Spam is down?

Could have fooled me!

According to my latest issue of Consumer Reports, "spam, spyware and virus have declined 'significantly in the past few years". They got this information on their new 'State of the Net survey'.

Consumer Reports has in the past been considered by me to be a reliable source of information about just about everything. But this little tad of information has me totally bewildered. What kind of folks were taking this survey? This statement makes me wonder about all of the other reports they publish.

On the contrary, Consumer Reports! Spam, spyware and virus have NOT declined significantly in the past few yeas, but are more and more prolific all the time! Since 2006 the total amount of spam in email has increased from 56% to 80%! Anyone who has used the same email address for any length of time can vouch for that. (Unless they have a really industrial strength spam filter. Even then spam gets through.)
Source: Spam Report

Spyware has changed it's face so maybe some folks think it's down. The 'change' has involved more rootkits, key loggers, Trojans and worms, all designed to steal your money and identity. New virus are being intoduced every day. I suspect the folks who took that survey probably are mostly behind corporate firewalls with an IT department working feverishly to prevent all of the bad suff from ever reaching the work stations of clueless users.

They should have sent the survey to those techs working behind the scenes!

All of the above reinforces the old saying 'Don't believe everything you hear or read'. (And now with PhotoShop you can't believe everything you see either)

Martha

Problem Fixed!

My Expression Web had been working just fine. Then today it kept freezing and would have to be closed.  Sometimes I got the message it encountered a problem and had to close. I used a neat utility, FPCleaner, but that didn't seem to help.

So what's going on? I am in the middle of converting my website using a new new template and DWT. Until today I had no problems What's different today that I'm having this problem with EW?

Then I remembered, I had turned 'Fast Indexing' back on. Big mistake! So I turned it off and now everything is working just fine.

To turn 'Fast Indexing' off is easy, but you must be logged on as an Administrator.

1. Click on Start button, simply type “Services” (don't use the quotes) in Start Search box.
2. When the UAC (User Account Control) asks for permission click Continue.
3. Locate a service named 'Windows Search'. Double click on 'Windows Search' to open the Windows Search properties.
4. Click on Stop button to stop the indexing service immediately.
5. On the Startup Type dropdown box, select Disabled.
6. Click on OK button.

Sometimes a problem solution is just too easy. However, sometimes it isn't. Glad this one was the 'easy' solution!

But I still don't know why Fast Indexing made EW freeze up and crash!

Martha

Poor Little Tree

We have this little mimosa tree in our back yard.

I grew it from a seedling. Fate keeps trying to discourage it from surviving, but it just keeps chugging along. In April this year we had a hail storm. A bad hail storm. In fact, at the time of this writing, the roofers are on top of the house now removing the hail-damaged shingles and replacing them with new un-damaged shingles.

The hail really beat up this little tree. It had big gouges in the bark. Nature being the survivor that is, caused a new tiny bud to sprout in each of the gouges and before long the little tree was really showing new growth in a wonderful way.

Then we had another storm, this time it was wind. Wind gusts up to 70 miles an hour and this ferocious wind lasted all day! It blew and blew and blew the fence almost down. The wind didn't hurt the tree, however the consequences of the wind certainly did!

We share fences with our neighbors in this area. The folks behind us have dogs. Well everybody in this neighborhood has dogs, but the folks behind us have big dogs. One is a curious husky. He managed to get through the half blown down fence and explored our yard.

"A tree! What's this stuff on the tree? Yummy! "This curious pup pulled the bark off one whole side of the tree! I saw him do it from the kitchen window. My neighbors chose this time to be gone of course and the pup being a suspicious canine would not let us get close to him. So we spent the next three hours trying to coax him back to his yard and keeping him from eating the rest of the bark from the tree.

Eventually the neighbors returned home and so did the pup. A temporary fence fix kept him at home until more permanent repairs could be made.  In the meantime we watched our little tree wondering if it would make it. Many of the new branches slowly turned yellow and died. Slowly several brown spots showed on the stark white left after the bark was 'liberated'. Is it a fungus? Or is it new bark? The yellowing leaves are not as many now and the tree even bloomed.

I have heard it is hard to kill a mimosa tree and I believe it. It looks like the tree will make it. Unless something else happens.

Martha

Amazed!

I never cease to be amazed at how stupid some people can be or at least how stupid their remarks can be.

I still take my local newspaper although I am not sure for how much longer. Every Saturday there is a section called 'Cheers and Jeers'. Folks write in to 'cheer' someone for a good deed or a happy thing and some write in to 'jeer' someone for a bad or stupid thing.

Today there were a few 'jeers' that fall into the 'where have you been hiding, under a rock?' category.

One numskull is jeering the airlines for 'price gouging'. I guess this turkey does't have a car or he would know gas is way expensive these days. Then again, maybe he hasn't figured out that airplanes need fuel to fly!

Then there was the guy who wants the car companies to quit running ads and ruining his TV programs. Guess he hasn't figured out those ads are what makes his viewing programs for free! Where has he been hiding? Ads have been on TV for over 50 years, has he just now noticed? (I will admit some of those ads are obnoxious, but most TV remotes do have a mute button!)

Now comes the corker, the guy who wants our elected officials to put a limit on how many babies people can have, just like China does. I wonder if he would like to have a Communist government like China does. We have 'over-population' according to him. I suspect he doesn't like kids.

Some days I just need to blow off some steam; this is one of those days.

Martha

Bottom Posting vs Top Posting in Email

As in many other computer-related stuff there are two sides to this subject.

The so-called 'right way' is bottom posting.  However I suspect this is really more for private emails and not Group lists.
Either way, private or a list, I don't like bottom posts. One reason is because most folks don't bother to trim out all of the unnessary and irelevant junk, including a lot of these >>>>. Sometimes there is so much junk I have to scroll and scroll to get to the sender's respnse. I must confess, I don't always bother. Because I sometimes receive as many as 300 or more  messages a day, I don't have a lot of time to go through a bunch of junk.

On lists like Yahoo Groups there is always a lot of other stuff appended to each message. This includes a number of links pertaining to each group's special interests and of course the group's home page. (There is also the way to unsubscribe which unfortunately some people never read and instead of unsubscribing themselves, they whine for someone else to do it for them.)

Some people do trim out the unnessary junk and while they are trimming, they remove everything. Unless this message comes through immediately after the first post or soon thereafter, often I have no idea what that trimmed post was about. This causes me to have to waste time searching for the relevant message. Again, I don't always bother.

One HUGE aggravation about bottom posting is when someone responds to a post just to say "Thank you" and I have to scroll through everything that went on before just to see "Thank you". I eventually stop reading messages this person posts and I suspect I am not alone.

I try to remain open minded about bottom posting, but sometimes it's hard.  Some people are very responsible about how they trim and those posts are mostly easy for me to read. Other folks just can't seem to grasp the concept of trimming and I soon learn whose to read and whose to ignore.

Some email programs will automatically put replies on the bottom of a message. One such program is Eudora, which is why I don't use Eudora for lists.

There is another method of replying to list posts; this is replying inline. Some of these inline replies work very well and others are such a disaster that I give up trying to read them. Some email programs make this easier to manage, but my email (Outlook) is not one of them. I suspect some people use colored text to reply in line, but if the group/list is plain text, the colors don't come through.

I wonder, do you top post or bottom post?

Martha

Snagit 9 and My Default Browser

Snagit has come up with a winner on this upgrade, no doubt about it.  I have always been a fan of Snagit and have used it for a long time.

But the folks at TechSmith sorta made me unhappy about one thing. I'll explain. When Snagit 9 opened for the first time, a window came up asking me if I was a first time user or a returning user. I clicked the previous user link and.........It opened in Internet Explorer!

My default browser is Firefox and it is my default browser for a good reason. I do not like Internet Explorer 7. Period. Since I am using Vista, that is the version of IE I have. I never use it, because I don't like it. If I didn't need to see how my web pages look in IE, it would be disabled if I could figure out how to do it.

TechSmith folks, listen up.  It is not nice to make IE execute in Snagit. Tacky! Really tacky! I hope you are listening!

Seriously folks, Snagit 9 is a winner. It's great!

Martha

Not as Young as I Used to Be

I did something today I haven't done in years. I mowed some of the lawn and I used a push mower. Not a gas powered push mower either, an old fashioned push mower.

Yep, I now know for sure, I'm not as young as I used to be. That's obvious every time I see myself in the mirror. But for some reason that didn't really make me KNOW.

Notice I said I mowed some of the lawn. I decided I wasn't ready to die, so I quit while I was still breathing, although I was still breathing hard!

But since I don't want to be a quitter, I got a cold wet washrag, washed my face and back to mowing. I decided to take a break and went back in the house. My son decided to finish the job so I wouldn't kick the bucket. (I was almost through, he needn't have worried!) So now the lawn needed trimming and away I go trimming. This wasn't bad at all and I am not as hot as I was mowing.

I finished up and came back in the cool house and looked for my wet washrag to mop my face.  I looked everywhere and couldn't find it. Then I remembered where it was. It was on the back of my neck, keeping me cooler.

I told you I am not as young as I used to be and neither is my memory!

Martha

What Kind of Eggs?

I learned something new yesterday. You can buy pasteurized eggs!  When I saw a recipe for silk pie in the newspaper that called for pasteurized eggs, I thought it was a hoax or someone who just didn't know better. Wouldn't a pasteurized egg be boiled? After all I think the definition of 'pasteurize' is to heat something, usually milk, to a temperature high enough to kill bacteria.  Heating an egg to that temperature would surely boil it, right? Maybe not.

