Making Life an Adventure

 

My sister just returned from her first cruise and she posted this on her Facebook page, “It just came to me…Life is a party…”. Well, I can agree with that to a point, but I’d rather believe that life should be an adventure. I think I’ve pretty much made my life an adventure so I thought I should write a little something about that here. I would like to describe some of my adventures and hopefully encourage all my readers to make their life an adventure also.

I have had the privilege to know a lot of different folks around town since I first moved here. Many of them just live their lives going to work every day, they would take vacation days to work around home and never go anywhere special. Some have never tried anything new or challenging. There are some who have not even traveled more than 100 miles from home. This doesn’t sound very adventurous to me.

When I turned 18, I decided right then that I would join the Army, so that’s what I did. I was living in Florida at the time so I traveled first to Jacksonville for my physical and induction into the Army. Having past the physical, I was inducted into the Army and immediately sent to Ft. Benning, Georgia for my basic training. My first real adventure had begun. The next three years would prove to be very adventurous indeed. I traveled around the country serving at different military posts and spent one year fighting in Vietnam (not the most pleasant adventure).

After separation from active duty I came home, started college and took a job with the county. The job was with the mosquito control which meant I would be traveling around the county to all the wetlands controlling them where they where populating. The most challenging part of that job was avoiding all the poisonous snakes and alligators that I would be encountering. While doing all this, I also became friends with a local diving instructor. So the next thing I know I was getting the training I needed to get my certifications to be a scuba diver. Now, I would be diving around the area to depths exceeding 100 feet. From snakes to alligators to the little fishes swimming around me, I’m living an adventure!

Living at home proved less than desirable, so I moved on. I left west central Florida and headed southeast to where an uncle of mine lived. I didn’t live there very long when I met the girl who would become my wife. She was there staying with a cousin, having moved down from Wisconsin. We both decided that it wasn’t the place for us so we moved here to Northeast Wisconsin where I live to this day.

Not long after moving here, getting married and starting a family, I would meet someone who would introduce my to my next adventure, flying. I started with flying a Cessna 150, then later I would fly a 172. A few years later I met a new friend who would teach me to fly the right seat in a twin engine Cessna 421. I loved flying that one especially! We would fly around the Great Lakes area and out to the east coast. I had a lot of great experiences flying, too many to mention here.

My work for a local shipbuilding company took me around the Great Lakes also. They would fly me to various cities to work on the ships and I even sailed on a few of them.

I’ve had the opportunity to travel from coast to coast, north to south and points in between. I’ve seen San Francisco, Philadelphia, Miami, Tampa, Tallahassee, San Antonio and Houston, just to name a few. To write about them all, I would have to write a book. I mention them only to let you know that you can get out to other places to see new things, and meet new people. Make life an adventure!

Some of you may not be able to travel to find new adventures. But, you can find many close to home. Check your local papers and information centers for activities that are going on in your area. I’m often surprised when I hear someone say there’s nothing to do around here. Why then do tourists flock to our county for a vacation? There are things to do. There are adventures here close to my home and yours.

I’m limited now as to what I can do and where I can go. I now have to use a powered wheel chair to get around and I no longer drive myself around in my van. My adventures are my writing, helping friends with their computer skills and things like that. I find new things to do right here at home. I’m not going to stop being adventurous just because I can’t get out and about. I enjoy checking my stats on this blog and seeing that I’ve had readers from Russia, India, Germany and Canada. I hope to see many more readers from around the world. To me this is quite exiting! I’d like to make friends with some of these people to learn about them and their way of life. This is my new adventure.

Now when you’re done reading this, if your life has been an adventure, share the memories with your children, grandchildren, friends and family. I’m sure they’d love to hear your stories. If you haven’t been adventurous, then maybe it’s time to start. Life’s too short to get stuck in a rut and do nothing. Have fun and create some new memories, do some exploring, meet new people and enjoy life to the fullest. I think that’s what our creator would want for us.

Have a happy adventure my friends!

-Ed

Targeted Ads……Opt-Out?

