Expiration Date

I noticed something this morning when I was getting ready to shower. I opened a new bar of soap and noticed an expiration date on the box containing the soap. I didn't know soap would ever 'go bad'. In fact I still don't know it.

I think as long as there is even a sliver of that bar of soap, it will still suds up and wash just fine. Maybe the fragrance in the soap will evaporate, but I doubt the fragrance is really needed to make someone clean. Or will it?

I suspect the expiration date is simply a marketing ploy. I wonder if anyone has ever tossed a good bar of soap because the box had an expiration date that had come and gone! There are a lot of gullible folks out there believing all sorts of urban legends and hoaxes, so why not soap that expires? (Could be the anti-bacterial stuff expires, but not the actual soap!)

I started to wonder, if there are other things I haven't thought of with expiration dates.  I knew food and medicines have expiration dates but not soap! so I checked my deodorant, no expiration date.  That's odd, deodorant soap does, but not deodorant. Toothpaste yes, mouthwash no.

Now that I have thought about it, I will be on the lookout for those dates! Sad to say I guess everything has an expiration date, including me.  But there is no date stamped on me, so will just have to wonder about that!

Martha

 

Capturas

I understand the need for these aggravating verifications, but gee whiz, why do they have to be so 'blurry'!

These old and injured eyes of mine have a really hard time with these.  Sometimes it's so bad I have to ask for the voice. Sometimes I just give up and forget about the whole process.

I think there has to be a better way to escape the spam bots, but so far I guess no one has come up with a better way. But sooner or later those nasty'bots will figure out a
way to get around the capturas and then maybe, just maybe someone will get working on the better way.

Martha

Bowing Out

I finally realized that all of the political inspired hate missives I've received in my email and on Facebook have just been making me stress out.  So for now I am 'bowing out'.

It started when Obama first ran for President. I have to admit I thought some of this stuff was funny, especially the 'born in Kenya' stuff.  However, I soon realized there were a lot of folks who actually believed this junk!  That whole thing started when one of the Hilary supporters made up the whole thing in hopes it would bring more support to her (Hilary) campaign. Wow, did that backfire!  Now there is a whopping thirty percent of Republicans that believe this idiocy!

The emails made fun of everything Obama related. But then they started getting nasty. Some of my so-called Christian friends started sending this stuff. (This is Christian behavior?)
Politics and religion have always let to contentious discussions and always will. Some of the early elections in the United States were really ugly, with all sorts of nasty and untrue statements being made by the candidates about their opponents. Sounds familiar, doesn't it!

Everyone is entitled to their opinion and in this country they have the right to express those opinions. I agree with that right. I also have the right to not read or hear those opinions, especially if it really stresses me out to hear what seems ugly, non-christian and downright ignorant in some instances, so I am going to just 'bow out'.

Martha

Leaving

I'm thinking about it, leaving Facebook.

I am not a dumb f**k as Mark Zuckerberg is rumored to have called folks who put their personal details in their Facebook profiles.

While I haven't put any details except what was required (and some of those may not be accurate), I resent the fact that many of my family members and friends naively did and are probably being targeted by ads or even scammers.

Every now and the Facebook changes their privacy policies and they only get worse. In fact, those policies seem to be almost non-existent and are certainly a big joke.  Consumer groups are trying to make Facebook back off from the latest changes, but I doubt they will, as Facebook is trying to up the amount of $$ they can suck out of the members and their information.

By now most folks should know that in truth, anything posted to the Internet is in fact available to the world.  There is no such thing as privacy.  There are some places that do give a lot more privacy for folks such as a sites like MyFamily or maybe even a private Yahoo Group, but nothing is really safe from hackers.

But Facebook?  Unless you have locked down your settings (and that's no guarantee because one of your friends can copy and re-post anything and maybe their settings are wide open) you have to assume anything you post can be available to the entire Internet.

Martha

Windows 8, Not Your Father's Windows

It isn't mine, either!

This new operating system for Microsoft is different.  If someone is used to navigating into the depths of Windows, it won't take too long to find where stuff is located. But an average everyday user of a computer is going to be totally lost the first time they boot into Windows 8.

Even the 'should be simple' shut down is not so easily found. I used Vista when it first came out and I didn't like it, but within two days I had managed to find everything and after two weeks, I liked Vista. However a great many folks didn't.

I can use Windows 8. .Some things about this OS are pretty cool. But I have to admit, I just don't like it and I seriously doubt I ever will. I am still trying to use this disaster, but it is so not easy to like. More here.