Apparently, so goes the theory, you can heat the egg long enough to kill the bacteria and it still won't be cooked. Since a lot of recipes call for 'raw' eggs, this should be a great way to avoid the wicked salmonella that keeps popping up in everything these days.

You can even pasteurize your own eggs yourself! Recipezaar has the method on their site.

There are a lot of entries in Google about pasteurized eggs. Most of them are asking questions about them.  But I did find several interesting articles about milk and shell eggs with extended shelf lives.

This article, ULTRAPASTEURIZED & PASTEURIZED FOOD, on Chemical & Engineering News was really the most informative and makes more sense than most.

I buy ultrapasteurized milk. It is also organic and rather pricey, but since the regular milk goes bad long before I use it all and has to be thrown away, I think it is cost effective. But I have never seen pasteurized eggs for sale in any of my local markets. I think it is a good idea though, and maybe they will eventually sell those 'safer' eggs.

Have you ever bought pasteurized eggs?

Ripoff!

Every time I turn around, I see or hear about another ripoff for the average consumer. There are so many ripoffs it would be impossible to name them all.

This is not the first time I've griped about the drug companies, but today I learned about one more that really has me steamed. This one takes advantage of folks that have a hard time getting to sleep. A very heavily advertised drug that costs about $3.50 a pill (and that alone is outrageous!) on average will give the user 11 to 19 minutes more sleep. The way I figure it, if the pill taker gets 11 more minutes of sleep, those 11 minutes are costing about 32 cents a minute. Pretty pricey sleep! The commercials show folks getting a good nights sleep. Ripoff!

I like catalogs. I get a lot of them as well. I know that if I order something from one catalog, that merchandiser will probably sell my name and address to a bunch of other merchandisers which in turn will sell my information to others. It's an endless proposition.  I ordered some stuff from one of those catalogs that was supposed to remove baked-on crud from cookie sheets. It didn't work at all. Ripoff! I should have known if it sounds too good to be true it usually isn't, but even though I am generally suspicious I still get taken every now and then.

Magazines are purveyors of ads more and more. Readers Digest and Prevention magazines now have as many ads as they have content. (Maybe more ads than content!) Ripoff! I just don't think I want to pay for ads anymore. I would rather pay more for the subscription and get content, not ads. I know they have to pay the bills, but really, half of the pages are ads? Maybe they could have two types of subscriptions; they could have one with fewer ads costing more and one with mostly ads costing very little. Dream on.

Shopping on line has it's share of ripoffs.  Most reputable sites will let you know before you click the 'Place order' button what you shipping and handling will be, but I have encountered some that don't. Since a lot of sites offer free shipping you may think that's what  you are getting, but the 'gottcha' shows up when you get your credit card bill. Oh and there's another ripoff waiting to get you, the little box that offers you a 'discount on your order, just click here.' What can happen and often does, you are signed up for something called 'Rewards', Discounts' or some other misleading scam that will charge you $10, $12 or some other amount each month and bill your credit card. Ripoff!

Most likely the biggest ripoffs of all are the spurious products being advertised to make plump folks lose weight. They promise amazing results, but seldom deliver. Once you buy the product, an insert will tell you to follow the included diet and exercise regularly. Guess what, if you follow the diet and exercise you don't need their product. Ripoff!

Martha

Read the Fine Print

Things that have fine print usually/may have stuff you need to know.  Most people don't read the fine print because it's too hard to read. Some manufacturers/programers hope you won't read the fine print. I suspect that's why it's written in fine print. Sometimes the print is so small you can't read it without a high powered magnifying glass.

Popular Drugs have a lot of fine print. Mostly about the side affects. On TV they tell you about the side affects, but apparently people don't listen to the 'fine print' either.
The fine print with the things they have to tell you about.

A lot of software has fine print as well. Usually it's a disclaimer telling you they are not repsonsible if their software trashes your computer. Makes you wonder if it has trashed someone's computer.

One thing that really gets to me is all of the warnings that are printed in fine print on a lot of consumer products.
Some of those warnings.  Apparently the reason for some of these 'fine prints' are because some idiot did just what the warning says not to do. The manufacturers have to protect themselves from lawsuits by stupid people.

So be sure to read the fine print! I try but I don't always have the magnifying glass handy.

Martha

Change is Coming............But Will We Like it?

As a general rule the assumption is that change is usually good. Notice I said 'assumption'.

So far this year I have noticed a number of changes and most of them are not good.

I guess the biggest change is known by the local news pundits as 'pain at the pump'. Since I am retired and pretty much a stay at home person, that change hasn't affected me as much as the folks who have to drive to work in order to be able to pay the bills. Where I live public transportation is not generally an option as it is either very limited or not available. This is mostly due to urban sprawl and the fact most of the American people have long had a love affair with the automobile.

Another change is how much the interest rates have gone down. I guess that change is good for some folks, but I suspect it is good mostly for big business and not for the 'little guys'. The people who carry a lot of credit card debt don't seem to be benefiting any from the interest rates as not many credit card companies are lowering rates for those folks.

I don't carry debt on credit cards so that doesn't affect me. But what does affect me is how much less money I earn on my savings. Another change I could have done without.

A huge unwelcome change is how much more money it takes to buy groceries! Every time I shop for food something or several somethings have gone up in price and not by just a little bit either.

The big box retailers are trying to cut costs and most of them are doing that by cutting employees and as for customer service, that's practically non-existant now. So the poor customers are left with no one to help them make purchases and sometimes it's even hard to find someone to take their money. I wonder if those big box retailers realize that all of this 'saving money' is costing them more money in the long run?

Now the politicians are promising 'change'. So far all I have heard just makes me wonder, 'what kind of change?' I have always laughed at the old joke about 'how you can tell if a politician is lying, his lips are moving'. I am beginning to think 'change' is a bad joke, and the joke is on us.

Martha

But Wait!

I don't usually like commercials. I suspect most of the viewers of the boob tube feel the same way. However we have all come to realize that commercials are the price we pay for free viewing content.

One of the biggest gripe about commercials is the fact they are so much louder than the programs. Some of them really blast out so that the mute button gets hit immediately. You would think the advertisers would have realized that by now, but it is very apparent they haven't. I don't know for sure who is to blame for this blasting of ads, the TV stations or someone else.

Some commercials can be quite entertaining, like some of the Geico and Capitol One ads. Some of the time I even watch those, except after awhile they begin to pall.

But some commercials just go a bit too far and fall into the 'Quick, hit the mute button' for most of us. Most of the 'quick hit the mute button' are the really obnoxious commercials like 'Head on' and there was a Vonage commercial that was really bad. Some more fit this category, but the ones that come to mind now are those terribly annoying commercials that want me to call now and order those junky products. What bargains they are! They will make my life so much easier! And just about all of them are only $19.95 (plus
shipping and handling). But Wait! If I order now, I will get a second product free! (In small print, plus shipping and handling. That makes it NOT free. Most all charge $7.99 for shipping and handling.)

The majority of these products are being touted by a guy named Billy Mays who must think we are all hard of hearing because he is shouting all during this spiel.

I think the mute button has to be one of the better inventions for the television industry. I sure use mine a lot!

Martha

Is Your Cell Phone Attached to You?

Here's more proof I was born 40 years too soon!

People under 30 don't just sleepwalk, they use their cell phones in their sleep. If you don't believe me just 'Google' sleep texting.

That's something that I find hard to believe, but apparently it's true. The experts seem to think it's true. I am not so sure. I have heard that people have been know to drive, eat and do a lot of other things in their sleep. Since I don't have any of those problems as far as I know, it's hard for me to understand. (If I do those things in my sleep, how would I know?)

I just don't understand the need to be 'connected' at every waking moment. I do have a cell phone, but it's turned off most of the time. I have it for emergency use only.

The local news stations tell me I can access the weather news on my cell phone. Sounds handy, but I can do that on my computer. They say I can access the weather on my cell phone when the power goes off. I have a laptop and it runs off a battery when the power goes off.

Personally I don't want that phone to become like a third part of me. I already have a third extension; my computer! However, when I leave the house I leave the computer at home. If I decide to work in the yard (I do occasionally), the computer is in the house, not attached to my body.

When I go shopping I concentrate on shopping. When I go to bed I certainly don't take the cell phone to bed with me. I hear a lot of folks do that as well. When I am driving I need to be focused on where I am going and the traffic around me, not yapping on the phone.

Some jerk yapping on his phone changed lanes right in front of me once and I nearly hit him. He didn't use signals, just pulled over. I hit my brakes and horn at the same time. He just kept yakking. It's a good thing no one was tail-gateing me or I would have been hit from behind.

I don't have a problem with other people using cell phones where ever they may be, but I think they shouldn't use them while driving.

I told you I was born 40 years too soon. If I had been born 40 years later, I probably would have a cell phone attached to me somewhere, more than likely my ear!

Martha

Sleeping While Texting

Cell Phones

More proof I was born 40 years too soon!

People under 30 don't just sleepwalk, they use their cell phones in their sleep. If you don't believe me just 'Google' sleep texting.

That's something that I find hard to believe, but apparently it's true. The experts seem to think it's true. I am not so sure. I have heard that people have been know to drive, eat and do a lot of other things in their sleep. Since I don't have any of those problems as far as I know, it's hard for me to understand. (If I do those things in my sleep, how would I know?)

I just don't understand the need to be 'connected' at every waking moment. I do have a cell phone, but it's turned off most of the time. I have it for emergency use only.

The local news stations tell me I can access the weather news on my cell phone. Sounds handy, but I can do that on my computer. They say I can access the weather on my cell phone when the power goes off. I have a laptop and it runs off a battery when the power goes off.