 

We’ve all visited websites displaying numerous ads. These same ads seem to be popping up from places we’ve been around the internet. And yes, they are following us. Recently, this all came to a head when on my Facebook page the ads went way over the top with the flashing and the audio screaming at me. I couldn’t leave my Facebook page open any longer. I’d open it only to check it, then close again.

That’s what finally got me started investigating where these were all coming from. It seemed that some friends were not getting the same activity that I was. I started by clicking the link below one of the ads that read “about this ad”. Here is what I learned….

The link directed me to the website Pulse 360, an advertising agency who is a leader in content targeted advertising on the internet. Once here I first learned that I could opt-out of their tracking my movements around the web and they would no longer target ads at me when I visited any of the sites where they were posting ads. I opted out!.

While on their site they also had a link that would direct me to the Network Advertising Initiative website. The NIA helps protect our privacy online. When I clicked on their Opt-Out link I was directed to the Opt-Out page and was surprised to see the long list of active cookies that had been installed on my computer. I chose to ‘select all’ and then ‘submit’ to Opt-Out of all of them. However, there was one that is no longer with the NIA so I was provided a link to go to that site to opt-out. That one is Quantcast.

I then went to the Quantcast website and found they also had and active cookie on my computer. I opted out of that one too.

Now maybe my Facebook page was cleaned up and I would no longer have all those obnoxious ads running on my page. I was wrong! They were still all there. I then thought that if I cleared my cookies they would go away. That turned out to be a mistake. You don’t want to clear your cookies after you opt-out, as what opt-out does is to install cookies on your computer that disables any active cookies placed there by the advertiser. And, the ads on Facebook were still there anyway. I had to go back  through the process to opt-out all over again.

I continued my research to find out why I was still getting those ads. I don’t recall how I came across this next site, but this one is Plural Media LLC. They are yet another one of those advertisers on the web. As I read to the bottom of the page I saw they had a link to disable Page Rage. An application that will put a neat wall paper background on your Facebook page. That’s right, I had it on mine. Having seen it on a friends computer I wanted it too. So maybe if I disabled it the ads would go away. I went to http://www.pagerage.com/disable/ and disabled Page Rage. When I went back to my Facebook page it was refreshingly clean. No more ads.

I can now go to any favorite sites and not be bombarded with a lot of targeted advertising. Yes, there are still a few, I didn’t get them all. But my web experience is a lot more pleasant now without the ads following me around.

If your having the experiences I was having, or if you just want to have a higher level of privacy while web surfing, you know one more step you can take, Opt-Out of targeted advertising. It’s easy to do once you know where to go.

One more thing I should mention is that if you’re using more than one browser, I have four installed, you will need to go though the opt-out process for each one of them as the cookies will be installed on each browser.

I hope this gives you, the reader, a greater sense of control over the internet and you have a greater degree of privacy when using it. I know I do.

-Ed

Cloud Computing

 

Cloud Computing? When I first heard the term I had no idea what Cloud Computing was. It sounded like something very mysterious. How could one compute in a cloud? I started researching what Cloud Computing was. I read everything I could find and, well, I’d started doing it myself a few years before when I started my Windows Live account. I discovered that it came with a Windows Live Workspace which is now called SkyDrive. I could upload documents to it and I could even edit them right there in my browser.

I now also have my Google account. Have had for quite some time now. I love the fact that I can upload documents to my space on Google docs and edit them there also. I can upload my photos to my Picasa account and use them here in my blog and my family website.

Cloud computing is simply creating and saving your work on servers somewhere on the web, rather than just on your computer at your desk at home or work.

I think cloud computing is the wave of the future. It won’t be long before you will not even have any productivity software on your computer. Microsoft has this already with 360. All you do is subscribe to the service rather than buy and install all this software. Another example is on the computers that we buy today. Microsoft’s Word starter and Excel starter is preinstalled on your computer when you buy it. Or is it? It isn’t. Try using it when you’re offline. It won’t work, you have to be online for it to download to your computer each time you click the icon to use it. Then when you shut down your computer it’s gone. It will download again the next time you call for it.