I like the fact that it is more secure, or at least it's supposed to be. I don't like the fact there is no Start button on the Desktop.  I really can't understand why Microsoft thought it wasn't necessary 'because people don't use it.' That is their rationale, not mine. People do use it, if for no other reason that to turn off, switch users or reboot! I use it for a lot more.

Search is so much easier, but unless a user knows that all they have to do is start typing what they want, they will get frustrated trying to find Search.

That is part of the reason Windows 8 is not so great.  Things are not obvious to the average user. When a long time average user can't find the way to turn a computer off without help,  'Microsoft, there is a problem!'

Don't get me started on the Windows App Store.  I am addicted to the game of Spider Solitaire. Oh it's in the App Store alright, but it has, gasp, ads! But I can remove those ads for only 99 cents. Even thought it's really pretty, I won't be playing Spider on Windows 8. Seems to be a matter of principle with me, because 99 cents certainly won't break the bank.

I am not the only one that thinks Microsoft made a big mistake putting two systems together, a tablet OS and a desktop OS. It seems that every other version of Windows that Microsoft releases is really great and the between versions are well, not so hot. Windows 7 is really great and now folks are going to label Windows 8 as Windows Hate.

Martha

 

A footnote:  When my Windows 7 computers will no longer work, I will finally learn how to build a computer.  I have a fresh new disk with Windows 7 waiting for that computer!

Fixing Firefox

My favorite web browser is Firefox.  But lately it was so slow. Some pages (sites) didn't seem to open at all and other pages were oh so slow. I was getting 'not responding' as well when trying to load pages.

After awhile I decided to just use Chrome as my default browser because it was so much faster. Chrome is OK and I do like it, but I missed Firefox.

So I decided to try to 'fix' Firefox. That was an exercise in frustration.  All of those tweaks I found while searching for a fix for Firefox were just a little bit of help or no help at all.

I tried removing all of the settings, extensions and other stuff from Firefox by going to Help/Troubleshooting Information and selecting 'Reset Firefox to default state'.

This saved all of my stuff in a folder called 'Old Firefox Data' and supposedly set it back like a new install.  No help there, still as slow as molasses in January.

I decided to go the uninstall/reinstall route.  I had done this before and it seemed to help a bit, but this time Firefox was still way to slow.

I decided to get drastic.  I backed up my Bookmarks and used Revo Uninstaller to uninstall Firefox.  I selected the Advanced mode to uninstall Firefox and it uninstalled everything, including the Registry entries and all of the stuff in AppData.  Nothing remained of my old Firefox. (One thing I noticed when I selected Mozilla Firefox in Revo, it showed version 15 and I had version 16 installed.  I am thinking all those older versions may have still had bits and pieces still lingering on my system and eventually let to the terrible slowdown for Firefox.)

I opened Chrome and downloaded a fresh new copy of Firefox and installed it.

Wow! It's fast! I am still testing it , but oh, yeah, I've got my Firefox back!

Martha

Windows 8 or Windows Hate?

Which will it be? So far I am not enamored of Windows 8. I am not using a touch screen, but a regular laptop. The Metro screen has a few good points, but not enough to make it worthwhile for me. I miss the Start button, and I find the navigation to be, well, challenging.

There are seemingly some folks that like Windows 8.  I suppose once a user gets used to using it, more will like it.  The key here is getting used to it.

I started trying out this new version of Windows when the very first Windows 8 Developer Preview was made available for download. I couldn't believe my eyes when it installed.  I was totally dismayed by this 'Metro-style (Modern UI)' screen. I tried finding my way around and eventually managed to 'find stuff', but it seemed that for everywhere I wanted to go, it took more steps than in my Windows 7. This is progress? Maybe I just needed to look longer and figure it out. The 'Charms' bar wouldn't come up without a lot of clicking. (This could be related to the notebook which really isn't top of the line.)

Then Microsoft released another build of Windows 8, so I figured that maybe this one would be better, easier to use, so I downloaded it and installed it. I didn't see much difference, but it was probably stuff 'under the hood' that had been changed. That ugly (and yes to me it IS ugly,) Metro-style (Modern UI) was still there.

There are some good things about Windows 8 I like, if only I could overlook that awful 'Metro-style (Modern UI)'.

It installed very easy. It found my wireless network with no problem. (That was a big plus.) I still had problems with getting the Charms bar to come up and the so called improved method of
capturing screenshots would not work. (It did once, but never again. I still suspect my hardware.) I just couldn't 'get in to it' and didn't even try much, as other more important stuff had my
attention. However, I experimented with a combo of keys and at least for now, pressing the Win key, Fn key and Prt Scr key simultaneously did work. (Previously it worked once by pressing the Win key, Ctrl key and Pr Scr key) If I used the onscreen keyboard it worked just fine.