Personally I don't want that phone to become like a third part of me. I already have a third extension; my computer! However, when I leave the house I leave the computer at home. If I decide to work in the yard (I do occasionally), the computer is in the house, not attached to my body.

When I go shopping I concentrate on shopping. When I go to bed I certainly don't take the cell phone to bed with me. I hear a lot of folks do that as well. When I am driving I need to be focused on where I am going and the traffic around me, not yapping on the phone.

Some jerk yapping on his phone changed lanes right in front of me once and I nearly hit him. He didn't look or use signals, just pulled over and almost hit me. I hit my brakes and horn at the same time. He just kept yakking. It's a good thing no one was tail-gateing me or I would have been hit from behind.

I don't have a problem with other people using cell phones where ever they may be, but I think they shouldn't use them while driving.

I told you I was born 40 years too soon. If I had been born 40 years later, I probably would have a cell phone attached to me somewhere, more than likely my ear!

Martha

The Vista Bashers

There are a lot of these folks, Vista bashers.

I like Vista myself. It is the smoothest running Windows OS I have ever had. But I have to admit I had to get used to Vista and that took me about two weeks, digging and poking into the corners and guts of this much maligned version of Windows.

There are a lot of reasons why people don't like Vista.

"It's too slow." (It isn't really, it probably isn't configured properly. Mine runs just fine, but I do have more memory on my Vista computer than some computers have. Windows XP runs better with more memory as well.)

"I hate that User Access Control because it's always in my face." (It can be turned off if it bothers that much. Once your programs are all installed, turn it back on for the added security to your computer.)

"I can't find where anything is located." (It took me a while to find stuff! But once you think about it, the new locations make sense.)

"I've heard Vista is no good, so it must be bad." (That is a terrible reason! Try it before you badmouth it. There are a LOT of these folks and some of them are posting all over the Internet. I just un-subbed from a newsletter that was constantly bashing Vista. The author doesn't use Vista!)

"My software won't run on Vista" (Most of the software that ran on Windows XP will run on Vista. See Vista's Program Compatibility Mode.All of my Windows XP software works on Vista.)

"My printer, scanner, etc. won't work. That Vista sucks!" (Guess what, the same thing happened when Windows XP was released. New technology needs new drivers and hardware folks want to sell you new technology. One way to do that is not to write and release new Vista drivers for old hardware. Microsoft doesn't write hardware drivers, hardware manufacturers write hardware drivers.)

I think there are probably a lot more reasons why folks don't like Vista. I also think the main reason they don't like Vista is 'it isn't Windows XP'.

My take on the whole 'Vista bashing' is this: If you don't like it at first, get to know it. If you still don't like it,you don't have to use it; there are other alternatives. You can go back to Windows XP. You can install and use Linux. You can get a Mac.

There are some things that came in Vista that are not really up to par, like Internet Explorer and Windows Mail. There is a problem with making your Folder Options 'stick'. But I don't use Internet Explorer, I use Firefox. I used Firefox with Windows XP because it doesn't have ActiveX. I use Thunderbird instead of Windows Mail. More about those issues were discussed on an earlier post, The Buggy Bits in Vista.

No operating system is perfect. That's why I like to think things keep evolving. Maybe one day a perfect OS will show up, but I doubt it will happen in my lifetime!

Martha

The End of an Era

The first really important email newsletter, at least for me, was 'The LangaList'. This weekly missive by Fred Langa was something I
always looked forward to. He guided me through the ins and outs of fixing Windows problems, helped me make software decisions and just always provided a really good read. It was the first email newsletter I decided was worth paying for and it was worth every penny, plus a whole lot more.

It was with some trepidation when I received word that Fred was joining forces with Brian Livingston of WindowsSecrets (the second email newsletter I had decided was worth paying for). My fears were soon put to rest as Windows Secrets came along and seemed to get better with every issue. Windows Secrets is full of tips about fixing Windows Problems and also contains tidbits of what's going on in the world of computing. It isn't the LangaList, but close. I still miss those reader's sites submitted to the LangaList. I found some real jewels there.

In my latest issue of Windows Secrets the announcement was made, Fred is leaving! So now I will no longer read those articles by Fred, at least not about computers. Fred is looking for new horizons and I hope he finds what he is looking for, as he truly deserves the best.

Maybe not all is lost, Fred does have a blog! But it isn't about computers. It is about his new challenges which seems to be a lot of fun!

Although I don't know if I would want to chase tornados, it sure might beat sitting at a computer all the time.

Good luck to you, Fred! Your loyal fans will miss you and a lot of them, like me, will keep up with you by reading your blog!

Martha

Those Aggravating Ads on the Internet

Advertisers are constantly looking for ways to push unwanted ads into our faces while we surf the 'net.

First came the banner ads. These are still being pushed into our faces. Some of them just sit there on the web pages, but more and more of them are using flash to blare out their presence. A few of them are extremely obnoxious. Those are usually the ads for dubious products.

Most of us tend to just ignore banner ads, so then the ad makers tried using pop-up ads. This tactic caused another webpage to jump into our faces, obscuring what we really wanted to see. Annoying! A few sites would cause more than one pop-up to populate. This caused a flurry of programmers making applications that would stop pop-ups. For awhile this solved that problem for folks who, like me, were and still are totally turned off by pop-up ads.

Then some clever jerk came up with pop-unders. Grrrrrrrrr! I hate those as well. The pop-up stoppers don't seem to have as much effect on pop-unders, so now we have to disable JavaScript to surf without pop-unders.

The latest ads to get our attention on websites use a method of JavaScript called IntelliTXT. The script finds 'keywords' on the page, double underlines them and when a cursor passes over the keywords an ad pops up, obliterating the content beneath the ad. Since there are no apparent ads on the page when the site is first accessed, this appeals to a lot of advertisers and is being used more and more.

Personally I find this method of shoving ads into my face extremely annoying and furthermore, I'm not the only one that feels this way. While some of the folks on the web using these tactics are just trying to offset the costs of maintaining their sites; others are trying to make a living or at least a decent profit. I can understand that, but the stuff that gets in my face like most of the tactics annoys me enough to leave the sites and not go back. (Another thing that will cause me to leave is sound blasting at me and no way to turn it off, but that is irrelevant to this tale of woe.)

Google Ads do it right. There they are, sitting in plain site. They don't annoy me by jumping in my face or causing an obnoxious pop-up, pop-under or obstruct the content I am trying to view. They explain what they are and if I am interested, I can click on one. I have in fact clicked on them on occasion. I have even ended up making a purchase using a Google Ad.

One thing all of these methods of advertising does, is make revenue for folks who provide the ways to stop these annoyances. Currently I am using a trial of Super Ad Blocker to see how it works. So far I like it. The price is perhaps a little high for what it does, but I may buy it anyway just to stop all those ads from jumping in my face. Super Ad Blocker also includes SuperAntiSpyware, an excellent spyware remover.

This site Sillysot (funny name!) has a little program (Intelli: An Intellitxt link remover)that will just stop the IntelliTXT stuff, but it works best in Firefox. It is supposed to work in Internet Explorer as well, but I couldn't make it work. It doesn't even require installing; you just drag the Intelli to your links bar.

I wonder what the next thing will be in the world of Internet advertising!

Martha

Captain Greg Wallace

Did you get an email from 'Captain Greg Wallace'? I got several of them this past week. I read the first one with some amusement and dismay.

The amusement was because it is just another play on the old Nigerian scam albeit a new version. The dismay because somewhere,
someone, will probably fall for this scam and lose a bunch of money.

The email doesn't ask for money, that no doubt will come as soon as the unwary victim responds to the email. Probably the request will be for 'expenses' or some other falsehood that requires money.

Supposedly the good Captain found a secret hoard while serving in Iraq. Being the good person he is, it was not reported to the
authorities, but was 'secured with a senior United Nation Diplomat in Amsterdam Holland'. He doesn't explain how he managed to get the box to Amsterdam. He's counting on greed to overcome omitting that little detail.

The nice little email is so full of spelling and grammar errors you just know he isn't using a spell check.

I wonder how many people will fall for this scam? I used to think no one would fall for this kind of scam, but I was wrong. PT Barnum
once reportedly said 'There's a sucker born every minute'. Unfortunately this is still true. Don't be one of those suckers, delete those
emails and forget about them.

Martha

Fun With Mice (Not!)

I use a laptop like a desktop. I have limited space for a computer and my laptop with a 17 inch display and keypad work just fine, as long as I can use a mouse. I absolutely despise those touchpads that come with laptops. I have a Microsoft wireless mouse and most of the time it works just great. Today it didn't.

I got the message popup telling me the battery power in my mouse was low. No problem, I just bought a new package of batteries (16) so I proceeded to change the battery. (This mouse uses just one battery.)

It didn't work. I put in a different battery and it still didn't work. I was ready to panic, that keypad was giving me fits! I tried another battery, still no mouse! I searched and found an old wired USB mouse and hooked it up. It moved sooooo slooow! The wire kept getting in the way. Ick! Maybe I just need a new mouse.

I decided to see if maybe I should find new drivers. Yep, new updated drivers were available. So I downloaded the new drivers and installed them. I disconnected the old wired mouse and hooked up the wireless mouse. Nothing doing, it didn't work.

I don't give up easily as most of my family and friends know. I tried yet another battery and lo and behold it worked.

By now I'm rather unhappy that I have a package of sixteen batteries that seem to be a bit old. Two of them didn't work and that is not good! These batteries weren't cheapies either.

So, OK, that's life. I noticed a new icon on my desktop for Microsoft Mouse and I check it out. Oh boy I can customize this mouse! I decide to click that button on the side of the mouse that will magnify stuff and oh boy, was that ever a mistake!

