The word ‘blog’ is a contraction of ‘web log’ according to Wikipedia. That page pretty much gives us a history of blogs and how a lot of them are used. Some are specialized and some are sort of like mine, rambling.
I started blogging way back in 2004, on July 24th that year to be exact. I used Google’s popular blogging venue, BlogSpot. It was pretty much hit and miss if I made a blog post, as I really had no idea what I was doing or even how I should do it.
I was under the rather misconception a blog was sort of like a journal, just writing about thoughts in general, or stuff that happened that made an impression on me. In all the time from the inception of that blog until the day I made the last post in May of 2011, I made only 43 posts.
Thanks to some really great MVPs, Pat Geary and Tina Clarke, I got introduced to the king of blogging, WordPress. But again, I was pretty much hit or miss with my ‘blogging’ and I didn’t take the time to learn about all of the ways I could customize my WordPress themes. At that time I was too focused on my web site, Martha’s Web, so most of time I was concentrating on content and how it looked.
Fast forward to today.
I am finally starting to understand this world of blogging with WordPress and how versatile it can be. While I am still in the learning mode, the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter.
Since my web site was made back in the day when Windows XP was the latest and greatest, it is getting very dated and really doesn’t seem to be what is needed today, especially since I no longer use Windows XP or even Vista. It no longer gets the ‘hits’ it used to get and while I certainly don’t want to leave all of the XP users in the lurch so to speak, I find it harder and harder to keep that site fresh and useful.
I am planning to turn Martha’s Web into a WordPress blog eventually, but today is not the day. I still need to learn more about what I can do and how I can do it before that happens. But I am told that once it happens, maintaining it will be oh so much easier.
Since I made that decision, it seems only sensible to just slowly migrate stuff to a new blog. So I am transitioning new stuff and maybe some old stuff to MyNotSoPerfectPC. I’ll see how that works for now.
Martha
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
The Magic Word Is Free
Nothing seems to grab folk’s attention like the word ‘free’.
‘Buy one, get one free’. It’s everywhere. Ads on TV simply shout it in all those ads about products that seem to be about making our lives so much easier. It starts with ‘But wait’ and then the pitch to buy one and get another one free (except for shipping and handling). The fine print will bump up the free product to make the total quite pricey, but folks just buy into the word ‘free’.
Then there is the phrase ‘Free download’ for a software program. Granted, some free downloads work as promised, but those are few and getting fewer all the time.
With a few exceptions all of those promised ‘free’ programs come with stuff users probably don’t want, like the infamous Ask toolbar. This little ‘gem’ will change your home page, take over your search and generally frustrate you no end.
The problem is nothing is really free in the long run. The free programs that don’t push unwanted stuff on your computer may be free now, but they hope you will buy the pro version and/or at least donate to their cause. Some of these may contain ‘nagware’ Then there are the sneaky free downloads that aren’t even what you wanted in the first place. The How-To Geek has a great page about all of this stuff. I wrote about the sneaky install on Martha’s Web too.
The point I am trying to make though, is the word ‘free’ is what grabs people’s attention and may cause unintended consequences. If you have to buy something before you get that ‘free’ thing, it isn’t free. If you have to provide personal information to get something, it isn’t free.
Longtime Internet users got spoiled with free stuff, but those days are getting shorter and shorter and the ‘free stuff’ is not really free any more.
‘Buy one, get one free’. It’s everywhere. Ads on TV simply shout it in all those ads about products that seem to be about making our lives so much easier. It starts with ‘But wait’ and then the pitch to buy one and get another one free (except for shipping and handling). The fine print will bump up the free product to make the total quite pricey, but folks just buy into the word ‘free’.
Then there is the phrase ‘Free download’ for a software program. Granted, some free downloads work as promised, but those are few and getting fewer all the time.
With a few exceptions all of those promised ‘free’ programs come with stuff users probably don’t want, like the infamous Ask toolbar. This little ‘gem’ will change your home page, take over your search and generally frustrate you no end.
The problem is nothing is really free in the long run. The free programs that don’t push unwanted stuff on your computer may be free now, but they hope you will buy the pro version and/or at least donate to their cause. Some of these may contain ‘nagware’ Then there are the sneaky free downloads that aren’t even what you wanted in the first place. The How-To Geek has a great page about all of this stuff. I wrote about the sneaky install on Martha’s Web too.
The point I am trying to make though, is the word ‘free’ is what grabs people’s attention and may cause unintended consequences. If you have to buy something before you get that ‘free’ thing, it isn’t free. If you have to provide personal information to get something, it isn’t free.
Longtime Internet users got spoiled with free stuff, but those days are getting shorter and shorter and the ‘free stuff’ is not really free any more.