Then Microsoft released the last version 'Windows 8 Enterprise Evaluation'.  Same stuff. I still don't like it. I have a computer, not a tablet! What didn't work on the previous version still doesn't work n the Enterprise Evaluation.  However, the Charms bar is easier to get to. There are tweaks galore available on the Internet, but I haven't tried any of them yet. My feeling is a new Windows should work out of the box and not have to be tweaked in order to use it.

I will get Windows 8 when the final version is available to buy and install it on my Compaq but I won't buy a new computer with Windows 8.  I will buy an extra copy of Windows 7, just in case I need to install it.

Now since I just hate to give up on anything computer related, I am going to make Windows Hate into Windows 8 or at least try! (But I think the majority of folks, especially those who used Windows XP for a long time, will totally and absolutely hate Windows 8.)

I do hope that Microsoft will do a better job for desktop and laptop users when they come out with the next version of Windows.  In the meantime I am saving for a Mac. At least Apple computers don't look like my iPad!

So listen up, Microsoft! My computer is not a tablet! I don't want it to be a tablet, I want to use it like a computer! Seems like Windows Desktop and laptop users are being totally disregarded in favor of the tablet users.

Guess maybe we've been thrown under the bus!

Martha

 

 

 

Scams in the Mail

Not all scams come in email or on the web.  They come in the regular mail as well.

Today I got a 'bill' from 'Domain Registry of America'. These folks were kind enough to let me know one my domains is expiring and I should reply right away with the funds to keep it renewed. It all looked very official and legal.

Except, that domain doesn't need to renewed until December and this is July!  They also think $35.00 a year is a good price, but I don't pay even half that amount and I don't have it registered at 'Domain Registry of America'!

What a scam.  A Google search for this scuzzy scam brings up tons of sites and they are all complaining about this scam.  Some of these folks sent them money, which is why they continue to try to scam folks with letters like the one I received today.

I tried to read all of the extremely fine print on the back of this renew an send money scam, but it was way too small. I tried with a strong magnifying glass and still couldn't read it all.

This scam has been around for quite awhile, but I guess there enough folks who fall for it so it just keeps going and going like the famous bunny.

 

Martha

Printers and Scanners, My Story

There was a time I printed all kinds of stuff.  I printed articles I found on the Internet, how-to-do things, recipes and almost anything else you can think of.

I printed my tax forms and filed them away into a bulging file cabinet, where even though stuff was filed in what I thought was a good system, I still sometimes couldn't find what I was looking for without a frustrating search.

But then I came to realize, after all the stuff was printed, I hardly ever looked at it again. I also found it hard to find an article or that how-to I needed.

So I re-evaluated what I needed to do.  Set up a new file system? My file cabinet was already full and I do mean full!

Eventually I found what I needed to do. I did set up a new file system.  It's on my computer. I got a program called PaperPort. It has a file system already set up and can access your scanner. So I started scanning every new thing that came by mail or email that I need to keep and filed it into PaperPort. I already get about every financial statement online and I saved them all in PDF format and filed them in PaperPort.

Medical stuff all goes into PaperPort.

I went through that really full file cabinet and scanned what needed to be kept and ran my shredder full blast.

My old printer/copier/scanner was getting a bit, shall we say, long in the tooth (old). It was big and bulky and the only place I had for it was in my bedroom closet.  It still worked, but quite often it had to be re-installed to keep working.  It didn't help that I had to use a print server to use it that was also getting a bit long in the tooth. If I wanted to scan more than one page into a PDF file, I had to use another utility to join the files into one file.

Then last fall I found the solution to that, I got a new wireless printer/copier/scanner, an HP Envy.  (Thanks to my sister for finding it first!) It is wonderful! I can scan page after page and save all as one file. No reinstalling all the time. It's quiet and fast.

Now I will have almost every document I will ever need in digital format.) Even manuals for appliances! So easy to find.

I backup the entire file and keep a copy of the backup in the bank box.  So if, heaven for bid, a disaster occurs I still have my stuff.  I also have my precious photos all scanned and backed up as well.

The only down side for all this, if I had got my Envy first, I wouldn't have needed PaperPort as I could have set up a file system on my own.  But since I have it, I use it.

I seldom need to print anything now. I save a lot of money by not buying printer ink and I can find stuff without digging through the old file cabinet!