It magnified all right, big time! And clicking that button was supposed to turn the magnification off, but it didn't! I am starting to get dizzy trying to manuever around with this big box following my every mouse move.

So I just did the usual fix for stuff like this. I rebooted and was sure hoping it would work.

Everything is back to normal size now and I am going to forget about 'customizing' my mouse. Sometimes it's best to just leave well enough alone.

My son decided to check those batteries that didn't work. Something fishy going on, the batteries tested OK. I have doubts about that mouse again. I check in the Control Panel, it indicates the battery life is good. But that battery power low message is still poping up, so yes, I think it's time for a new mouse.

Martha

I have a new mouse! It is a Logitech V320 Cordless Optical mouse for notebooks and I just love this little mouse!

BlogSpot Makes You Jump Through Hoops

If you made a complaint to BlogSpot about a thief stealing your Yahoo Groups posts , you probably got in your email what I did. A nicely worded canned response telling us we have to fax our request with a long list of what to include. We can also write the request. Then they will investigate. (One look at the blogs in question would be enough!) In other words, they want us to jump through hoops to get their thieving blog members taken down. They want EACH post where information was compromised! It would take a very long time to provide that! There are thousands of Yahoo posts on those blogs!

It took over two weeks for them to bother with this response. I guess this is what happens when you get too big and don’t really care about the ‘little guys’. In case you didn’t know, BlogSpot, not everyone has access to fax machines!

To date I have identified 21 Yahoo Groups that are being copied to this skunk’s blogs (4). If this makes him enough money by driving surfers to his site he will surely make more blogs and steal from more Yahoo Groups. So if you have a Yahoo Group and you care about protecting your members email addresses and the confidential posts, you have to be on guard. Unless you can identify the thief, Yahoo can’t (or won’t) help you. Unless you have plenty of time and access to a fax machine, BlogSpot won’t help you. Even if you do have time and access to a fax, it will take awhile for BlogSpot to do anything, if in fact they do.

I have always been a fan of Google. I am very disappointed in this side of their operation. They have joined the ranks of companies with disappearing customer service.

You are on your own, Yahoo Groups!

(Don't bother asking me for the thief's blog, I am not sending traffic his way if I can help it.)

Martha
Martha's Web

Update! Hooray at last! The blog is gone! But 3 of 4 are still up. Maybe the Yahoo Groups with their messages being posted to those blogs will act and get them taken down.

Blog Thieves and Why They Steal From Yahoo Groups

There are only two reasons for a blog to steal content from Yahoo Groups.

1. A lazy way to get content to drive traffic to the blog.

2. Greed. Traffic is being driven to the blog for one reason, there are ads on the blog. Ads by Google and other ads. This can 'earn' the blogger money with no further effort on the blogger's part.

Ok, there may be another reason, just to see if they can do it.

However, you can bet the reason is 'too lazy to get legitimate content and greed'.

At the time of this writing, there are at least four blogs exposing at least seventeen Yahoo Groups' private messages for the world to see. Some of them have their email addresses exposed to spam email harvesters. No doubt there are more blogs like this out there, finding them all could be a chore.

I guess BlogSpot thinks these sites are ok and that copying private Yahoo Groups message posts is OK. I say this because many complaints to BlogSpot about DMCA Violation Notice for copyright were ignored by BlogSpot. Either that or no one is monitoring the forms posted for Copyright/Privacy. I would think someone should be monitoring those requests as this is a serious issue and should not have been ignored.
Otherwise take the form down

Yahoo Groups need to be on alert.

No one is looking out for you, Yahoo Groups. Be vigilant!

One more thing, if you find your Yahoo Group is being compromised, look here.

Martha
Martha's Web

No! I Won't Accept Your Invitation!

Lately I see more spam like this;

Hi!
I would like to invite you to visit my Refriendz page and see my latest photos.

In order to visit my space, you must go to:
http://www.refriendz.com/?do=Login.Invite&rid=someone&email=Group@yahoogroups.com (This line edited)

(If this link does not work, please copy and paste it into your browser or go to www.refriendz.com and enter 'someon.sm' (edited)as Invitation ID to Login to the web site.)

P.S. Refriendz is Invitation-Only, so do not miss your chance to visit my page!

Why I would care about visiting a page for someone I don't know is beyond me. I do know this is one way to gather more information about me to sell to spammers. It could be legit, although it is rather dubious.

Some times the invitation is to update some one's 'Birthday list. (My birthday has been the same all my life, don't think anyone who has needs to 'Update') or it could be some other type of invite.

I guess this is a result of all those 'social' websites that are poping up everywhere trying to cash in on the MySpace craze. I can't imagine anyone with a lick of sense actually clicking those links. With all of the malware, phishing and other types of scummy stuff out there, it's a far better thing to just delete this junk.

I suppose this type of stuff appeals to some folks, but no one I know would want it, at least I hope they wouldn't. I hope you won't click it!

Martha

Marketing That Preys on Fear

A lot of people are afraid these days. The reasons are many and real.

Car jackers and road rage are just a few of the things people fear and for good reason. Not a day goes by that someone or maybe several folks are victims of these crimes.
Home Invasions are on the rise, burglars want to take your property bought with your hard earned money and the list goes on and on.
The economy is in the dumper and people are fearful of losing their jobs. Easy credit is now gone and thanks to some really greedy brokers/lenders and some really dumb folks who knew they couldn't afford that expensive new house, the Nation is experiencing a mortgage meltdown and folks are losing their homes. The stock market is in yo yo mode and people are afraid of losing the value in their 401 k funds and other investments. (They have a right to be nervous.)

Health care and medical insurance is way too expensive. If you are lucky enough to have it and there are a lot of folks who don't, your co-payments are higher and the cost of prescription drugs is out of sight.

Enter the fear mongers. Everyday my mailbox is full of this stuff. (Snail mail spam) These are the folks who advertise they can save you by preying on our irrational and sometimes justified fears! They can tell you how to protect your investments, how to play the stock market, which stocks to buy, how to beat the IRS, yada, yada, yada.
They can tell you how to beat cancer and other awful diseases. They can tell you the 'secrets' that will keep you from growing old and keep you looking young.

They will tell you all of their secrets, but not for free. You can buy their expensive (and useless) books! Subscribe to their newsletters! (Not free!) When you receive the books and/or newsletters, read them very carefully. Do they deliver on their promise to give you all those secrets?

Right. The secrets are mostly stuff you should have learned a long time ago, or else the advice given is so ridiculous as to be downright scary!

Along with your paid newsletter subscription will come a lot of other 'free' advice. Just order this stuff and you will really be 'safe'. The only folks really benefiting from all of this extra stuff will be the fear mongers selling it.

The next time you see an offer from someone selling this stuff, read it with a skeptical eye. Do you see any of these phrases? Free Reports! (They aren't free if you have to buy something else to get them.) Super Health Cures! Lose weight fast! Free Cash! Invest with no risk! On and on go the big headlines promising miracles for money, life and who knows what else.

If there really were cures for cancer and diabetes it would be wonderful. It would be all over the news, now wouldn't it? I am rather skeptical about trusting the drug companies, but I don't believe they are hiding cures because they are 'free'. I don't believe the oil companies hid, paid off, or killed to prevent the wonderful invention that got a hundred miles to the gallon from seeing the light of day.

If I were you, I'd throw that stuff where it belongs, in the recycle tub to place on the curb. Tell the fear mongers where to go.

Martha

Internet Content Thieves

Thieves are everywhere, including the Internet.

By now most of us know about identity theft and are aware of all the scams out there. But there is another form of thievery as well, stealing a website or website content.

Webmasters work hard to make their websites. The really good webmasters learn how to program with HTML and write Cascading Style Sheets, commonly know as CSS. They take pictures of the products they sell. They take care to see if the pictures don't take too long to load so their pages will load quickly. They make sure the pages are viewed the same way in all browsers, not just Internet Explorer. This process doesn't happen over night. It takes many days and sometimes nights. Content is king on the Internet and some of us have to really struggle to get that content written. Content needs to be original and not everyone really likes to write. Trial and error is the name of the game until one day they finally get it right. All the hard work pays off at last.

Then one day, someone steals their site. Literally. They steal it by using something called a 'scraper'. It seems there are some folks who decided it would be neat to write a program (which probably consists mainly of scripts) that could capture everything on a website and then post it to another site or blog. These folks offer their site stealing programs for sale and then the inevitable happens.

Someone decided to use a 'scrapper' or something similar on a Yahoo computer help Group with a lot of members, so there is a lot of 'posting' going on. While trying to find a solution to stop this streaming of posts to a blog with the very horrible name of http://how-to-make-a-computer-virus.blogspot.com/ (named no doubt to catch evil surfers). That's when I found out about scrappers or site stealers. Some time back someone on one of my Groups had their site stolen and the wonder was how they managed to do it so completely. Wondering no more, a scrapper was used!

When this article is posted to my blog I am hoping the blog with the scrapper is gone. Complaints have been filed with the bloggers host, BlogSpot, so we will see what happens. In the meantime, everyone of us that has a website/blog has to wonder, 'Will a thief target my site?'

Martha

Caveat Emptor

Read the fine print, always!

Sometimes I get the feeling that 'they are out to get us', 'they' meaning retail or service companies. The old saying 'you get what you pay for' is not always true any more. Sometimes you get a lot less of what you pay for, and I have been reading instances of folks not getting anything they paid for. (I love The Consumerist!)

Recently a major department store had an ad in my newspaper for a mattress sale. (Mattresses are always on sale somewhere.) I don't need a new mattress, but the markdown was big enough to catch my eye. The mattresses were for a major brand and the prices were good, even for this retailer. And of course there was the 'hook', free delivery, setup and haul away of the old mattress listed in large print.