Monday, July 29, 2013
Got a Will?
It’s a fact of the modern day world, if you own anything of value, you need a will.
This is necessary to make sure your wishes are granted if you want your assets distributed in the manner of your choosing. I suspect you already know that and have made sure you have a will and named who is to get what after your demise.
But what about your online stuff? What should be done about all that cyber stuff that requires usernames, passwords and the like? Do you want it all to go on forever?
What about your online business? What if someone buys something and it never gets to the buyer? What then? Would that leave a mess for your heirs to clean up? They already have enough to deal with without that!
What if some hacker hacks your email after you die and sends spam forever to your family and friends you left behind?
Do you want your Facebook account to just site there unused for perpetuity?
All of those accounts like PayPal, other online banking accounts, investment accounts and the list goes on and on, need user names and passwords. Sure eventually they may get cleared up, but it sure would be easier if someone you trust had all of those web addresses, user names and passwords.
Want to know how to make it all easier for those you leave behind?
Setup a password keeper! A really good password keeper can handle all that for you and all your designated online heir has to do is log on to your password keeper and take care of the cyber stuff in the way you want it done.
Of course you have to make sure your designated online heir has the current password for that password keeper, but keeping up with just one login and password is a whole lot better than trying to keep up with all your cyber stuff.
Another advantage of that password keeper works for you! Most will generate really good passwords and keep them safe so you don’t have to remember them all and can make sure you are not using something stupid like ‘password’ or your dog’s name, or using the same password for all your accounts. I’m sure you don’t do that, do you?
If you want a really great password keeper, I suggest LastPass, which is free for pcs and only one dollar a month for phones. The best thing about LastPass, besides being free, you are the only one who knows the password. If you forget it, you will just have to start over again as, LastPass doesn’t have a record of your password. Since I don’t trust the Cloud, this is a huge factor for me!
But there are other password keepers, here is a list of some you can try. The best Password Managers. Notice LastPass has a five star rating!
So don’t leave your heirs in the lurch about your cyber life, make sure they can take care of your online assets as well as the physical stuff you leave behind.
This is necessary to make sure your wishes are granted if you want your assets distributed in the manner of your choosing. I suspect you already know that and have made sure you have a will and named who is to get what after your demise.
But what about your online stuff? What should be done about all that cyber stuff that requires usernames, passwords and the like? Do you want it all to go on forever?
What about your online business? What if someone buys something and it never gets to the buyer? What then? Would that leave a mess for your heirs to clean up? They already have enough to deal with without that!
What if some hacker hacks your email after you die and sends spam forever to your family and friends you left behind?
Do you want your Facebook account to just site there unused for perpetuity?
All of those accounts like PayPal, other online banking accounts, investment accounts and the list goes on and on, need user names and passwords. Sure eventually they may get cleared up, but it sure would be easier if someone you trust had all of those web addresses, user names and passwords.
Want to know how to make it all easier for those you leave behind?
Setup a password keeper! A really good password keeper can handle all that for you and all your designated online heir has to do is log on to your password keeper and take care of the cyber stuff in the way you want it done.
Of course you have to make sure your designated online heir has the current password for that password keeper, but keeping up with just one login and password is a whole lot better than trying to keep up with all your cyber stuff.
Another advantage of that password keeper works for you! Most will generate really good passwords and keep them safe so you don’t have to remember them all and can make sure you are not using something stupid like ‘password’ or your dog’s name, or using the same password for all your accounts. I’m sure you don’t do that, do you?
If you want a really great password keeper, I suggest LastPass, which is free for pcs and only one dollar a month for phones. The best thing about LastPass, besides being free, you are the only one who knows the password. If you forget it, you will just have to start over again as, LastPass doesn’t have a record of your password. Since I don’t trust the Cloud, this is a huge factor for me!
But there are other password keepers, here is a list of some you can try. The best Password Managers. Notice LastPass has a five star rating!
So don’t leave your heirs in the lurch about your cyber life, make sure they can take care of your online assets as well as the physical stuff you leave behind.
Saturday, July 20, 2013
Stupidity Knows No Bounds
Somewhere, I don’t remember where, I read the Internet is making us stupid.
I don’t think that is true, but it does seem to bring out the stupid remarks at times and I have come to believe that it certainly shows that some folks are really gullible and yes, some are patently stupid about some things.
The gullible category are those folks that don’t stop to think about what they read. These are the folks that thought “Wow!” when they read about the Chinese Money Bags. and dutifully forwarded it to a bunch of folks and may have posted it in Facebook. I don’t think these folks are stupid, but if they really believe this, they are certainly gullible.
The money bag hoax is only one of many that keep re-appearing. There are the hoax emails that claim if you forward the email to oh so many friends, you will get money from Microsoft, or some other entity, for every time the email is forwarded. Really folks? There is absolutely no way to track how many times an email is forwarded, but even if there was a way, it’s highly unlikely anyone would pay anyone any money.
There are the emails purporting to be written by some famous person, like Bill Cosby. and a lot of other folks.
Then there are the nasty emails denigrating a very prominent politician. I won’t go into that , but I am sure you know what I mean. I think that comes into the category ‘If you repeat something often enough, you start to believe it.’
I once heard someone say “It must be true, I read it in the newspaper. They couldn’t print it if it wasn’t true!” I am afraid this is the attitude of a lot of folks when it comes to the Internet!
For some really funny stuff about stupid people, read some of the things on this site, Not Always Right. While I am not sure all of the things written about folks here are entirely true, I am beginning to think it’s entirely possible!
My father once said “Don’t believe everything you hear and don’t believe half of what you think you see”. He was certainly right!
Martha
I don’t think that is true, but it does seem to bring out the stupid remarks at times and I have come to believe that it certainly shows that some folks are really gullible and yes, some are patently stupid about some things.
The gullible category are those folks that don’t stop to think about what they read. These are the folks that thought “Wow!” when they read about the Chinese Money Bags. and dutifully forwarded it to a bunch of folks and may have posted it in Facebook. I don’t think these folks are stupid, but if they really believe this, they are certainly gullible.
The money bag hoax is only one of many that keep re-appearing. There are the hoax emails that claim if you forward the email to oh so many friends, you will get money from Microsoft, or some other entity, for every time the email is forwarded. Really folks? There is absolutely no way to track how many times an email is forwarded, but even if there was a way, it’s highly unlikely anyone would pay anyone any money.
There are the emails purporting to be written by some famous person, like Bill Cosby. and a lot of other folks.
Then there are the nasty emails denigrating a very prominent politician. I won’t go into that , but I am sure you know what I mean. I think that comes into the category ‘If you repeat something often enough, you start to believe it.’
I once heard someone say “It must be true, I read it in the newspaper. They couldn’t print it if it wasn’t true!” I am afraid this is the attitude of a lot of folks when it comes to the Internet!
For some really funny stuff about stupid people, read some of the things on this site, Not Always Right. While I am not sure all of the things written about folks here are entirely true, I am beginning to think it’s entirely possible!
My father once said “Don’t believe everything you hear and don’t believe half of what you think you see”. He was certainly right!
Martha
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Blog Spammers
If you have a blog, you get comment spammers. It just happens and all you can do is periodically clean it out.
Most WordPress blogs use Akismet to control comment spam. Akismet is free for personal use and is really great for keeping comment and track-back spam at bay.
I sometimes look at the spam comments. They all are pretty much the same. Some examples are as follows:
The same spam comments, over and over. Of course these comments are sent out using a ‘bot’, but you would think they would change them up a bit.
But no, they just keep on and on. Fortunately there is an option to just empty the spam folder in WordPress.
Martha
Most WordPress blogs use Akismet to control comment spam. Akismet is free for personal use and is really great for keeping comment and track-back spam at bay.
I sometimes look at the spam comments. They all are pretty much the same. Some examples are as follows:
Dear Webmaster! Is your website not getting enough TRAFFIC? If you want to flood your website with visitors and skyrocket your income check out this brandnew traffic course –> http://bit.ly/spammy site.
Hey there, it’s Mel Spammer. As i read through your blog I discovered that you are really dedicated and provide useful information, so I checked your website at alexa.com and found out that you are not receiving very much traffic. If you want to take your Business to the next level by increasing traffic, visitors and therefore your potential income you should check out this online course for traffic generating –> http://bit.ly/spammy site If you have any questions you can send me an email, have a nice day!
The same spam comments, over and over. Of course these comments are sent out using a ‘bot’, but you would think they would change them up a bit.
But no, they just keep on and on. Fortunately there is an option to just empty the spam folder in WordPress.
Martha
Saturday, July 13, 2013
Hoarders And Storage Wars
I don’t know why I keep watching Hoarders on TV.
Is it because it makes me feel smug because I am not a hoarder? I don’t know, but I do know, every time I watch this show I feel an overwhelming urge to clean out and get rid of stuff.
I learned during my last move that I have been ‘owned’ by stuff instead of me owning stuff. I should have learned that during the previous move from a big house to a smaller house, but somehow I still wanted to hold on to belongings that really had no place or meaning for me even though I thought they did.