One advantage I see to subscribing to a service rather than buy and install the software is that you’ll never have to buy the latest and greatest version every time they come up with one. It’ll be there when they release it automatically. No more worrying about updates, licenses and all that. It’ll always be there when you need it.

Collaborating on projects is another clear advantage with Cloud Computing. When you collaborate in the cloud, there aren’t documents floating around in everyone’s inboxes in various stages of revision. You have one. And that one document is in the cloud where all revisions also reside. A nice orderly place. A place where everyone working on a project can go to work on it.

The only disadvantage to Cloud Computing is that you must always have access to the web to use it. If you’re offline, you’re out of luck. Being able to be online at all times is getting much easier now and much more reliable. Not only do we have the broadband service with our cable companies, dsl  with phone service, but G3 with cell phone companies is now in stages of being replaced with G4 which will prove to be much faster and compete with cable broadband.

Another place we my have been working in the cloud is at our workplaces. All of our data was saved to the company’s servers and not on our workstation. The company had their own network and maintained all their own servers. We were computing in the cloud before the term was even coined.

As we continue to watch computing evolve, I think we’ll see some real dramatic changes coming really quick. We’ll have to adapt to subscribing to a service to use their software, saving all our documents somewhere else, etc. It sometimes makes one feel as though we’ve lost control of what we do somehow.

Another point I would like to make while I’m here. We are always concerned about security while working on the internet. Is our data safe? Well, I might suggest that is safer there than in your home. Or on your computer. You and I are always being reminded to backup, backup and to backup some more. And we don’t do it. At least most of us don’t. And what about theft, or fire or flood? I guess from that point of view I would rather my data be tucked away safely on the web. No matter what happens at home, or to my computer, my data is safe, and I can get a new computer and get to my data.

I just set up my cloud printing with Google Cloud print. It was easy to do. The main reason I did it was to be able to print from my tablet. I was having difficulty printing from my app on my tablet and found Google Cloud Print to be an excellent work around. I can see a lot of uses for cloud printing. You can print to your office printer no matter what your physical location is. Print photos to your home printer or have a friend print to yours while on vacation. Maybe you want to print to a clients printer, the possibilities are endless.

The more computing I do in the cloud the more I’m liking it. I think as you start exploring  Cloud Computing you will too. So you might say I’ve got my head in the clouds. Cloud Computing that is. Go ahead and get your head in the clouds too. I would recommend starting with Google docs. Save your work there and you can edit and collaborate on projects right there in the Google Cloud.

I think that’s enough said about Cloud Computing. Maybe I’ve convinced some of you to give it a try. Those who are already using it, I’m sure would agree. It would be interesting to hear from some of you using it to let the rest of us know how it has helped you. Maybe you can give us some unique ways to make use of it.

-Ed

e-Sword Bible Study

When we want to do a bible study we get out our bible, our Strong’s reference and all the other reference books we may have, if we have any at all. Then we start searching the Bible from one Scripture to another to another. And we write notes in a notebook with scripture references that we have to look up later unless we copy it into our notes…….and we don’t do it because it’s too much like work. And we don’t study, just leave it on the shelf…..maybe later when there is more time.

Well, that’s why I want to write this. Because there is a better way and it’s free.

The Bible study program e-Sword, written my Rick Meyer, is distributed by him for all to download, share and use freely.

Besides the program itself, there is an enormous wealth of reference works that you can chose to download as well after installing the program.

The program has many useful features. For your note taking, there are Study Notes, Topic Notes and a Journal. Rick has made it easy to paste a selection into any of these notes with just the click of the mouse. Any notes that you write in your notes or journal, you can format just as you would in any word processor.

Searching the Bible is equally as easy. Just select the book and chapter you want to go to and your there. To search a specific scripture you can use the search tool.

There are many other features that you can benefit from, such as memory verses, daily Bible reading and prayer requests.

