I Love This!

I found the cutest elephant decals for laptops on etsy today.  The one in the picture is my favorite!  The laptop I plan on buying next week is black, so I bought this decal in a lavender gloss finish.  I'm not getting a MAC, so I don't know exactly how I will place the decals, but I do know it's going to look awesome!

Happy Games

I love all the games on Facebook. I have a farm, and a cafe, and an aquarium, and an island....wait...I have two different islands. I also have pets. Kitties. Lots of them in all different colors. The past few days, as I have logged into different games, I get messages saying that they have improved the games, making it easier to level up.

I am already obsessed...did they really need to make it easier to play?
I seriously lose too much time out of my day to these games as it is.

Ryan Bought A Laptop

A couple of weeks ago we bought Ryan a laptop. Well, I say we, but he saved up his own money and paid for half of it, and the rest was his birthday gift from us. We bought it at Best Buy, after I did a lot of checking online to see who had the best deal. You would think that while doing my research it would have occurred to me to look for coupons I could use, but it never did. After all the times I have written about how cheap I am, and how much I love using coupons, I totally flaked out on finding one this time. Let's just say it was a blond moment.

Of course, I found a bunch of Best Buy Coupons after the fact. That's just the way my life goes. I always find a better deal after the fact. But from now on, I am going to try and remember to find coupons for everything I buy, not just my groceries. I think that was my problem. It didn't register with me that all kinds of stores use coupons, not just grocery stores.

Ryan loves his laptop, though, which is the important thing. He even lets me borrow it sometimes. Of course, I usually have to beg a little bit first.

Technology

There are so many new electronics on the market today, and it can be confusing to those of us who are technology challenged to make sense of it all. I, for example, can not tell you what the difference is between a mac book pro and a blackberry. I hear people talking all the time about how awesome their iPhones are, but to me, it is a scary looking contraption just waiting for me to mess it up. It took me months to figure out my simple cell phone, and that was with a lot of help from my son, who is 13. Why is it so easy for kids to figure these things out?

Being Monitored

Some of you may already know that I have been thinking about going back to work. In the past, all I have ever done is fast food and being a grocery store cashier. I would love to find a desk job somewhere that didn't require me to wear a uniform, and didn't mind if I was online during the slow parts of the day. The problem is I am not really qualified for that kind of work, and it would be my luck that if I did find a job like that, the boss would have some kind of monitoring software on the computers, and I would be fired in a week for spending too much time blog hopping. I watched an Employee monitoring tutorial and its crazy how easy it is for someone to monitor your computer usage without you even knowing it. The software can be downloaded to your computer from another computer, and you would never know.

I am not sure I would want to work for a company that didn't trust it's employees.

Psst...It's Me

Hello. I know you are expecting a post from you know who, but instead you are getting a post from me.

Who am I, you ask?

I'm Jenn's computer. I would tell you my name, but she never gave me one. She just uses me every day. I have done my best to be reliable, although sometimes I can not help the virus' that infect me, just like her other three kids who sometimes get sick. She treats me well, and takes me to the doctor, too. My doctor is her brother, and he is the one who made me. You would think one of them would have given me a name, but they didn't. I think I deserve a name.

Can you give me a name? I am sure Jenn would appreciate the help. Maybe if I have a name, she will stop all this talk about replacing me. See, she doesn't know that I keep track of all the websites she visits, and that I am aware of her shopping around for a laptop. I hear her "talking" to her friends on IM, where she claims that she needs an HP, like that one over there, to use when the kids need to use me. Sure, I can help with homework, projects, and reports. I can also let the kids play games. Jenn plays games, too. In fact, she spends a lot of time playing games, but don't tell Junior. He thinks she works all day.

Maybe it won't be so bad. At least the kids will appreciate me. They do fight over me all the time now. It makes me feel needed.

I just hope she doesn't realize the great deal she can get right now. HP is offering a $30 stackable site-wide coupon, where she can get $30 off orders $150 or greater at HP Home Store. She just has to use the coupon code SV2132. This coupon is valid through October 31, 2009, or while supplies last. Restrictions and exclusions apply. Do you think I can keep this a secret?

I sure do hope so.

Brandi's Business Idea

I mentioned on my other blog how Brandi wants to own a fashion store when she gets older. This is something she has been talking about for a while, and for a seven year old, she has thought pretty seriously about what she needs to do to accomplish this goal. First she wants to open a store here, in South Carolina, and once it is doing well, she wants to open a second store in New York. She is going to be selling her sister Kasi's designer fashions, and make lots and lots of money. She said she is going to hire old models who will wear the clothes in the store, so people can see what the clothes look like. She said she will pay them more than any other store so that they will be happy working for her.