I think ‘stuff’ is why folks think they constantly want a bigger and bigger house. They need a place to keep all of the stuff that owns them.
I also watch Storage Wars some times. (I really should get a life!) Those abandoned lockers are usually full of stuff that the owners once valued enough to pay to store it. The lockers generally contain the kind of stuff a hoarder would like, no one I know would really want it. Occasionally there is a forgotten treasure in amongst the junk, that’s what makes the show interesting. The show’s characters are a hoot!
I guess every so-called reality show has ups and downs. one of the Storage Wars cast members Dave Hester says ‘it’s all a fake’. I don’t doubt it, but I still watch it.
Martha
Is it because it makes me feel smug because I am not a hoarder? I don’t know, but I do know, every time I watch this show I feel an overwhelming urge to clean out and get rid of stuff.
I learned during my last move that I have been ‘owned’ by stuff instead of me owning stuff. I should have learned that during the previous move from a big house to a smaller house, but somehow I still wanted to hold on to belongings that really had no place or meaning for me even though I thought they did.
I think ‘stuff’ is why folks think they constantly want a bigger and bigger house. They need a place to keep all of the stuff that owns them.
I also watch Storage Wars some times. (I really should get a life!) Those abandoned lockers are usually full of stuff that the owners once valued enough to pay to store it. The lockers generally contain the kind of stuff a hoarder would like, no one I know would really want it. Occasionally there is a forgotten treasure in amongst the junk, that’s what makes the show interesting. The show’s characters are a hoot!
I guess every so-called reality show has ups and downs. one of the Storage Wars cast members Dave Hester says ‘it’s all a fake’. I don’t doubt it, but I still watch it.
Martha
Friday, July 12, 2013
TV Phrases I Hear From Marketers
“You Deserve it.”
Watch out when you hear this one. If you buy in to it, it’s gonna cost you, usually big bucks. Furniture sales pitches may use this phrase, but sellers of other high dollar items may use it as well. This appeals to some folks’ senses that really want to indulge themselves. It must work, because I hear it again and again.
“It’s Not Your Fault:”
This phrase is being used by a local surgeon for advertising his services as a method for getting rid of excess weight. It could also be used elsewhere for the same type of service.
I imagine there probably are a few obese folks that have a medical condition that caused their over-weight condition, but I doubt that is the case for most of us fatties. It was 'my fault' for over-indulging in all that delicious fattening food I loved so well.
“The More You Buy, The More You Save.”
This one always make me shake my head in wonder. If I buy more, I am spending more money. How is that saving?
Martha
Watch out when you hear this one. If you buy in to it, it’s gonna cost you, usually big bucks. Furniture sales pitches may use this phrase, but sellers of other high dollar items may use it as well. This appeals to some folks’ senses that really want to indulge themselves. It must work, because I hear it again and again.
“It’s Not Your Fault:”
This phrase is being used by a local surgeon for advertising his services as a method for getting rid of excess weight. It could also be used elsewhere for the same type of service.
I imagine there probably are a few obese folks that have a medical condition that caused their over-weight condition, but I doubt that is the case for most of us fatties. It was 'my fault' for over-indulging in all that delicious fattening food I loved so well.
“The More You Buy, The More You Save.”
This one always make me shake my head in wonder. If I buy more, I am spending more money. How is that saving?
Martha
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Setting Up Email
I don’t know why I have such a problem getting email to work with IMAP. POP, usually no problem. Except with Thunderbird. I have one account setup with POP on Thunderbird and it works just fine.
I tried to setup a second account using virtually the same settings except for the username, email address and password, but that Tbird just doesn’t seem to like it.
My web host is Bluehost. Thunderbird apparently doesn’t like the default settings for one of my email accounts using IMAP. I just can’t make it work. And Thunderbird wants to set it up using IMAP.
The strange thing is, I had it setup once and it worked. Then I setup another account and the pesky account that used to work just disappeared. I probably deleted it somehow, but it worked yesterday and today? Poof! It’s gone and seemingly won’t come back.
So I set it up in Windows Live Mail 2012 and it works just fine. Go figure!
Martha
I tried to setup a second account using virtually the same settings except for the username, email address and password, but that Tbird just doesn’t seem to like it.
My web host is Bluehost. Thunderbird apparently doesn’t like the default settings for one of my email accounts using IMAP. I just can’t make it work. And Thunderbird wants to set it up using IMAP.
The strange thing is, I had it setup once and it worked. Then I setup another account and the pesky account that used to work just disappeared. I probably deleted it somehow, but it worked yesterday and today? Poof! It’s gone and seemingly won’t come back.
So I set it up in Windows Live Mail 2012 and it works just fine. Go figure!
Martha
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