As stated on the preceeding page, I just got through a teaching/learning experience by giving a course on computer basics to a group of students here on Manitoulin through Cambrian College.
I have to admit that it was my first time at the front of a classroom other than years and years ago when Christian Brothers called me up to the front of the class for a demonstration of corporal punishment. It was rather refreshing not having to bend over and have a goaltenders hockey stick applied to my bottomside.
So, .......to continue on...
Christmas Break:
Your Help Line webmaster is taking a few days off from updating this page.
The Cash Machine (ATM) Scam:
The holiday season is prime time for thieves - anything from stealing the christmas presents from your car in a shopping mall parking lot to getting at your bank account by this scam:
How To Wash A Cat:
Video - Share Yours:
If you got some fancy video equipment for Christmas, you might want to share your adventures with the rest of the world. YouTube seems to be the most popular upload site.
Create an account and upload your stuff. Need some freeware to process your video - go
here and
here.
Do a search on YouTube for a video you'd like to watch - there are some really amazing pieces of work out there. Who knows - you could be the next film producer to get an Emmy. The Cat Category seems to have been worked through pretty well. Have you got a pet monkey at home?
I'm not into this video thing myself, but you might find
this video tip very handy if you want to try your hand at it.
Caring For Your CD's:
I've been to many friends' computer setups and seen some astonishing things - it's a wonder their computers even work. One friend had his 'puter right under a south-facing window where sunlight poured in most of the day. He had a pile of cd's sitting on the windows sill so he could access them easily.
Wrong!
Never store cd's in direct sunlight or near any source of heat. A cd can fry in ten minutes of sunlight.
Another friend showed me the setup he had for his son who inherited the old computer when it was replaced. The son casually dumps his cd's in the desk drawer and does not put them in a plastic jewel case.
Wrong!
CD's left out of their protective cases are prone to scratching. Dust particles can land on the cd and before long these particles have scratched the cd surface. Also, improper handling comes into play when the user does not limit contact to only the edges and center hole of the cd. Kids don't always wash their hands after eating a hot dog - mustard and fingerprints do not do cd's any good!
How Do I Clean My CD's?
If your ABBA cd is skipping near the start of the cd it means you have problems toward the center of the cd. If the skipping is located near the end of the songs, the problem rests with tracks near the outer edge of the cd.
CD's, unlike your old LP records, are recorded from the center out to the edge of the disk so the above will help you determine where the scratches are.
What Do I Use?
Mild soap and water on a lint-free cloth - do not use a circular motion! Clean from the center hole out to the cd's edge.
Rise off the soapy residue and pat dry with a dry lint-free cloth. Now try playing your cd and if ABBA still skips you need to go to step 2.
Repeat the above cleaning procedure, but this time use ordinary white toothpaste. Again, don't use a cirdular motion! Rinse off all the toothpaste with clear water and pat dry - ABBA will sound better than they ever did now.
"Honey, are you sure POKO said to do this in the shower?"
"That was my idea, my sweet."
Good News About Unwanted Phone Calls:
Canada has finally clued in with regard telemarketeers. Our friends to the south have the
National Do Not Call Registry - we're finally gonna get one too!
The Canadian Press
OTTAWA (Dec 26, 2007)
Bell Canada will operate the National Do Not Call List.
The CRTC has awarded a five-year contract to Bell to keep track of those Canadians who wish not to be contacted by telemarketing firms. The federal telecommunications regulator says Bell was the only bidder that complied with the requirements of the request for proposal issued in July. The contract stipulates the list should be launched by Sept. 30, 2008.
Bell Canada will be responsible for registering numbers, providing telemarketers with updated versions of the list, and receiving consumer complaints about telemarketing calls, a CRTC release said.
The Power Supply:
This is the unit that sits at the back of your tower and has a fan mounted to it - it's behind that metal grate. Its purpose in life is to convert household power to the lower voltage required by all
the components that make up your desktop.
Being man-made, these things go bad from time to time. Fear not, these things don't cost an arm and a leg and your computer tech can get you back up and running in no time as long as he has the right replacement in stock.
If your fan has been cleaned using a can of compressed air and you are getting a lot of noise from the rear of your tower, it is time to get the power supply replaced. Another hint is when the computer will not boot or there appears to be no power at one of your peripherals.
If you are handy, you can investigate further - just read
this tutorial, but I recommend that you put out the cash and be sure that it is done properly by a tech.
Dammit, Are You Folks Listening?:
Just finished working on a pc cleanup for a family member. The last two Win98 machines in a row to have an expired anti-virus application.
You MUST have an up-to-date anti-virus running on your machine folks. Grisoft's
AVG is a large download, but I highly recommend this freeware.
I would've had this company do a web page, but Marie wasn't too keen on it.
Go ahead and call me henpecked. You weren't the guy who had to sleep with her.
We could have wiped out the Nazis in eight weeks if only we had this guy in our IT department.
I asked him but he had the idea that I was connected to a porn site.
Tony Curtis was hot, but I would never had sung to the President if this guy was born twenty years earlier.
I bet I'd still be alive too!
Yes, it's true
I sleep very soundly and when I do I am prone to talking with dead people and sponges. Don't let that scare you away - you can depend on a well-designed website and it is guaranteed not to be spooky.
I'm just a cartoon character from
Day by Day but I know a whiner winner when I see one. Visit us on our web page.
And Please...
If it's past your bedtime and you can't sleep, please think of your good friends around the world who just may or may not be in bed.
Being Indispensable
Sometime, when you are feeling important,
Sometime, when your ego's in full bloom,
Sometime, when you take it for granted,
You're the only qualified one in the room...
Sometime, when you feel that your going,
Would leave an unfillable hole,
Just follow these few simple instructions
And see how it humbles your soul.
Take a bucket and fill it with water,
Put your hand in it up tio your wrist,
Pull it out, and the hole that is remaining,
Is the measure of how you'll be missed!
You may splash all you please when you enter,
You can stir up the water galore ~
But stop and you'll find in a minute,
That it looks quite the same as before.
The moral of this quaint observation,
Is to do the very best that you can,
Be proud of yourself, but remember,
There is only one indispensable man.
This above Is Dedicatated To The Memory Of Correctional Sergeant Hal Burchfield
12/16/47 - 6/8/85 Killed In The Line Of Duty
San Quentin State Prison, California Department of Corrections
Dang,
Looks like I gotta find some content to fill this thing up more...
the components that make up your desktop.
I would've had this company do a web page, but Marie wasn't too keen on it.
Go ahead and call me henpecked. You weren't the guy who had to sleep with her.
We could have wiped out the Nazis in eight weeks if only we had this guy in our IT department.
I asked him but he had the idea that I was connected to a porn site.
Tony Curtis was hot, but I would never had sung to the President if this guy was born twenty years earlier.
I bet I'd still be alive too!