Except one little thing. There was a minimum purchase of $699 for the free delivery, set up and haul away. I found that very interesting. The sale price of a queen size set was $599, double set was $589 and twin sets $549. If you bought a queen set, which is probably the most purchased these days, the delivery was $65 and haul away $40. The only set that would qualify for the free delivery and haul away was a king size set for $999.

I wonder how many people bought one of these sets using a credit card and didn't notice the delivery and haul away charges. I am quite sure the retailer was hoping this would happen. If those folks are like a number of my friends, they carry a balance on their cards and probably just pay the required payments when they are due.

There are a number of retail department stores experiencing low sales these days. I don't suppose they have any idea that legal but deceptive practices like these may just cost them future business.

Martha

Security Risk!

I generally try to stay away from subjects like religion or politics when writing for my website, blog or posting to a list. You can't change people's opinions on these subjects and it is foolish to try. You can also offend some people by a remark that goes against their beliefs.

But this is just too much for me to keep quiet about. I am talking about the poor woman who was humiliated by having to remove her 'nipple' rings before she could board a flight. I have heard a number of stories about bottles being taken away from babies, old ladies being strip searched and a number of other absolutely ridiculous things the TSA has done to hapless passengers, but this one took the cake. If I am wrong, please let me know how a nipple ring can be a security hazard. I really want to know so if there is a nipple ring anywhere in my vicinity I can report it to Homeland Security.

All of this just emphasizes what can happen when you give power to a certain segment of the population. They do these things because they can get away with it. They enjoy humiliating and intimidating people. I think these are the characters that were once school-yard bullies. Now they are airport screener bullies. I believe most of the people who work at being screeners are just doing their jobs as best they can and the few who are bullies are giving all the rest a bad name.

I think the things that we have done to prevent nipple rings, baby bottles and the like from being allowed on commercial flights must have the terrorists laughing.

I am so happy I am not required to fly anymore. I don't go anywhere that I can't go by car. I just hope that one day I don't have to submit to a body search to get in my car to go to the market.

Martha

I Knew Better

Once in a while someone I trust will post something in a Yahoo Group or blog and I take it for gospel. I shouldn't do that, because some things they post are really not what a user should do.

I won't mention any names, but there was a recent post/blog about getting ready for Vista that said I should go ahead and install the drivers that Windows update says I need. The message went on to say that although the writer ordinarily advised against installing drivers from Windows update, this is an exception.

So, thinking that this must be OK, I installed the driver for my graphics card that Windows update said is available and re-booted.

OMG! I have ruined my computer! The display is (and there is no other word to describe it) horrible! No amount of tweaking, changing settings, helps! This is a disaster! It looks worse than Safe-Mode!

Then I remembered System Restore. So I restored the computer to the day before and now everything is back the way it should be.

If I have to install those drivers that Windows update says I need before I can install Vista SP1, then it just isn't going to happen. Vista SP1 will not be installed. Besides from what I have read, it will fix things that don't need fixing on my computer. Hibernation works just fine along with everything else that supposedly needs fixing.

I am hoping that Microsoft will 'fix' SP1 to work with my drivers, especially if one day I see the dreaded message on Windows Update "You must have SP1 installed to update Vista".

In the meantime I'm going to find out what version my video card driver uses, and download it it for safe keeping.

Another lesson learned. I did know better, but I did it anyway. Thank you, Microsoft, for System Restore!

Martha

Nag, Nag, Nag

Last month I wrote about a magazine that keeps nagging me to re-subscribe. If this was just an isolated problem it wouldn't be so bad, but all my magazines are doing the same thing to a certain extent. Not as bad as Money, but they are wanting me to 'renew NOW'.

I keep a spreadsheet to let me know just when my subscriptions expire as I do tend to be a tad forgetful. Since I am sorta forgetful, I guess the magazine people must know that, but a reminder eight months before the expire date is a bit much.

The letters, cards and covers are all telling me I need to 'renew NOW'. If I don't 'renew NOW', I am going to miss out by not receiving every issue. I won't save money by not renewing 'NOW'.

News Flash! I will save more money by not renewing at all. (Maybe that will stop the nagging!)

I think every magazine there is wants me to subscribe as I am getting all these offers for 'Professional' rates. If I did take them up, I suspect I would start getting the letters to 'renew NOW'. No thanks, I will pass.

Magazines are not the only businesses that want me to 'renew NOW'. At least once a month I get a letter from a warranty company wanting me to renew my warranty on my car before it expires. (It actually expired three years ago.) Since my car is now officially five years old it might need some repairs one of these days. But I don't drive much any more (gas is so expensive!) and the car has less than 40,000 miles on it, so I am not going to renew the warranty 'NOW'. (Or ever.) If those repairs get too costly, well, I like new cars and they come with a warranty.

I guess all of these 'renew NOW' cards and letters are helping the Post Office pay their bills.

I can read just about everything I need to know on the Internet. I will save money and be 'Green' at the same time. The recycle bin will be less heavy when I push it to the curb. I am so excited! I can buy more software with all the money I will save by not renewing 'NOW'!

That will teach those 'renew NOW' folks not to be such a nag! (Just think of the postage they will save when they finally quit nagging me!)

Martha

Mr. Modem

Since Dr. Bombay did his disappearing act, he has been replaced with Mr. Modem. (Catchy name!) Mr. Modem is much nicer than Dr. Bombay, but not as much fun to read.

Mr.Modem has a website with lots of goodies. He has a search-able library full of computer tips, questions and answers. He has a page with his favorite links, lots of links. He has a CD which has "more than 1400 of Mr. Modem's favorite Web sites -- the best the Internet has to offer".

He also has a weekly newsletter that sounds like a real help for users who need help. It isn't free, but the sample shows it to be quite comprehensive.

In the column for Mr Modem that appears in the newspaper, he also answers questions and provides a few websites to visit in Mr Modem's Sites of the Week.

While Mr. Modem's column is informative for the average user and easier to read, I have to admit, it isn't as much fun as Dr. Bombay Computer MD. I think sometimes I have an ornery streak!

Martha

Whatever Happened to Dr Bombay, Computer MD?

Last year Dr Bombay just disappeared. No one seems to know where he went. For those who don't know about Dr. Bombay, let me explain. He was a very sarcastic, hateful and knowledgeable computer columnist in my newspaper! When someone asked a question, Dr Bombay would answer in terms that surely made the questioner wish he/she hadn't asked! But the answers were just about always right to the point and they were just about always right. He showed no mercy to hapless users that failed to make backups and lost their data or to users that lost data due to virus, worms or spyware making their computers useless.

He had a column in the paper every Thursday and I really looked forward to that column. (I have a warped sense of humor sometimes.) I just waited for the time when in his sarcastic words he slipped up and gave a wrong answer. Didn't happen though.

When the Thursday came that no longer had Dr. Bombay's column, everyone wondered where he went. The newspaper didn't seem to know. They reported he just left and no one knew where or why. So if anyone there knew, they weren't telling.

Google searches for Dr Bombay are in vain. There are thousands of hits, but they go nowhere. They mostly go to 'Page not found' or other disappointing places. A lot of them go to well known websites, but usually to a page no longer there. There are tons of hits for the Fort Worth Star Telegram (my newspaper) but even those go to dead ends. I did find one page that contained some of Dr Bombay's pithy answers. If you want to, you can view some of Dr Bombay's pithy answers.

Dr Bombay had a website, The Bombay Institute, and it also disappeared, . His website had the archives for his column in the newspaper. I had it bookmarked, but it goes to someplace else now. My guess is when he left and didn't renew his domain, someone else bought it for the page rank.

I like to think Dr Bombay is somewhere out there in cyberspace chortling at the mis-information being given to frazzeled computer users. (There is a lot of that happening!) I feel bad about all that mis-information, but I really have to wonder what kind of sarcastic remarks Dr. Bombay would have made about Vista!

If you know what happened to Dr. Bombay, please let me know!

Martha

Thought About Vista

By now, unless you have been living on a dessert island, you've heard all about Vista. Most of what you have heard is probably not too good. But what is the real truth? Is Vista bad? Is Vista good? Is it better than Windows XP?
From my prospective, here is what I think.

It depends.
It depends on whether or not a user upgraded to Vista over another version of Windows, generally Windows XP.

There are so many variables with upgrading it would be impossible to cover all the senarios. How old was the computer? What kind of video card did it have? (I've seen a lot of problems due to video cards) Is there a new driver that is for Vista for the card?
It depends maybe on what version of Vista was used for the upgrade. This may be stretching a bit and I have no way of knowing if this could be a factor. I think if someone had a good computer running Windows XP, the old saying 'If it ain't broke don't fix it' would have been good advice.

A whole lot of users bought a new computer with Vista installed. They don't like it for any number of reasons. A lot of the gripes are about external hardware like printers or scanners that won't work with Vista. While this may come as a big surprise to some folks, the same thing happened when Windows XP was new. Everyone blames Microsoft for printers, scanners, etc. that won't work with Vista. Microsoft does not sell printers or scanners. Microsoft sells software. Printer and scanner makers write drivers to make their products work. If they don't see fit to write a Vista-compatible driver for their older products, this is probably not Microsoft's fault. Microsoft was supposed to have let all of these folks know what is needed to make those older products work, but the makers of printers and scanners want customers to buy new products so they didn't write new drivers for old products.