Martha

 

Tell Me It Isn't True!

"Facebook Asking Some Users To Upload Government Issued IDs"

Are they nuts? Who is going to be stupid enough to give anyone on the Internet this kind of documentation?

Not me, no way, ever, never!

Right now it's supposedly a test only.  But with Facebook's history of privacy issues, well.......

Martha

 

Google Spies On Me

Well by now almost everyone who keeps up with what's happening on the Internet, knows that Google has updated it's privacy policy and Google is tracking you everywhere.

We shouldn't be surprised.  I decided to fight back.  I use Firefox as my default web browser and I installed a free add-on called 'Do Not Track Plus'.

It worked great, for awhile.

The first symptom of a problem was difficulty logging in to some sites like Barnes and Noble. After I eventually got logged in, then when I clicked the Buy now button for a product, nothing would happen.  Nothing! Even if I changed to another browser!

Today I have been checking my website for valid links. I use a Firefox extension called LinkExtend to check for valid links as I have so many links throughout the site. LinkExtend kept hanging and I had to stop the process.  I then noticed that every time the link checking stopped, it was for a Google site!

So I disabled the 'Do Not Track Plus' and everything is working just fine.  It could be just a problem with the add-in causing the proble and it probably is, but this seems pretty odd to me and just maybe Google is fighting back in some way.  Google is pretty sneaky, they even managed to do some nefarious bit with Safari.

So I will get even, Google! I just won't use your products much any more and those I do use will be while not signed in as I have been told this is when they track folks.

I know other services track me, but Google is just going too far! I guess they are trying to be like Facebook!

Martha

 

Toenails

I have given some thought about toenails (I need a life).

Why do we even have those hard keratin things on our fingers and toes?  Apparently a lot of other folks want to know as there are a lot of pages on the web devoted to nails, both finger and toe, but mostly fingernails.

Just do a web search to see what I mean.

Fingernails I get.  Without them, how would we scratch an itch? How would we be able to pick up that eensy thread or sliver when no tweezers are handy?

But toenails, what good are they?  If someone steps on my toe it still hurts.  If I stub my toes, I can't see that the toenail helped me even a little bit. And even worse, have you ever had an ingrown toenail or a toenail with a hangnail?

After long and careful thought, I think I have figured it out.

When my toenails get hung on threads when putting on socks, that's how I know I need new socks!

Martha  Told you I need a life!

"How to grow our economy: Tell me what you think" (Really?)

Email from Kay Granger, "How to grow our economy:  Tell me what you think'

In all honesty, I doubt Ms Granger has anything to do with the way this plays out, but I just had to post this.

I received an email from her or so it led me to believe.  Included in the email is a survey indicating what I think is needed to grow the economy. There were a number of things listed.  In order to check the ones I felt were most important, it was necessary to reply.  So I pressed reply, checked the boxes by the things I thought were needed and then I sent it.

Please note, there was an UN-CLICKABLE  line  'Submit and join'.

So then I got this message:
"This email address is no longer active. If you wish to send Congresswoman Granger an email, please visit http://kaygranger.house.gov and click on Email Kay Granger. For immediate assistance, please call Congresswoman Granger's office at 817-338-0909 or 202-225-5071. "

Excuse me?

So now, if I want to let Ms Granger know what I think is needed, I have to go to the site mentioned, click email Kay Granger, copy everything from the email she sent to me and paste it into a form! After SHE sent me asking me to tell her what I think!

(In all honesty, there WAS a link to take the survey on the web, but paranoid soul that I am, I hardly ever click a link in email. Since I have never contacted Ms Granger or her office, this email seemed a bit 'spammy',  and how did they get my brand spanking new email address to which this email was sent?)

I don't think so.  What would you do?

Just another example of our incompetent Congress, or at least that is how it seems to me. At the very least there should be competent web/email handlers! But perhaps they feel the burden (once again) is on the tax payers to make our thoughts known.  In that case they are right.

But don't do it this way!

Martha

Been Waiting

At last the two Americans kidnapped by Iranian thugs and held for ransom are free.

I didn't want to say anything before just in case.

And the chief thug is trying to make himself look like a humanitarian.  What a joke!

I just hope that one day the people of Iran will one day be free of the tyrants.

Martha

A Hoax Gets Started

A hoax can get started with maybe a grain of truth.

I recently received an email about a dog leading so many folks to safety during the attack of 9/11. It was very well done, with a picture of the heroic dog included. The Hoax.