I told her she is going to have to take a lot of business classes in college to learn about running a business. She will need file transfer software so she can connect her two stores to one inventory list. She also needs to talk her sister into designing the clothes. Although Kasi does want to be a fashion designer, I am not sure how happy she will be working with her sister.

All I know is that they have many years to figure it all out.

Computer Issues

I do not know enough about computers. When I have a problem I can not figure out, I call my computer guy, aka my brother. He built my computer for me, and knows how everything works. I have never had appletalk problems, but I hear it can be quite frustrating. Issues between Mac desktops and Windows servers can drive you crazy, but now you can use ExtremeZ-IP, which is the only Windows-based server software today that actively supports all Mac OS versions.

I know I am lucky to have my brother, who can fix my problems with one phone call. If I didn't, I don't know what I'd do.

Sony Discounts

I want a new computer. Did you notice how I said want, and not need? That is because there is nothing wrong with the computer I have. In fact, I love my computer. It has been very good to me. I guess it would be better to say that I want a new monitor for this computer. I have been drooling over those nice flat screen monitors, and hopefully I can get my hands on one soon. I also want a laptop. We were going to get one last February, but other things needed attention first. This coming February, I am getting one for myself. I will consider it my birthday present to myself.

I found some coupons for Sony discounts, so now I can save some money on the things I am wanting. I was surprised to discover all the coupon codes that can found online. We don't buy big purchases often, but when we do, I want to get the best deal possible. Using coupons is an easy way to get the things I want for less.

The next time you need to buy something, big or small, check online for coupons. You may be able to save a bunch of money.

Remote Computer Access

I am not smart about computer things. I have a tendency to load up my computer with useless garbage that ultimately makes it run really slow and crash quite often. Luckily I have a brother who is a computer wizard. The only problem is that he lives an hour away. Back in November, I decided to install a new program that was supposed to scan for viruses. As usual, I did something wrong, and deleted all the other anti virus programs on my computer, as well as everything else that protects my computer from bad things. The horrible part was that I didn't realize I did anything wrong until a sneaky little virus kept telling me to download a certain program every time I opened a new page while online. I called my brother, and he told me where to go online to find the steps I needed to take to remove the virus. I remember the first step being that I had to find some hidden file, but it wasn't where they told me to look. I called my brother back, and he said he would need to look on my computer, so he had me download another program. At the time, I had no idea what it would do. After it was fully loaded, my brother took control of my computer from his house. I was floored! Turns out he had me download remote desktop software, which allowed him to log into my computer from his, at his house, an hour away. It was really neat watching him work, even though my computer was so messed up he couldn't fix it that night. He ended up having to take it from me and rebuild it from scratch. Since then, I have been very careful, and, knock on wood, haven't had any major problems.

The day my brother gave me back my computer, he had me download the software again so he could get on here whenever I have any problems. He taught me how to make sure the connection is secure, and that no one gets on here without my permission. The remote desktop software from Proxy Networks has 256-bit encryption, which is the highest in its class. They focus on security, so you know exactly who has access to your computer. I, personally, love knowing that one phone call can have my brother crawling around this computer, fixing all my screw ups.

Because lets face it, I have a tendency to screw up often.

Running Slow

My computer has been running pretty slow lately. My son, the computer wizard, blames all the pictures I have on here. I blame it on all the videos he downloads. In reality, it is probably a combination of those two thing, plus a lot of other stuff. I need to use one of the top 3 registry cleaners to get rid of all the stuff I don't need. If that doesn't work, I will just give my computer to my brother so he can work his magic.

My Computer Guy

My brother is my computer guy. There have been a couple of times where he has had to do major overhauls on my computer, and then there were times that he was able to talk me through the problems I was having. There have also been times when he has had to use remote access software to see what was going on with my computer, because the problems got too technical for me to follow his instructions. I was in awe that he could play around on my computer from his own. I'll tell you, it's the little things that amuse me. The kids thought it was pretty cool, too.

It's been a while since he has had to do this, because my computer has been running pretty smoothly now. I am sure that now that I am bragging about it, I will have some sort of issue. That's just the way my life goes. I have been really good, though, about not downloading anything off the internet. I used to have a bad habit of downloading games and things, and my brother told me those things can bog down my computer. Now I just play games online.

I love that my brother is able to work on my computer. If I had to pay someone every time something went wrong, I wouldn't have a cent left to my name.

Hacking, The Right Way

Ethical hacking. Sounds interesting, right? This is a job where you are paid to hack into someones computer, looking for security breaches. It makes sense in that if you want to find out what weaknesses your computer has, and how hackers could get in, become the hacker and find out yourself. I have to tell you, this sounds like an awesome job to have, because you would have to think quickly, and use your brain to think outside of the box. It also pays well, which is a good thing in these tough economic times.