Another gripe about Vista is a lot of older software does not work with Vista. (The same thing happened when Windows XP was new.) Some users are complaining that Vista is too slow. There are a number of reasons why this may be happening. Older software that does run, but was not written for Vista could be causing the slowdown. Too many resource hungry programs running in the background can slow any computer down. Since I am not a hardware person I don't really know if there are any hardware configurations that could cause Vista to run slow, but it seems to me that could be a possibility. I do know that no two computers are exactly alike. Two seemingly identical computers can in fact work very differently and over time, one can be running like a top and the other running like a slug.

Perhaps one of the biggest grips is the UAC (User Access Control), one of the biggest security features in Vista. Most of the so-called experts just turn it off and thus remove the security for Vista.

My experience with Vista is pretty good. I absolutely hated it at first, but once I found my way around and discovered how to be 'the boss', I like Vista. There are some things I don't like, Internet Explorer for one and the buggy Windows Mail, but since I use Firefox to web browse and Outlook 2007 for email, those things don't bother me much. However I do think Microsoft made a huge mistake with the changes they made from Outlook Express to Windows Mail (it's buggy). Microsoft chose not fix the bugs in Windows Mail and gave users the option to download Windows Live Mail. My experience with Windows Live Mail was no better than Windows Mail. (Why oh why does Microsoft give some of their products such similar names?) Mozilla's Thunderbird probably has gained a lot of users.

Martha
Martha's Web

How Many Hours are There in a Day?

For a whole lot of folks there are not enough hours in a day and for another bunch there are too many.

Normally there are 24 hours in a day, except twice a year. The first time a day doesn't have 24 hours is in the late Winter/early Spring, when the so-called day has 23 hours. Then late in the Fall/early Winter there is a so-called day with 25 hours. The powers that be change the actual dates this happens and who knows when they will change the dates again. When we change our clocks for the exact dates and times. (You probably thought it was the same down through the years, but no, it wasn't!)

It seems that many years ago, in 1784 to be exact, good ole Ben Franklin wrote a fanciful essay about saving daylight. It was surely written in jest and no one at the time really took it seriously. The people back then seemed to be more endowed with 'common sense'!

Then in 1916, in an effort to save energy resources, it was decided to actually implement the farce known as 'Daylight Saving Time'. Perhaps it did save some energy, but the amount of energy saved surely did not compensate for the effect of changing the time on the population. Losing an hour of sleep once a year may not seem like such a big deal, but statistics show there are more traffic accidents on the Monday following the 'Spring forward' event. In today's fast paced world most people don't get enough sleep as it is and taking a precious hour of slumber away is tantamount to a criminal act. Not to mention all of the aggravation!

A recent study published by Consumer Reports indicates that Daylight Saving Time is actually costing us more money! While we may be saving the cost of lighting, air conditioning and heating cost us more due to the time changes.

However, I doubt the powers that be that make the decisions will even look at the statistics showing the actual cost and will continue to make the population suffer through losing sleep one day a year.

Martha

The Comics

I can remember when I was a kid (even though it was a long time ago!) I loved comic books. I don't read comic books any more, but I do read the comics in the newspaper. I don't read all of them though, because I just don't find some of them very funny and some are just silly, not funny.

My newspaper is always trying changes with the comic strips, removing some and adding others. I just wish they would leave them alone. Most of the time they do a fair job, but sometimes they make changes I don't like, such as when they stopped printing one of my very favorites, Cathy, along with others and added some strips I just don't read because they are either not funny, just too silly or I can't get 'into' them. They move the strips around too. Dilbert is now in the 'Work & Money' section. Mallard Filmore and Doonesbury are on the Editorial page. (They had to make room for some of the not so funny newcomers.)

I think my sense of humor is starting to warp. There is one new strip that is silly, not always funny and I don't always 'get it', but I love it! It's The Piranha Club.

I have several favorites, Pickles, Dilbert, the Pajama Diaries, but my very favorite is Better or Worse.

I discovered I can get most of my favorite daily comic strips on my Google Home page. Now I can read old favorites that disappeared from the local paper. I would have preferred to read them in the paper, but reading them online is pretty cool.

Martha

Sentimental Journey

I suspect that most people my age have a place where many photographs are stored. I wonder how often they take those memories out of their hiding places and look at them. For me, not very often. The reasons are many; not enough time or other things take precedence.

Recently I started thinking about my memories on paper and decided to go through all of those hundreds of photos. A fire that destroyed someone else's paper treasures made me think I should scan my photos and store them someplace safe, like a bank safe deposit box. But as I started looking at those photos a terrible thing happened. I realized there were so many of people whose names I can't remember! So many places I can't really recall. They look familiar but try as I might, the names just don't come back. Why oh why didn't I take the time to write names and dates on the backs of those photos!

The color photos have mostly faded, a great many to the point that scanning and editing won't really help. This is probably due to the fact I am not expert at bringing old photos to life. I am going to try, but I don't hold out much hope. A great many were made with a Polaroid camera and some of those haven't stood the test of time too well.

Hundreds and hundreds of photos, maybe thousands! Albums and boxes of photos! What I really need to do is sort them into 'times' to make it easier to find that certain memory.

One of the disturbing things about looking at those photos is comparing 'then and now'. I see how young we all looked and then how we look now. I think I will have to stop looking at photos or stop looking in the mirror! But the saddest part of all is seeing the faces of those family members and friends no longer here. But I realize how fortunate I am to have these precious memories and now I have to work to preserve them. I suspect after I am gone, no one will really care about these captures from the past. But if a disaster occurs while I am here, I will surely be glad to have my memories safely stored away where they can be retrieved.

So now I have sorted enough and have started the scanning process. This is going to take a long time, weeks, months, maybe years! So guess I'd better get to work.

Martha

WARNING!

When you receive something in the mail that proclaims in big letters 'Warning!', you tend to check it out. So when I received a letter a few months ago with this 'warning' on the envelope I checked it out in a hurry. Hmph, turned out to be a notice to renew my subscription to Money magazine. All well and good, but what's going on? I had just subscribed to this magazine a few months before, so did I forget to pay the bill? I checked the label. There was the date the subscription runs out, July 08. So I tossed the letter. I'll subscribe when the due date arrives.

Then a month later I get another letter telling me how much I will miss this magazine if I don't renew now!

"Marketing is getting out of hand" I think and toss the letter.

Last month I received a third letter saying they just don't understand why I haven't renewed my subscription. I am tempted to send the letter back telling them my subscription is still good for six months so why are they so excited? However, that would mean I will have to put a stamp on the letter, so I toss it.

Today I received my copy of the magazine with a cover over it. This is what over half of the cover looked like.

The second half just had my subscription information.

I have decided I will not renew this magazine; I don't need the harassment.

Martha

Yahoo ID Fun (Not!)

I moved a while back and before I moved, I had SBC DSL (Now AT&T). When I moved to my new location DSL was not available, so of course my email account became disabled.

When DSL became available at my new location, I signed up again.

Here was my problem. All of my Yahoo Groups were tied to the now dysfunctional original email address. I couldn't remove that email address as it was the primary and there was no option to change it. (Yahoo should allow users to change the primary email address! I guess they have a reason for not being able to change it, but I couldn't find out what the reason is.)

Yahoo said AT&T has to fix it, they couldn't. (Why not? No one seems to know.) AT&T said Yahoo had to fix it. They couldn't fix it. (I think someone could fix it if they just would!)

I could log in to the original email account. I couldn't send or receive email from this account. (Every now and then spammers managed to send spam to it!) But I had to be signed in to this account to access my Groups.

Bummer!

So I finally took the challenge and setup another Yahoo ID and joined my Groups again. Some of them are still in a pending status and may or may not be activated. (Some owners/moderators don't check their mail often.) That's another gripe that could have been avoided if Yahoo would allow the primary email account to be changed.

I put this off for a long time, but it was time to do it. Sigh! I belong to too many Groups!

I finally got everything sqared away; Groups joined with new ID and unsubbed from the old ID. The moment of truth arrived and I deleted the old ID. That was a little scary, but the deed was done.

Joy! The old email address that was un-usable is gone! 'I' fixed it! Sorta fixed it, anyway it's gone.

I never, ever want to do this again!

Martha

Another Gripe

My, my, the older I get the more I find to complain about. I think this is a privilege that goes with old age, so I exercise it!

This 'gripe' is about 'come on's'. You know, offers to sell you something that are worded to make you think this is just what you have been looking for all your life, or this is exactly what you need to make your life just wonderful. Right.

I usually don't fall for such drivel, but occasionally I get curious and check out one of those offers. (Isn't the Internet great?) However sometimes I think I already know what the offer is and I bite. You'd think I'd learn.

This time the offer was for a magazine, Prevention. I subscribed to this magazine many years ago and I liked it then, so when I got an offer to subscribe again, I bit. What I didn't realize, what used to be a fairly good magazine is now primarily a purveyor of advertising. I left Readers Digest for that reason. I understand these periodcals have to pay the bills and want to make a profit as well. But get real folks, who wants to pay for more ads! Especially for those obscenely priced prescription drugs that I should 'ask my doctor if it's right for me'.

Out of curiosity I counted the ads. There are 91 full pages of ads! And this isn't counting the articles that are touting products like shampoos, beauty aids, etc! I didn't count the partial page ads either. To make matters worse, there are 'Supplements' inserted by Prevention offering me the wisdom of the ages for books that cost 'only four easy payments of $7.99 plus shipping and handling'. Geeze, this magazine is so full of 'buy me' they should have named it 'The Ad book'!

Since I did fall for the offer, I paid for the magazine, but you can bet your bippy when it comes time to renew, I won't!

Martha

The Wind in My Hair

It was also everywhere besides my hair. Last week the wind blew and blew, up to 59 miles per hour. It was also the day our trash was supposed to be picked up. Notice I said 'supposed'. The wind beat the trash trucks to the trash. Since we have to use unwieldy bins for our garbage and recycle trash, the wind had a great time blowing over those bins. First it would catch the lids that don't latch and then it would swoop underneath and turn the bins over.

That devilish wind was having a blast. Trash and garbage was blowing everywhere. I live on a hillside that runs East and West. The wind was blowing from the West and all the stuff was blowing downhill toward the East. The cacophony of aluminum cans, plastic water bottles and empty boxes bouncing along the street was almost hilarious, but when I realized someone was going to have to pick up all this stuff it wasn't funny at all. I really tried to pick up as much as I could, but that wind was blowing faster than I could run.

After up-righting the bins for I lost count of times, I gave up and moved them back to the garage. Finally the trucks came by and my younger son managed to get the garbage bin to the curb in time for it to be emptied. Missed the recycle truck, but we were too pooped to care.

Now I try to be a good neighbor and when I saw empty bins rolling along the middle of the street and noticed the bins were missing from my neighbor's, I went running to see if those bins belonged next door. Now the wind was still blowing so hard it was almost hard to stand up and that wind was getting colder all the time. I was trying to hurry to get out of the wind and clumsy me caught my foot on the step up to the porch and the next thing I know I am laying on that cold hard cement.

I don't know why I didn't break any bones as hard as I fell. Perhaps there is some good in being on the chubby side, that 'cushion' probably saved me from a broken hip as I landed hard on my right side. To top it all off, those bins weren't my neighbor's after all.

Today is trash day again and the wind is blowing. However, it didn't blow that hard today and the trash has all been safely removed and empty bins are now in the garage. I am still finding sore places from that fall, but I think I will live.

I used to like the wind.

Martha

A Warning About Yahoo Groups

There are Yahoo Groups for seniors, religion, politics (don't join a political Group if you are easily offended), and if you don't find a Group for the subject you are looking for, well you can create a Group for that subject.

Yahoo Groups have so much to offer folks. If you have a hobby, there is probably a Yahoo Group for that hobby. You can join the Group and converse with people who have the same hobby.

There is a large number of computer help Yahoo Groups. If you have a computer problem of almost any kind, there are members who can help you solve your problem. All of this help is available to members totally free of charge. You can 'lurk', (meaning you don't post) and learn lots of stuff about computers, or you can post questions if you have a specific problem. Sometimes it takes awhile to get the answer you need, but usually you will get the answer fairly soon.

Now for my warning. When you join a Group, check to see if it is public or private. If you want to contirbute to the Group by posting messages, DON'T join a public Group. Why not? Because everything you post could end up on a very public blog or website. This includes your email address, all nicely displayed for (gasp) spam harvesters! In case you don't know about spam harvesters, it is a program that scans the web for email addresses to add to spammer lists.

I don't know about you, but I don't need any more spam!

Martha

Blobs, Giant Spider Webs and UFOs

What's going on here in Texas? Last fall I posted about a Strange Blob at one of the area lakes. Later there is a post about a Huge Spider Web is East Texas.

Now there are UFOs! Lots of people claim they have seen strange lights over Stephenville, a town west of Fort Worth. Some of the sightings include objects like 'flying plates' and objects as big as football fields. Nobody knows what they are, but there are UFO buffs from all over the world going to Stephenville!

Some of the folks in Stephenville are having lots of fun with all of the furor over 'UFO sightings'. Alien masks, tinfoil hats to prevent mind control and other strange paraphernalia can be seen about the town. Others seem to think the sightings are signs the world is coming to an end.

So far I have yet to see a blob, a huge spider web (thank goodness!) or a strange thing in the sky. I sometimes think I might like to see a UFO, but I don't think I would tell anyone. Everyone I know would just have confirmation 'She's nuts!'

Could it be a conspiracy? All those UFO folks coming to town will surely jump start the economy in Stephenville. I am just waiting for someone to start a UFO business. Of course some are probably already selling 'I saw a UFO' T-shirt.

I am still wondering what's going on here in Texas.

Martha

Bed Sheets

Seems like a trivial subject, bed sheets. However, if you have shopped for sheets recently, you know it is no trivial thing.

When I was first married, it was a simple enough thing to shop for sheets. There were two kinds of sheets, muslin and percale. Muslin was soft and inexpensive and percale was smooth and required no ironing. Percale was a little more expensive, but worth the difference.

Today it is an entirely different story. I guess somewhere they may sell muslin sheets, but I don't know where. I have seen percale sheets in a few places, but you have to really look to find them. The big thing in sheets today is 'thread count'. The higher the thread count, the more expensive the sheet. According to one website, thread count refers to the number of horizontal and vertical threads in one square inch of fabric.

Theoretically, the higher the thread count the softer the sheets. Sounds good, eh? Really soft sheets! But there is a huge drawback here, they wrinkle. They wrinkle a lot! Wrinkled sheets look terrible! And they cost a lot of money. A really big lot of money!

Now I don't know about most folks, but this old woman is not about to iron sheets! And IF I were foolish enough to pay the high price for these high thread count sheets (I have seen over $400), I would expect them to change the bed when dirty, throw themselves in the washer and dryer, press themselves and make the bed. Since I know they won't do any of that, I ain't buying these suckers! So there.

A Consumer Reports issue some time back reported anything over 400 thread count is a waste of money and 200 thread count will last just as well and provide all the comfort needed. Good Old Consumer Reports, I will follow their advice and I won't sleep on wrinkled sheets. I will also have more money to spend on other things, like software. I do have my priorities straight!

Martha

Romancing the Omelet

I like omelets, but I can't seem to make one without making a big mess when it's time to flip it. I haven't made one is a very long time for that reason. Besides, scrambled eggs are just as tasty with all of the omelet ingredients added.

Back to omelets, have you ever noticed how many people make omelets on TV and in the movies? It seems as though every guy dating a girl for the first (or second) time, takes her to his apartment for an omelet. He doesn't have anything else to eat, but miraculously has everything needed for the omelet like cheese, onions, peppers,etc. Of course the omelet turns out wonderful. Occasionally the guy is all thumbs and the girl takes over the making the omelette. Sometimes it's the other way, the girl can't cook but the guy is a real genius at making an omelet.

Sometimes it's the girl's apartment and she is cooking the omelet to perfection. One thing leads to another and the first thing you know, well, you know! It is definitely because of the omelet! (it seems that way.)

So what is it about romance that inspires omelets? Or is it the omelet that inspires romance? (This reminds me of 'which came first, the chicken or the egg?')

More than likely the omelet has nothing to do with the romance, but it makes a nice addition to the story!

Martha

What is Average?

The average temperature as told by the weatherman on the news is very misleading to me. For instance, he may say the average temperature for a certain date in November is 65 high and 45 low. How do they come up with that average? Do they add up all the temperature readings for that date as long as they have kept records and divide it by the number of days? They don't say how they figure it.

The average size of families in the USA is 3.20. So they say. I don't know any families that are that size, but somewhere there may be one.

An average person in my state is 33.1 years old, according to the US Census information. So does this really mean anything? Nearly everyone I know is older than 33.1 and a lot of my family and friends are a good deal older than that.

Shopping for clothes is a really fun experience too. Just when you think you are an average size, you will get that thought totally out of your head when you try on a few articles of clothing marked 'Average'. Some of them might fit your ten-year old daughter. A few of them may fit your 200 pound Auntie. However, if you are lucky some of them will fit. If you are not average size, but small, large or even extra large, the same thing applies. I recently saw a top marked 'Large' that would have been too small for most skinny ten year old girls. It was on a closeout rack and I suspect part of the reason for it being there was the size marked on the label.

I think average is a misused term. No one I know is 'average'. Some are certainly above average intelligence; I won't mention if any are below average intelligence. However I think there are a number of public officials and school administrators (think zero tolerance) who may fit the below intelligence category.

The next time someone asks me how I am doing, I will just say 'Oh, average'. That should cover everything, from rotten to great. After all, average could be anything based on what I see about 'average'!

Martha

My BS Meter

There are meters for lots of things. Nearly all of them are for charging something for us to pay.

There's the electric meter. (Ouch!)

The water meter. (Ouch again!)

The gas meter. A lot of us don't have one of these because our home is all electric. But if you have one of these, it's in the Ouch category!

A parking meter if we have to go to the business area of our city/town.

There are meters in taxicabs to figure how much the rider has to pay for his or her ride.

I am sure there are other meters for things I haven't thought about.

A meter generally requires someone to read it so the bills can be sent to customers. Parking meters usually are read by the local law enforcement and will cause a parking ticket if there is no time left on the meter when the meter reader comes around. Those are put under the windshield wipers so the driver will be sure to see it.

Last, but not least, there is the BS meter. This may not be in evidence until someone somewhere starts a tall tale. This usually goes off for me when viewing commercials on TV. It really went off when I saw an ad for this product, Detox Foot Pads and another site who seems to debunk but just wants you to buy their product.

Since I first saw this ad on TV I have done a bit of research about these detox foot pads.There are quite a few other products of the same nature, each claiming to 'detoxify' your body by putting a special patch on the bottom of your feet. You can even buy these products at t some of your local drug stores.

I know there are some strange things in this world that apparently work wonders, but my 'meter' is still making loud sounds because I just don't see how this could work. (There is truth in calling Missouri the 'Show Me State'; I am from Missouri!)

If you have tried the detox foot patches and it worked for you, how did you know it worked?

Martha

I Don't Want to Hear Any More

I have a feeling I am not the only one who doesn't want to hear or read any more about misbehaving celebrities, namely Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, etc. At least I certainly hope I'm not the only one! I especially don't want to hear any more about O.J.