Many downloads are available directly through the program. There are many versions of the Bible that are free. Others are available at a small cost. There are books that are also free to download to e-Sword.

Besides books, Bibles and commentaries, there are also maps and such that you can download and view with the graphics viewer.

I hope this little review of e-Sword has stirred up your curiosity enough that you’ll click on a link and go there to investigate this more and download and install this wonderful software on your own computer.

Once installed, I’m confident you’ll find reading and studying your Bible will be a much more satisfying experience.

-Ed

Abandoned Flock

This one is a hard one to write about, the abandoned flock. You see….there are so many people out there….good people….. who have been completely abandoned…..left for dead…..by the pastors of their church! Now you’re thinking, “man, this guy’s harsh”! Well, this post is meant to be harsh. I want to shake them up and kick them in the rear! (The pastors).

You see, the people who are in the ministry, your Pastors, Ministers, Priests or whatever else you want to call them don’t seem to want to get out of their comfortable chairs, climate controlled offices to visit those who are hurting and not getting to church.

What are their excuses? Are they to busy with their church work? Are they doing the work someone else could be doing? Are they too timid to go to someone's home? Or maybe they are just lazy!

Some pastor’s delegate that duty to members of their church. Why I ask? The members should be doing other things so their pastor can get out to visit those who are imprisoned in their homes, nursing homes hospitals and jails!

There are many reasons (I won’t call the excuses) people aren’t in their church. They may be physical problems. Illnesses, disabilities, emotional problems. You name it, there are lots of reasons a person may not be coming to your church. Are the ones coming the only ones worth anything to you? Are you that judgmental that you won’t go to them? Are you not the shepherd of the flock? If the answer to that last one is ‘yes’, then get your rear out the door and be a shepherd!

I think if you’re in the ministry, then you should know your bible an awful lot better than I know mine. But I’m throwing these verses your way anyway.

Mat 18:12  How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?
Mat 18:13  And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.
Mat 18:14  Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.

Well, how are your 99? Are they okay? Do you think you can leave them alone long enough to leave your church office to go to some of those who are suffering at home? Does someone have to drag you out kicking and screaming and make you do your job?

It is your job you know. Oh, I know some don’t like it to be called a job. It’s a “calling”. Well then, do what you were called to do, and do it today! And do it everyday!

If you don’t take care of everyone else just like you take care of all those really good people who come to church every week, how are you going to answer when your time comes?

Are you going to boast about all the good works you’ve done? I’m sure there are many. I’m not saying that you’re all bad. I’m trying to tell you that you are neglecting so many people out there. It’s wrong!

Read these next verses.

Mat 7:20  Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Mat 7:21  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 7:22  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

That should scare the you no what out of you! I think I’d be just flying out of the church and looking for those lost sheep. Many may not really be lost at all. They’re just neglected, left unfed. Go to them, comfort them, feed them, bring them home!

How many, I wonder, will even read this? If they read this, will it make a difference? If you’ve read it, will you tell your pastor to read it and if you tell him/her to, will he/she? And if they read it will they take it to heart or just shrug it off as if I’m just someone who likes to rant? I don’t get passionate about much, but this is something that’s bothered me for many years and I’ve not said much to many about it. Now I’m saying it, publicly. Listen!

I’ll be watching to see how many hits this blog gets. I’ll be watching to see how many share this. Don’t disappoint me. Don’t disappoint your Lord!

-Ed

Acer Iconia A500

Early in June, after researching and reading reviews on a number of different tablets, I finally bought myself a new tablet, an Acer Iconia A500.

Previously I’ve been using only my desktop and laptop computers for all my computing needs. Reading e-books on Kindle, Nook and other e-readers, internet as well as everything else we typically use our computers for. So did I really need a tablet too? I thought maybe not, I just wanted it; I could afford to buy it so why not?

I do enjoy reading and to sit at the computer and read for hours becomes uncomfortable so I haven’t been doing much reading lately. Now with my new tablet I find that’s not a problem at all. Whether it’s in my recliner, sitting on the couch or lying in bed, I can read until my eyes get too blurry to see anymore.