Companies who want to tighten their IT Security are bringing in ethical hackers to find hack their systems. Computers have become a necessary part of business these days, and there is so much sensitive information saved on them. It makes sense to know that your system is secure.

Now that you know what an ethical hacker does, don't you want to be one? EC-Council offers online classes about Ethical Hacking, among other things. You can study about security fundamentals, computer forensics, or even disaster recovery. Disaster recovery sounds interesting, too. I would love to be able to find the information that someone thought they had lost forever. If you are thinking about going back to school to learn a new trade, check out EC-Council. You could become a Certified Ethical Hacker and be hacking someones computer very soon.

Time On My Hands

It's amazing what you can accomplish when you have no internet.

I did ALL the laundry.

I scrubbed the entire bathroom.

I cleaned the kitchen.

I did the floors.

I vacuumed.

I picked up all the kids toys.

I put the radio on, and I sang as loud as I could.

And now...here I sit, because my internet is back! WooHoo!!!!

Work Online

I am a stay at home mom. Recently I have discovered how easy it is to make a little extra money online. If you are looking to work from home, and can read, write, and do other simple tasks, check out Freelance Job Board. They have over 7000 jobs listed, and it is totally free to use. They make it easy to work from home.

They're Teaching ME

I will admit it. I have never used Wikipedia.

In fact, all that I know about it, I have learned from television. How bad is that?

Now that they have Pocket Wikipedia available for mobile devices, I might be more inclined to use it. It is supposed to be perfect for small screen electronics, which is good, because I don't have one of those fancy phones. I just have a basic mobile. I don't even know how to work half the stuff on there. It's funny, though, because if I need something done, the kids know how to do it better than me, and they don't even have phones. I guess it's from playing with their friends phones. Or maybe it's just that in today's day and age, kids and electronics just go together. Brandi does things on the computer she learned in school that I don't even know how to do. I didn't know what a power point was until Ryan had to do one for class. It's a good thing they are learning all this in school, because I wouldn't be able to teach them. Heck, they are teaching me!

Web Hosting Reviews

I know I have been talking a lot lately about becoming a dot com. I have looked into it, and found that this blog can not use it's current name as a dot com, because it is already taken. That doesn't bother me too much, because I can come up with something similar. The things that I find daunting is picking webhosting. There are so many web hosts out there, and it can be overwhelming trying to figure out which offers the best fit for me. I found webhostingrating.com, where they list the top web hosts, and compare the features of each one. It's almost everything I need to know in one place. They also have a section where you can vote on your favorites, and every month it is updated. I like this feature because it is actual users offering their opinion. If you are like me and looking for web hosting, check out this site. I found it very helpful.

Save It

A little over a month ago, my computer went crazy. I was unable to do the simplest things, and it was so slow. It was taking about three minutes just to load my blog. I could forget about dropping ecards. That took hours and hours and hours. Luckily my brother is a computer guy, and was helping to talk me through fixing it. It turned out that I had a virus. A pretty bad one, apparently, because it was causing my computer to hide programs from me, making it impossible to get rid of. I ended up having to let my brother take my computer, and wipe it clean and start over. He was able to save my pictures, thank goodness, but I lost everything else. The good news is that when I got my computer back, it was better than ever! I was able to go back to my normal activity, without the slow loads and hidden programs. My brother is the best!

I know some people use Online Backups to save all their information, and I think it's a great idea, and something I might have to look into. My brother may get tired of having to clean up my messes!

Back In Business

I am getting my computer back this weekend! I am so excited that I will be able to download my pictures again. Of course, I have lots on my camera I have been waiting to share. I have also decided that instead of buying a new PC at tax time, I am going to invest in a laptop. The kids will then be anle to be doing homework on this one, while I blog on my new laptop! lol!

XML Challenge

Are you an XML Superstar? If you think you are, you should enter the XML Challenge.
There are different contests going on, with lots of great prizes.

The video contest consists of recording yourself talking about, singing about, or just working with XMl or DB2. The highest rated monthly video creator will receive an 8GB iPod nano.

The gadget contest consists of submitting a gadget you created that simplifies database work. The winner of this competition wins a 80GB Zune.

The ported app contest offers great prizes! You could win a laptop, a Wii, or iPod nanos.

Then there is the XML challenge. This contest consists of using IBM's DB2 technology to build an application. There are many ways to do this, and to be honest, they are all over my head. If you are interested in winning some great prizes, and just want to be recognized for your work in the XML field, check out this contest. A simple quiz is all it takes to get the ball rolling. You get participation points for each entry, and a special prize is awarded to the person with the most points, so enter often.