some progress weeding, I sat down with my 15 year old daughter Ruth, to begin my search for some stock photos of herbs (at least, herbs I didn't already have pictures for, since that is a passion of mine, as I said). Finding some Almonds was fairly easy, as was a photo to represent "apricot kernel" (for the apricot kernel oil, which I will tell you now, is the ultimate when you are giving birth...it helped me have my 11 lb baby, Isobel, with nary a stitch--and to think I didn't like apricots before that).
Finding a photo for Anise seed was more difficult. For one thing, my Anise plant outside decided not to bloom yet (bummer). And, there are several things in the herb world which are titled Anise. I guess it is a very good thing that I know my herbs or else I would have just slapped up one of those hundreds of attractive photos of Star Anise (which is AWESOME in chai tea and some stir fry's and spiced rice dishes, I will add), or Florence Fennel (which is an Italian vegetable and among my favorite things to eat), or Fennel Seed (which is a major seasoning in sausage, and though it tastes similar it is something entirely different), and even Anise Hyssop (a variety of Hyssop, not Anise at all). The Anise Hyssop also looks better than a plain pile of anise seed too.
About half of the photos I found were of Biscotti, and Anise Cookies, both of which are also things I like to eat, which caused my daughter to get up and fetch us both a biscotti and cup of coffee while we continued our search. We had recently baked the biscotti as a birthday present for a friend, and of course, kept some for our family too. Anise flavored biscotti...buono.
I even found out, in my quest for a royalty free picture of Anise Seed, that there is such a thing as candy coated Anise seed...though it is unclear, because of the aforementioned confusion concerning "things named anise that aren't what I am looking for", whether the photo was of Anise Seed or just Fennel Seed, coated up like a dish of M & M's. People eat candied anise?? Seriously?
It got my daughter and I wondering two things:
- What does it taste like?
- Where do you buy M&M style Anise Seed anyway?
Rabbit Trail! After spending a few moments googling "Candy-coated Anise Seed", we got back down to business, and finally found a picture of a pile of anise seed on iStockphoto...and from there, moved on to Basil, which as you may have guessed, caused us to crave some pesto sauce. I volunteered to walk out in the rain to the garden and fetch us some basil for tonight's side dish, while she added the basil photo.
Needless to say, it's Monday, and we are still working on it. ;)
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