I have my Kindle and Nook apps installed and there is also LumiRead that was already preinstalled . It also came with an Adobe app which I activated with my Adobe account so I can download and read the ePub books also. These are available from the local library and other sources as well. Now I have no shortage of sources for books, magazines or newspapers to read on my tablet anytime I want something.

I have my tablet right by my bedside when I go to sleep at night so in the morning before I get up I can check my e-mails, read the NY Times or any other paper that I wish to read. How nice is that to not have to go out to get the paper!

I have to get up eventually to make my coffee, but then it’s nicer to sit with my tablet in my lap rather than sit at the computer.

I do use it for making notes, keeping a journal, writing e-mails and things like that. I haven’t found it that practical yet for any extensive word processing or spreadsheets, (at least for me) but then again I’m still exploring what I can do with it. I installed some apps, but I’m still researching what is out there before I make my choices as to what I want to install.

You can find many more apps for the A500 on the Marketplace. There are apps for every category including business. So if your thinking it’s only to play with, you’ll be happy to know that it can be a great business tool as well.

Besides using it for reading, I can load any music that I want on it. I can use the built in speakers, or of course use headphones for a better quality sound. It will play video clips with Flash installed, unlike the iPad which doesn’t support Flash. I can connect it to an LCD TV (when I get one) with an HDMI cable, thus using the TV to watch videos.

It has both a front facing and a rear facing cameras. The cameras do take very nice stills and videos.

Here’s another fun thing to note. It has GPS capability. I can go outside and navigate anywhere I want to go with the GPS and Google Earth! I should never got lost now. I was surprised as to just how accurate it is.

Staying on the fun stuff, there are some games preinstalled also. You’ll also find a ton of stuff on the Marketplace. There are more apps than you could possibly imagine available there.

This tablet is a nice addition to by electronic toys. I’m enjoying it quite a lot and finding it very useful. If you bought one for yourself I think you’d find it worth the investment. There are many others out there and I found the one that I thought would be right for me. The one you choose for yourself should have the capabilities you need to do the things you want to use it for.

-Ed

Freedom Gained

Back in June I posted a short article, ‘Disability Discrimination’. I had been looking for help with my issue off and on for months. After I wrote that post I started searching for someone to help me again. After searching the internet, I eventually was led to an agency right here in Door County. Maybe there would be a slim chance that someone there who could provide help. I spoke with a very nice lady who referred me to Disability Rights of Wisconsin in Madison. She provided a number to call. The results of that referral I will tell you here in this post.

I made the call. The girl who took my call transferred me to an intake worker who took my information. I was asked to fax all the documentation that I had. I then proceeded to fax the 16 pages of documentation. My own notes, letters that I’d sent, letters sent by the building inspector and documents on the equipment that I needed to comply with ADA regulations for barrier free access to my building.

I was then sent an explanation of the laws regarding my particular situation. These were very helpful in understanding what my rights and responsibilities were and what those are of my landlord.

After they reviewed the information that I sent, I received a call from an advocate with DRW. We had a phone conference and she consulted with her supervising attorney. The attorney advised that I again write my landlord asking permission to purchase and install the equipment that I needed to make my building fully accessible to me.

I wrote the letter. I was disappointed, if not even angry with the reply. My request was granted to purchase and install the equipment, however, they would take possession of it if and when I vacated my apartment.

I faxed this to Madison. They were floored that the corporation that owns and manages this complex would even have the gall to do such a thing. After a meeting within their group, I was advised to write another letter telling the landlord that if they wanted the equipment they could reimburse me for all costs incurred or I would be allowed to take it with me if and when I vacated my apartment.

I wrote this letter and sent it. I received yet a worse reply. They said because it’s their building, any modifications I made, be it temporary or permanent, they would take it. And……they would not reimburse me anything!

What? Yes, they would take possession of everything that I installed to make things easier because of my disability!

