Google or Yahoo!

Some people swear by Google and others swear by Yahoo!. Which is better? Take a look at this cleaver app ... search Google and Yahoo! at the same time: http://us.searchboth.net/. The homepage of SearchBoth is a little cluttered and even a little confusing, but the results are interesting. Experiment with a couple of searches and see if you would consider switching search engines.

Foxit Reader: A Free, Lightweight Adobe Reader Alternative ...

If you spent much time opening PDF files with Adobe Reader you know that Reader is not the fastest application under the sun. Plus, Reader provides its share of annoyances when doing updates. For a free alternative application, give Foxit Reader for Windows a try. Foxit Reader is much smaller than Adobe Reader, so one of the best things about it is how fast it loads and unloads. It also makes it easy to convert PDF documents to text.

In addition to offering a very useful toolbar, there is a tabbed feature that works very much like working with a tabbed browser. You can also annotate PDFs with your own text, highlight text, and much more. But, the best feature is how fast Foxit opens and closes PDF files.

Google Reader ...

Several people have asked me recently about Google Reader. Reader is one of the best ways to keep up-to-date on web sites you are interested in, including blogs, without actually going directly to the site. Reader constantly monitors the sites you follow and notifies you when there is a change or update. It uses something called RSS, or Real Simple Syndication. Don't worry about that ... just click on the following link for a tour and then login. By-the-way, if you already have a Gmail account - and if you don't, you should - you already have a Reader account!

http://www.google.com/intl/en/googlereader/tour.html

Reader will keep you up-to-date and help simplify your life!

Electricity Costs ...

I saw these numbers recently and thought I would pass them along. You can draw your own conclusions. The costs are monthly averages based on the national average price of electricity:

• TV/DVD ... $8.21
• Lighting ... $10.95
• Refrigerator ... $20.59
• Central Air Conditioning ... $44.35

In general, the hotter something gets, or the larger the motors is, the more electricity is used.

New Family History Blog ...

I have started a new Family History blog that you may want to checkout and bookmark. There is not much there yet, but I have a long list of items that will start to appear. Let me know what you think. Here is the link: www.onlyFH.blogspot.com

Free Conference Call Service ...

The next time you need to get your family or other large group together to discuss an upcoming event or issue, take a look at a new free conference call service call Rondee. It looks attractive, since you can schedule the call via the Internet and even record the call. Signing up for an account is a breeze.

Email Subject Lines ...

Have you ever sent someone an email that you needed them to reply to? Or, do you frequently send emails that are "information only" and don't expect or need a reply? Do you ever get messages that have vague or non-descript subject lines? Here are several tips to make email life a little easier.

If you really need someone to reply to your email, try indicating that fact in the subject line. For example, suppose you send a message asking for some input for an upcoming meeting about a new restaurant idea called the Dog House. Try a subject line like this:

Subject: Menu Ideas for the Dog House ... Reply Requested

When the recipient receives the email, there should be no question that the you are expecting a reply. If you send a message that is for "information only", indicate that in the subject line like this:

Subject: Menu Ideas for the Dog House ... Information Only

How many times do you get an email with a subject line so vague, that you have no idea what the message is about? Or, how about the person that sends a two or three paragraph message just to tell you they will be out of the office next Friday? Here is a way to make the subject line be the message ... use EOM (End of Message) like this:

Subject: I will be Out-of-the-Office Next Friday, August 1, 2008 ... EOM

That's it! You don't need to put anything in the body of your message. Here are some benefits of using EOM:

1. EOM saves your recipient's time. Don't you value your time? Isn't it nice when others value your time too? By keeping your subject line short and using EOM you are showing the people you send to you value their time. They'll thank you for it (when they know what it means).
2. It saves you time. Why write the body of a message if you don't have to?
3. You craft better subject lines. One of the reasons people might glaze over when they receive your email is a subject line that doesn't grab them or give enough information. With EOM, you have no choice but to create a powerful subject line. The space for subjects is limited. You create better subject lines because you can't write a whole paragraph.
4. EOM encourages others to EOM. Once people see the resulting effectiveness of EOM, they will begin crafting EOMs of their own. It's win-win. You get concise, non-time wasting emails and they get the same.
5. EOM forces you to keep email messages focused on a single topic. Good email etiquette says you should keep the number of topics in an individual email to only one. If you have only one subject line to work with, you cannot cover more than one topic.
6. EOM guarantees 100% readership. We've all had the frustrating experience of waiting on someone to read our important email and respond. Sometimes we wait a long time and follow up to find out they haven't even read the message at all. Perhaps the most powerful advantage of EOM is 100% readership. Why? Because your entire message is in the subject line. Your message becomes impossible to ignore because it comes in front and center—no need to double click.

