Still Learning

It is hard to talk about yourself all day. ... You learn when you're with other ideas, other books, other friends.  Talking about yourself can't advance your life.  (Yannick Noah in Black Pearls by Eric V. Copage, 12 August)

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I tried to use the Windows Media Center program yesterday.  That didn't go well.  I lost the cursor two times.  I'm finding all of the Windows Media programs somewhat awkward.  Maybe it's just me.

I connected the ViewSonic monitor and its speakers directly to the laptop computer.  That seemed to resolve the issues I was having.  There must be something about the Toshiba docking station that I don't understand or that doesn't work.  I left the mouse and the printer connected to the docking station. Changing computers has always been a long drawn out process for me.

Today we are planning to go to Bowie at 11:00 a.m. to attend the Labor Day event at the Catholic Church.  I hope I will be able to buy some books for my 2012 reading program.  I'm looking for a copy of the 2010 Daily Guideposts book.

Mr. Dickie

5 September 2011

Who's To Blame

(Photo: Mr. Dickie - Coneflower in our yard)

There are lots of ways we mess up our lives and we have no one to blame but ourselves. (Steve Case, Everything Counts, 23 June)

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Yesterday I tried to learn more about using Sticky Notes with Windows 7. I have five books checked out of the library. Not one of them even mentions this application. Here's a link to some Microsoft online information about how it works. Sticky Notes.

I also tried out the Window 7 Snipping Tool. None of the books mention this application either. Maybe we aren't getting such a good buy when we purchase these books. Here's a link to some Microsoft online information about his this application works. Snipping Tool.

Mr. Dickie

27 Jun 2011

A Word To The Wise

Do you consider yourself wise?  If you can't bear to hear a word to the wise, maybe you are not as smart as you think you are.  (Mr. Dickie after Believing In Myself by Larsen and Hegarty, 6 March)

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Yesterday I spent some time getting the Windows Live Photo Gallery working on the new laptop.  I downloaded all of the photos on my camera to the Pictures library on the computer.  Now I need to compare how the Photo Gallery works to how Picasa 3.8 works.  At first glance the two applications seem to be quite similar.  With the Photo Gallery I was able to upload a couple of photos to my Facebook wall in a matter of seconds.  I hope I don't bore everyone by posting the same photos twice.  I can't rely on my memory to keep track.

I discovered a new version of the Google Blogger editor.  I installed it.  I wonder what new features will be available.  I see more editing tools on the tool bar.  The Preview option looks nice.  The photo uploads didn't work.  Bummer!

This morning I have Facebook displayed on the larger monitor and Google Blogger on the laptop monitor.

Tonight Panama and the U.S.A. will play a soccer match in the Gold Cup series.  I have a $10.00 bet with Melva.

This morning I'm listening to the Annie Lennox album - Bare.

Mr. Dickie

22 Jun 2011

Windows 7

Tell me and I'll forget. Show me, and I may not remember. Involve me, and I'll understand. (Native American Saying, The Book Of Choices by Mike Magee, M.D., p.193)

The threat of publicity ... [is not a] bad thing, if it keeps a man in the right way ... (William Barclay, The Letters To Timothy, p. 136)

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Yesterday I attended the computer club meeting. There was no scheduled speaker. Dan Lee let us hook up his laptop which is using the Windows 7 operating system. Bob Blum answered some of our Windows 7 questions using Dan's computer. This is rather disconcerting for the computer owner because things get changed on the computer. Another member brought in two desktop computers. They hooked them together with a cable and a program called Easy Transfer in an attempt to move her data and photos from one machine to the other. This didn't go well. Some of us made other suggestions of ways to accomplish her goal if she didn't want to keep the programs. Several other little discussions broke out in the room. I wasn't feeling well and my hearing problems all of the noise made it difficult to follow what was going on at the front of the room. I decided to leave early. I left with more knowledge of how Windows 7 works, or doesn't. I think my notes will help me solve the problem I was having when I tried to find Windows Explorer.