The media seems to think we are all avid to hear about everything these people do, and I guess there is an element of the population who has nothing better to do than hear about celebrities and celebrities who have fallen from grace.

I suppose it is a sign of the times. Many Americans do not know who is the Vice-President of the United States or the name of the Speaker of the House, but they can tell you who wore what at the latest Hollywood bash.

I can only hope that they will eventually grow up, but I am beginning to have doubts. Perhaps one day they will 'get with the program' and one can only hope those who will vote in the next elections will stop fawning over the pathetic lives of celebrities that are alcoholics, druggies and certainly shouldn't be role models for the segment of the population who seem to be insatiable about following the media flap.

Maybe I just am too grumpy! I think I need to find some 'fun stuff' to write about.

By the way, Happy New Year!

Martha

Why Do They Want to Ruin Christmas?

Why are some people so mean spirited? They want us to not say 'Merry Christmas'. They seem to think 'Happy Holidays' is more politically correct. Guess what, you meanies! If it weren't for Christmas, there wouldn't be a Happy Holiday for the majority of folks.

I have even read that some people don't want the mall Santas to say 'Ho, Ho, Ho'. Now I know that there is a slang word that rappers use to denigrate folks of the female persuasion. But I fail to see how anyone with an iota of intelligence can think Santa is using 'Ho, Ho,
Ho' to insult anyone. There are must be some folks who must lay awake at night to come up with stuff like this! Santas have been saying that for many years, long before the rappers decided to say their insult.

Some cities have elected not to put up Christmas decorations for fear of insulting someone. I do feel sorry for the people that have been deprived of the beautiful Christmas decorations in those cities. There are some cities that have decided to put up the decorations in spite of the few who are against Christmas. Hurray for them!

I guess it is a sign of the times we live in. One of these years, if this trend keeps up, 'Merry Christmas' may just go away. However, I am in hopes that the 'majority by far' will rise up and take back our favorite holiday expressions and tell the PC crowd to 'stuff it'.

Since this is My Blog, here is what I have to say, "Merry Christmas to all who celebrate the birth of the Christ child".

Have a 'Happy New Year' as well. I just hope there aren't any people that want to do away with that as well.

Martha

Buggy Bits in Vista

I like Vista. I didn't like it at first, but once I managed to find stuff and where to make changes, Vista is OK. I have gotten used to the UAC (User Access Control) and it doesn't seem so much in my face as it did at first. My Vista isn't as slow as a lot of folks say Vista is for them, but I keep my Start-up lean and that does make a difference.

What I don't like in Vista is the buggy replacement for Outlook Express known as Windows Mail. They removed the only redeeming feature that made it worth while for me to use OE, Identities. ( I have a number of email accounts and I like to keep them separated.)

The layout in Windows Mail is fairly similar except for the Address Book, now known as Contacts. After you use Windows Mail for awhile, you can't empty the Deleted folder. Buggy! At least with Outlook Express if a folder started misbehaving you could delete it and Outlook Express created a new one the next time you opened it.

Microsoft knows Windows mail is buggy. They made a replacement and called it Windows Live Mail. Just what is it with Microsoft that they can't come up with totally different names for stuff? First it's Outlook and Outlook Express, then Windows Messenger and Windows Messenger Service. Now it's Windows Mail and Windows Live Mail. There may be some other things with almost the same name, but off hand I don't know for sure.

When I couldn't empty the Deleted folder in Windows Mail, I downloaded and installed Windows Live Mail. I won't use Windows Live Mail much. It's buggy as well. When I tried to mark a spam as 'Junk', I got the same error message I got when I tried to empty the Deleted folder in Windows Mail! Buggy! Funny though, after I installed the new mail program, the Deleted folder in Windows Mail will now empty.

The layout for Windows Live Mail is very different and folks seem to have some problems finding what they need. One user reported her Inbox disappeared. I suspect it is still there but hiding for some reason. Buggy! This just shouldn't happen.

I am recommending Eudora for folks who need help with Windows Mail or Windows Live Mail and need a free email program. Another really good option is Mozilla's Thunderbird.

Another buggy program is Internet Explorer. A lot of folks keep getting the message that Internet Explorer has encountered a problem and has to close. I haven't had that problem, but then I don't use Internet Explorer very much. I know they made some security changes, but why did they have to move the familiar things around so you have to hunt for them? And what happened to the ability to use copy for a web address? Control + C works, but why is 'copy' greyed out when I want to copy a web address from the Address bar? I know Firefox has spoiled me, but sometimes I have to use IE and it just aggravates me!

Martha

To Eat or Not to Eat

In the midst of the Holiday season that includes Thanksgiving and Christmas, I am sorely tempted!

All those goodies that go with holidays just keep calling my name! My problem is I just like food. I mean I really like food, especially the really fattening kind of food. I like it all with one or two exceptions. (I don't care at all for green bean casserole and I am not real fond of turkey.)

Baked ham, pies, cakes and baked anything, I generally like it. I have always had a 'sweet tooth' and this time of year there are certainly a lot of sweet goodies to eat!

So I am in a quandary. I need to lose some weight. OK, I need to lose a LOT of weight. I didn't used to have this problem about weight. I could eat just about anything I wanted and if I gained a few pounds it was easy for me to lose it.

Not any more! If I gain a pound it doesn't want to leave! Someone told me once that getting older sometimes has this affect and for me it is certainly true. I am not sure it is age that caused it, but I sure would like to find a way to 'fix' this problem. I know, I know, diet and exercise will work. That's easy enough to say, but putting it into practice is another thing.

I just don't seem to have any will power. I know that's not true because I quit smoking cold turkey after having been addicted for thirty years. That was almost five years ago and I haven't smoked even once since then. Hmm, that's when I started gaining that weight I need to lose.

So okay, I will give myself a heavy does of will power and lose that weight. But not until after the holidays!

Here's to Happy Holiday eating!

Martha

TXU is Spamming Me!

My electric company is TXU, which was recently sold to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and TPG, formerly the Texas Pacific Group, both are private equity firms.

The sale is supposed to make our rates go down, according to all the hype during the transitional period when the sale was in the process of being approved by the powers that have the option to approve such transactions.

Deregulation took place in Texas several years ago. Deregulation was supposed to be good for consumers and make prices go down. Except it didn't happen. Before deregulation Texas has rates that were among the lowest in the US. After deregulation we now have the highest rates in the Nation. Two years ago TXU's rates jumped 25% within a two month period! All the new electric companies raised rates as well, so where is that competive price option to save us money?

The rates have come down a bit since then, but nowhere near 25%. The 'new' TXU is offering some new plans that will supposedly save consumers money. The only problem with the plans is they are so confusing it is hard to see how they will save any money. One is offering a 3% cash rebate. Now those folks who know me know exactly how I feel about rebates! I may be looking for a new electric provider.

The icing on the cake, so to speak, came in my inbox this AM. Spam from TXU! Two spams to be exact! One was wanting me to 'refer a friend' and I don't remember the other one but it was something about wanting us to sign up for a new plan .I signed up years ago to get a notice when the electric bill was available online. (Our local postal service may or may not deliver the bill by snail mail.) I signed up for the notification only, not to receive spam! Furthermore, there was no option to remove my email address to prevent these spam messages! So I just blocked future messages using my trusty spam filter.

I went to TXU's website to review their Privacy Policy and nowhere does it say they will or will not send me messages other than the one I signed up to receive. Not only that, the site is hard to read, with a light gray text on white background. I had to copy it all and paste it in to notepad in order to read it! However I am slightly outraged
and I will be checking offers by some of the other electric providers in Texas. (I really, really hate spam!) The only problem with other companies, how do I know they won't spam me as well?

Martha's Web
Martha's Place

Flu Shot

Every year I get a flu shot. I get this flu shot for several reasons; the main one being I don't want to get the flu.

Everywhere I look for 'senior' stuff the advice is to get a flu shot. Medicare pays for the shot; there is no co-pay for flu shots! They figure the cost of the shot is much cheaper than paying doctor bills, medicine, hospital bills, etc. that will incur if someone gets the flu.

Back in 1993 I got pneumonia. It was the worst kind of pneumonia and I nearly died. After I recovered my doctor told me to get a pneumonia shot and to get a flu shot every year. Since I had no desire to get that sick again I took his advice and every year without fail I get a flu shot. One good thing, since I started getting flu shots, I never get a bad cold anymore. Maybe those awful colds I used to get were not colds after all, but were the flu!

This year I found out I needed another pneumonia shot so when the local Walgreen's had their annual flu clinic I decided to get both shots and be done with it. This was a mistake. By nightfall, my arm was hurting. I don't mean sore, I mean hurting! Bad! I had a headache as well. I don't usually have headaches so I figured it was a result of the shots, took some Tylenol and went to bed early.

Sometime during the night it got really cold. Then it got really hot. By morning I thought I might be dying. It went on this way for two days. My arm hurt so bad I couldn't even raise it up. Fever came and went. I felt so bad I didn't even read my email. Folks who know me would have been really alarmed by that! My son wanted to take me to the emergency room. I didn't want to make the effort.

Then on the third day after I got those shots I woke up and I was me again. I felt great! My arm was not hurting. I could raise it up over my head. No more fever. Life was good again.

Now I wonder, which one of those shots made me so sick? The flu shot or the pneumonia shot? The combination? All I know for sure is I am very glad I won't need that pneumonia shot again!

I will still get a flu shot next year, but I will make sure I have Tylenol that isn't out of date! Sadly I had to throw a bunch of Tylenol away; the expiration date was two years ago! I figure the flu would last a lot longer than the time I was down with the side effects from the shot.

Martha