It was a stirring story, except it wasn't true. I usually check to see if stories are really true, but since this wasn't of the murdering madmen variety or any one of the type I usually get, I didn't check it out.  When someone brought my attention to the fact that it was a hoax, it burned me up.  There were clues in the original email that if I had checked, I would have known something was not kosher.

The email said the dog led some of those folks from the 112nd floor.  But how many people actually know that each tower had 110 floors? I didn't!

I should have known that if this story was really true, it would surely have been televised at least once!

Now I wonder if this hoax was based on another story (which may or may not be true) about a guide dog on 9/11. Guide Dog Led Owner Down Stairs on 9/11

The reference to this story (Excerpted from Ventura County Star, April 25, 2003) does not seem to be availble.  At least I didn't find it.

So maybe, since this article is to 'persuade people to raise guide puppies', the elaborate hoax about Daisy may have been done in order to get more people to raise guide puppies.  Unfortunately in this cas the untruth may have had the effect of making folks mad instead of getting the attention the hoaxer wanted.

Of course there is always the possiblility that someone just wants to 'be funny' and see how far the hoax will spread.

Martha

Letter to Advertisers on CNN

Have you noticed that some advertisers change up their commercials once in a while?  Like Geico does. Those commercials are clever and folks will watch and listen to them.

Not so for most of those commercials on CNN.

The EXTREMELY annoying one is for some firm showing all the people screaming out their windows, 'It's my money and I need it now'.

That one is the worst and I can't get to the mute button fast enough when that one is showing.

AARP Insurance is another one.  Same old, same old. Over and over again. Another one is the 'Do you owe the IRS more than $10,000? '. There are more, too numerous to name.

I have come to the conclusion these advertisers on CNN seem to be saying:

I need money (don't we all?), I owe the IRS huge sums of money (I don't!), I need one of those scammy reverse mortgages, (So I can pay the IRS?) I need a supplement insurance from AARP (it will cost a lot).

I guess they are saving  money by not making new commercials makes sense to them, but not to me! I wouldn't buy anything from them due to the annoyance factor!

I think I will just quit watching CNN!

Martha

Lost in Cyberspace

Somewhere between Gmail and Outlook, an email vanished. I looked everywhere, but to no avail. Since I always check Gmail in the AM before I open Outlook, I did see the email so I know it was there. It came yesterday into Gmail but it never came into my Outlook which stays open all day once I open it.

So where did it go? All of the other messages received in Gmail downloaded into Outlook, but not this one. It's not in the Inbox or the folder where it should have filtered. Not in the junk mail folder, the deleted folder or anywhere else. It just didn't download.

So now I am wondering. Did all of the extra stuff Google has added to Gmail 'break' something? Or is Outlook having hiccups?

So now I start to think; I have seen some replies to emails that I don't recall seeing. Hmm, I will check my Yahoo mail online. (I have two email accounts that download mail into Outlook.) I know I turned the SPAM filter off, but just in case I looked. There were 41 legitimate emails in the SPAM filter! Is Yahoo playing a 'gotcha' on me?

I reset the settings, so now I will check to see if more legitimate email goes to the SPAM filter. I think too much is happening with Google and Yahoo, each wanting to be a 'Social Network', and stuff may be getting broken along the way.

Power Tripping

The mess in Congress is not doing the American people any good. One way or another, they need to quit the power tripping and get the job done.  The people don't seem to matter any more, it's all 'my way or the highway'.

Especially with this guy!

Guess what, members of Congress.  We voted you in and we can vote you out.  Then where will your power trips be?

I just hope the current batch of 'do nothings' don't destroy America before we can oust them!

Martha

Why did you give that website my email address?

When you joined that social network, probably Facebook, did you give them my email address?  Why?  I didn't tell you that it was OK.

"Oh no", you say "I would never do that!"

Well, if you gave them the password for your email account, you just gave them 'my' email address, along with everyone else's email address in your address book.  Now the social network is spamming everyone in your address book.  While the spam is an invitation to join you on your social network, it is still spam.  And that spam goes to everyone more than once if the original spam is not accepted.

If you did give them your email password, (which has compromised your email account!) I highly recommend you get busy right away and change the email account password to something very secure so any hackers on the social network will not be able to steal your email account.

Sony's Got the Blues

I am wondering if Sony has managed to really tick off someone.  Either that or maybe they need to shell out some $$$ for really good security.

Just read the log of Sony's problems on this site, Sony's hacking woes mount after PSN breach.

Maybe North Korean students are practicing?  North Korea’s Overseas Cyber Warrior Training.

Wouldn't want to be a Sony IT person right now.

Martha