I'm trying to do a little more each day with the new laptop computer. It isn't easy. The Windows 7 interface is markedly different than Windows Professional 2000. I was able to get the sound working again on the laptop. I have no idea why it broke. Apparently a driver was selected that turned off the speakers on the computer. The speakers on the big monitor are still not working.

I have two Internet browsers installed on the laptop: Internet Explorer 9 and Chrome. I intend to install Firefox too. That's the browser I have been using on my desktop computer. I was able to start the Chrome browser for the first time. Both browsers display the Toshiba homepage when they start. I may change that later.

I noticed that it's possible to create photo albums for Facebook Groups. I created one for our family group and uploaded a couple of photos to make sure it works.

I also used Facebook to take two photos with the webcam on the laptop and upload them to Facebook.

Mr. Dickie
3/Jun/2011 8:40

Links

When we speak or act hastily or rashly, the ability to be fair-minded and tolerant evaporates on the spot. (Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 91 found in Daily Reflections, 12 october)

Meditation is the quiet and sustained application of the mind to the contemplation of a "spiritual truth." It's purpose is to deflect our minds from the problems we are experiencing, to raise our thoughts above the grievances and discontent that color our thinking. (One Day at a Time in Al-Anon, 17 October)

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I found another nice set of web pages, about serving at Cat Lai, Vietnam, written by Rich Walters a member of the 199th Light Infantry Brigade (Redcatcher) Communications Platoon. I think I'm in one photograph taken at a formation. I'm thinking about trying to gather the URLs to all of the pages I've found by posting them to Delicious.

The computer club website committee chairman asked me if I could post some URLs to Windows 7 articles that appeared on the Smart Computing magazine website. We finished that project yesterday, on the first day of the Windows 7 release. I also added links to PC Magazine, PC World magazine and the CNET website all of which had good coverage of the topic. The other day I installed a link to the City of Bowie links page. There visitors can find links to many of the clubs and other organizations in the Bowie, Maryland area.

Mr. Dickie

Windows 7 - Release Day

To be alive is to experience a certain amount of anxiety. We will never be completely rid of all fear. (Food For Thought, 8 October)

Perhaps you fear the changes that death will bring? But a similar great change already happened at the time of your birth, and nothing bad came out of it. (Anonymous in A Calendar of Wisdom by Leo Tolstoy, 10 October)

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Today, October 22, 2009, is the release date of the new version of the personal computer operating system, Windows 7. Are you going to rush out to buy a copy? Isn't that just what Microsoft wants? Since the beginning of Windows they have made a great living by continually producing what seem to be bug filled programs and selling new versions over and over again. Should we expect this time to be any different?

I discovered an Army Transportation Association Vietnam (ATAV). I spent time yesterday reading some of the pages on their website. I saw a posting by Don Mangus. I think he's a friend from years ago when I was active in the Art Cover Exchange. I sent him an Email.

Mr. Dickie

Windows 7

To be what we are, and to become what we are capable of becoming is the only end of life. (Robert Louis Stevenson in One More Day by Sefra Kobrin Pitzele, 24 September)

[I'll] ... add a spiritual dimension to my life; then I will never be alone in dealing with whatever troubles may appear. (One Day at a Time in Al-Anon, 4 September)

We can change negatives into positives, but it requires time and great emotional effort. (Sefra Kobrin Pitzele, One More Day, 9 October)

The kiss of the sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth,
One is nearer God's heart in a garden,
Than anywhere else on earth.

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Yesterday at the Computer Club meeting one of the members talked about the factors to consider before making a decision whether to upgrade your computer to Windows 7. Afterwards I got to thinking, "I've become obsolete." He discussed what people using Windows XP would need to consider and what people using Windows Vista would need to consider. He didn't mention Windows 2000 and I didn't bother to ask. Windows 2000 Professional is the operating system installed on my laptop that broke and the desktop computer I'm using now. Maybe that's fortunate. If I want to use Windows 7 all I need to do is buy a new computer with the operating system installed.

I'm having fun making Facebook friends with some family members of the younger generation. For the first time some of our relatives in the United States have become my friends.

Mr. Dickie