I faxed this down to Madison and they had another weekly meeting. They reached a consensus to take my case. I was then sent all the paperwork to sign and return to them. Then my advocate and attorney started their communication with the corporation that I had been fighting on my own.

Now I received a letter from my landlord ‘granting my request’ to take the equipment with me if and when I left.

I ordered the door closer and lockset that I needed. This was on Monday and I received an e-mail the following day that my order had been shipped. On Wednesday I received the lockset shipped from Illinois. Then Thursday I received the door closer that came from Ohio. I contacted my installer (I can’t trust this maintenance man to install it correctly) and they stopped by Friday evening to look at what needed to be done. My installer then came Saturday afternoon and installed and adjusted everything.

I have now been enjoying my first full week of freedom this year! What a joy it is just to get out the door when I want to, and not when I can find someone who can come to let me out for a little while and then let me in again. Freedom feels good!

-Ed

Efficient To-Do List Review

I’ve been disappointed by the limitations of the typical to-do lists found in calendars, e-mail clients and such. So I went searching the internet the other day to try to find something better, yet a program that is also affordable. I found what I was looking for when I came across Efficient To-Do List by Efficient Software.
Efficient To-Do List is a stand alone software program that enables you to create to-do lists for any project at home, work or your small business. You can set start dates and due dates. It allows you to show the progress of the tasks also. You can set the priority of each task and you can also color code the task to define a category. There is also a window for writing your comments for each task that you add.
The free version does have some limitations. In the free version you cannot create groups with tasks, subtasks and siblings. If you want that option you’ll have to buy the Pro Version. That isn’t a problem though, as the program is very affordable. I would certainly recommend it.
If you’re like me, staying organized in your daily life is the only way to get things done and stay on top of it. By using Efficient To-Do List at home you can keep your daily life organized and teach your children how to do the same.
Use it for work and keep yourself organized to improve your on the job performance and impress your employer. If you run your own business, using Efficient To-Do List will increase your profitability.
Students also will find this application handy to organize their time and get their assignments and projects done in timely manner.
I found their help files to be informative and easy to understand. The software itself is intuitive, with a short learning curve. You’ll be up and running right away after you install it. The UI is that of a typical Windows UI and easy to navigate. Different skins are available also so you can customize the appearance of the window. By default Efficient To-Do List is set to open when you start your computer. When it starts, any reminders for tasks due will pop up. Any reminders are optional of course and if you didn’t want it opening on start up, that option can be changed also.
I’m running the program on my computer with Windows7, 64 bit. So far I’ve had no problems at all. I will be using this app for a long time and I’ll be looking at their other products as well.
Another thing I should mention, is that they also have a portable version available for free download. This one you can install on a flash drive to take with you to the office or home and use it on any computer. Now, how handy is that?
So go get your copy and get organized! You’ll be glad you did.
-Ed

Disability Discrimination

We often hear about discrimination in many forms. We sympathize with those who are discriminated against and try to be understanding. However, until it happens to us, we don't really know how it feels or what impact it has on our lives.

About a year and a half ago, the VA provided me with a power wheel chair since I can no longer walk more than a few feet at a time with assistance. I then sent a request to the corporation that owns the apartment complex, for a special door closer to be installed on the door to the rear entrance of my apartment building that complies with ADA regulations for barrier free access to my building. Since then my repeated requests have gone unanswered and have been ignored.

I've contacted my city alderman and had a visit with him and another city official. They have not done anything for me either. It seems they have no authority to enforce any laws to comply with with fair housing or the ADA regulations.

So I'm stuck here in my apartment with no way out except when I can get someone to open the door for me to allow me to get in and out. How fair is that? No one can imagine how depressing it is to look out the window knowing that you can't get out to enjoy the outdoors.

If I could afford an attorney I would definitely file a lawsuit for discriminating against me. I feel that I've run out of  options now. I could try having it installed myself, but then I run the risk of getting myself in trouble for doing it.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

When you see someone at a disadvantage because of circumstances beyond their control, be understanding and sympathetic. Try to  help if you can. They will certainly appreciate it and I will too.

-Ed