Give these ideas a try. Email is an essential part of our lives - both business and personal. Because most of us send and receive many emails every day, why not be as efficient as possible with our time and the time of those who receive our messages.

Gmail Archive - The Least Understood Button ...

Gmail's archive feature is likely the least understood button found on Gmail's navigation. What exactly does archive mean? Archive does not mean "backup" or some other form of off-site storage. It also doesn't mean that it files things away in hard to reach areas. It simply moves email out of your inbox. That's it.

Archived email is still immediately available using Gmail's search function or by clicking the All Mail button. The beauty of Archive is that it hides emails that you have processed. Once you're read an email, or read and responded to an email, clicking the archive button will save the email OUTSIDE of your inbox.

Once you're done with emails, stop looking at them. Turn your inbox into a place for pending issues ONLY.

Ink and Toner at Office Depot ...

Several days ago I ran out of ink and didn't have a spare. A new Office Depot opened a few months ago not far away, so I decided to give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised! Not only do they guarantee they will have the cartridge you need, but you get an instant $3.00 credit for an empty cartridge (limit of 3 per visit), plus they have a free rewards program that gives you 10% back for ink, toner, and paper. I checked prices online at OfficeMax, Staples, and HP, and found all were the same as Office Depot, but without the credit and rewards. Any comments?

SensibleUnits ...

There are a lot of ways you can use the internet to convert one unit of measure to another, including Google. Here is a site with a unique approach. For example, in addition to telling you that 1 gigabit is equal to 1000 megabits, it tells you that 1 gigabit is equivalent to the contents of 25 Bibles. That is a lot easier for me to comprehend. Or, do you have trouble visualizing the size of an acre? SensibleUnits gives you the usually conversion in units like square feet or square yards, but how about thinking of an acre as 11 IMAX screens. This could be a good site for parents and teachers to help young children better understand units of measure. Take a few minutes and give it a try.

Joopz ...

Have you ever been sitting at your computer and need to send a text message to someone? What if you could send the message from your computer instead of your phone? Let's face it, a full-size keyboard and large screen is easier and faster to use than a phone's keyboard and screen, especially if you are already at your computer. Hop over to Joopz and sign-up for a free account and see if you agree.

Google Analytics ...

Thanks to one of my loyal readers, Shan, I have discovered a wonderful new tool, Google Analytics. If you have a blog - or any type of web site - Google Analytics can tell you who is looking at your site, when the look, and from where. Take a look: www.google.com/analytics. And, thanks again, Shan!

Why use Gmail? Reason #5 ...

#5. Google it! - Never forget that you’re using a Google-based program, not just a service provided by the company. Want to find something easily? Google it! It’s in your email somewhere. This is one of the best things about Gmail. Let’s say I sent you a password to my website about muffins, but you can’t remember when I sent it so the thought of scanning through all of your emails is daunting (especially since you don’t delete them anymore). Well, try searching in your email for “password” and “muffins” and hit enter. Chances are, the exact email you are looking for will be sitting there waiting for you. If not, add/remove keywords until it does. I can’t stress to you enough how great this feature is until you experience it yourself. In fact, this is the reason why folders are irrelevant now. Why search through folders if you’re going to search all of them at once every time?

Why use Gmail? Reason #4 ...

#4. Labels - Another paradigm shift that Gmail will (happily) force you to make is getting rid of the “everything needs a folder” mentality. Outlook-based email, AOL, Hotmail, and the rest have always forced us to create all these folders for our email, arrange them just so, and otherwise add steps that we don’t really need. There are no folders, really, in Gmail. I mean, they call them the inbox folder and the spam folder just so people know what they’re referring to, but there is not actual folder. So, how do you keep everything straight? Labels! Add a label called “business” that is blue and one called “financial” that is green, or whatever you can come up with. They’re flexible and you can rename them, so you’re bound to come up with plenty of uses for them. But be careful that you don’t overuse them. After all, Gmail is about simplicity, and part of the simplicity is being able to search for an email rather than search through folders, labels, etc. And speaking of search…

Why use Gmail? Reason #3 ...

#3. Filters! - Yay, filters! They rock, rock, rock! And, here’s why. Let’s say you keep getting email from Old Navy, and you just can’t get them to stop sending you stuff. Well, just create a filter that automatically archives (or deletes) all email from them. That way, it skips your inbox entirely and you never see it. There are a ton of great uses for filters. If you have a friend who is always forwarding you junk and you can’t tell them to stop (but you also don’t want to simply block them because they are a friend of yours), then just create a filter that automatically archives everything from “unclesteve@email.com” that has “FWD” in the subject line. That way, if he ever sends you a personal email that isn’t a forward, it’ll come straight to your inbox and you won’t miss a thing. And besides, if you set it to automatically archive, you won’t be getting rid of anyway…just hiding it. Finally, filters can be used to “unsubscribe” from any email service, no matter how hard they make it to do so. If you’re tired of receiving email from someone, set up a filter that automatically deletes all email from them and you’ll never be bothered again.

Why use Gmail? Reason #2 ...

#2. Re-inventing the inbox - Your inbox is like your desktop. It’s your staging area for things you need to deal with or don’t want to forget. The rest of the emails in there should be archived or deleted. It all depends on your own behavior, of course, but you shouldn’t have more than twenty-or-so emails in your inbox at any given time. Sure, you can have a thousand if you want, but you’d be neglecting the whole point of the Gmail inbox and the archive button. Don’t be afraid to archive something immediately after you’ve read it, or if you already know what it’s going to say. Archiving doesn’t hide it away in some locked vault, never to be seen again. It simply removes it from your inbox. Your inbox should just contain emails from people who are actively waiting on a response, or if there’s a bill notification or some other reminder you don’t want to forget.

Why use Gmail? Reason #1 ...

#1. Archiving - You need to get used to archiving everything rather than deleting. In fact, you may need to change your whole outlook on this behavior because it means something entirely different now. Before, if you had an email that you didn’t actively save somewhere, it’d eventually get deleted off the server. Well, with Gmail, unless you specifically delete it or it gets left in the Spam folder, it will remain in your account forever. This is important for two main reasons: security and “searchability.” The good thing is that you’ll never lose another email again…period. However, you also need to be aware that you have to delete anything you absolutely want deleted. So, get in the habit of archiving unless it’s absolute junk and you’re certain you’ll never ever need that email again.

Delayed Post Date and Time ...

Did you know that you can now specify the date and time for your blog post to be published? This is neat. When you compose your post, just click on the Post Option drop down arrow and enter the date and time you want the post to be published. Why, you say? Well, suppose you have a goal to publish a post every day - like I do - but often get busy or distracted and miss a day or two. Using the delayed post opiton, you can create several posts when you have time and schedule them for publishing a day apart. So, there should be no excuses for me missing a day from now on! Sure ...

Keep up-to-date ...

Several people have asked me recently how I keep up-to-date with all that is going on. Here is my secret: Alltop ... their slogan is: "We've got all the top stories covered all the time." Give it a try.

Emergency Preparedness ... Natural Disasters ...

I am planning a series of posts in the coming weeks on a variety of Emergency Preparedness topics that I hope will be useful to everyone. For starters, the following list shows the number of reported world-wide natural disasters in each decade since 1900:

• 1900-1909 ... 6
• 1910-1919 ... 18
• 1920-1929 ... 11
• 1930-1939 ... 17
• 1940-1949 ... 20
• 1950-1959 ... 23
• 1960-1969 ... 43
• 1970-1979 ... 85
• 1980-1989 ... 148
• 1990-1999 ... 232
• 2000-2007 ... 540

I will let you draw your own conclusions! As for me, I am taking the advice of a wise person who said "If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear."