Looking back a little ...............

Interesting, watching an OLD rerun of Password Plus ... They have a contestant who is involved in "computers." They are questioning its use, how it is used, what good is it, what can be done on it, "I wish you would explain it to me, what is it used for?" "What are Home Computers used for?"

I remember asking those same questions, many years ago. We bought our first one, had to drive to Columbus, Ohio, one store sold them, they had one downtown and one up North at another store. My wife corrected me, however, she thought we got our first one at Radio Shack, then, later, got a new one in Columbus. Her memory is better than mine, so that is probably what happened.

We drove to Westerville, the Columbus suburb, walked in to this store, full of all these unknown wonderful machines, awed by all of them, which ones to look at, which one to purchase?

I only remember the first printer, an HP500. After some discussion, the salesman suggested Microsoft Publisher, which we got and have used since then, still do today.

Downloads took all night, almost any URL was available to purchase, I got joedooley.com and got each family member their own .com, which were all available. I remember nfl was available as were many others, but, why get them?

I remember a gentleman came to our print shop, he had heard we had a ...... computer ..... . His problem, he had just bought one, plugged it in, but could not get on the ......... internet ......... why, what's wrong. "We have to get a what?"

I just looked it up, that store back then, and still is MicroCenter.

'Best and brightest' techies drafted to fix Obamacare computer glitches

Republican lawmakers are demanding that HHS Secretary Sebelius tell them how and why the Obamacare rollout got bogged down with computer problems. HHS says it’s getting expert help.

Two big problems hit the Obama White House on Oct. 1: the government shutdown, which saw hundreds of thousands of federal workers furloughed, national parks closed, and other disruptions. And the launch of the Affordable Care Act, which was always going to be tricky.

The first problem was solved – temporarily, at least – when Republicans and Democrats worked out a stop-gap spending deal, also heading off (for now) a government default on its debts. By most accounts, the White House came out the winner, although President Obama was careful not to beat his chest too much about it.

The second problem – the president’s signature achievement so far, known as “Obamacare” – has only gotten worse.

The White House reported this weekend that about 19 million people have visited HealthCare.gov and 476,000 individuals have applied online for health insurance.

But officials have yet to say how many people have actually bought a policy. In any case, it's a long way from the 7 million people the administration wants to see enrolled for health insurance through online exchanges during the six-month sign-up period.

Times have changed ..............

I took my wife to work this morning, and as we pulled in to her street, a woman was walking in the opposite direction. Since it is a dead end street, she was most likely coming from where my wife works.

After I dropped my wife off, I was headed back the way we had come, and there was that woman, still walking. There were quite a few miles ahead of her, to anywhere she might want to go. I really wanted to stop and offer her a ride, but I could not do it, too many thoughts were running through my mind.

First, why was she walking. If she was having car trouble she would have used the phone at work. So, probably, someone did not pick her up after work. I have been going down that road for a number of years now, and never saw anyone walking where she was, so that concerned me.

Maybe someone was seen trying to pick up people in the area and she was a "plant." I was concerned, so my better judgement prevailed, I drove by her. For all I know, she is still walking, somewhere. I will never know why, and, it was really none of my business anyway. Chivalry is dead.

When did it all change, that we are concerned and afraid to help others?

Computer Predicts Election

Back in August two Colorado University professors fancy computer program predicted every presidential contest winner since 1980. The secret to the research, they say, is in understanding the Electoral College; better known as the “electors” we elect to elect our president.

Of course, in 2000, the electorate played a critical role when it chose President George W. Bush while Al Gore won the popular vote.

Now the professors, Michael Berry and Kenneth Bickers, have estimated back in August that Romney would run away with the election, taking virtually every swing state. They've now updated their research to show (drum roll please) that the former Massachusetts governor does even better.

According to the results, Mitt Romney takes 330 of the total 538 electoral college votes. President Obama, they forecast, will tale just 208 votes; five votes short of the original forecast, and short of the 270 votes needed for election.

The update moved New Mexico to Romney’s win list alongside North Carolina, Virginia, Iowa, New Hampshire, Colorado, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Florida. Obama is predicted to win Michigan and Nevada as well.

The analysis flies in the face of many opinion research polls which show Obama with a slight edge in many swing states, like Ohio. The Buckeye state is critical because no Republican has ever won the presidency without carrying it.

The Berry-Bickers data gives Romney the edge, mostly because of its emphasis on the jobless rate and incomes. In September, the jobs rate fell below 8% for the first time in 44 months. Incomes have cratered since the recession began in December 2007, down 7.2%. They’re 4.8% below when the recession ended in June 2009. This is all according to Sentier research.

MORE INFORMATION

Homemade Potato Chips- Microwave

The key to the perfectly crispy chip is the mandolin. You need to get the potatoes really, really thin, so unless you have the knife skills of a ninja, a mandolin is the way to go. You don't need a fancy one -- a simple $20 slicer works perfectly. Just make sure you get one with a guard, and don't worry that you can't use that last little chunk at the end of each potato. Just set it aside for soup, and save your fingertips!

Russet potatoes are best.You'll love the microwavable version of this recipe, which makes a small batch of super crisp chips in about 2 minutes.

These chips are great with a sprinkle of sea salt

3 medium russet potatoes
Oil baking spray
Sea salt or Baked Potato Chip seasoning, to taste

1. Slice the potatoes into very, very thin rounds using a porcelain slicer or mandoline (always use the guard!). I use the 1.3mm setting. Place the slices in a large bowl. Cover with cold water, swish and then drain.

2. Place the slices in a single layer on a towel, and then roll it up to lightly dry them. Keep the slices rolled up in the towel as you cook off batches to keep them from oxidizing and turning brown.

3. To microwave your chips, spray the potato slices with an oil baking spray and place in a single layer on a microwave safe plate (sprayed with a bit more baking spray). Cook on full power for 1 to 2 minutes. You'll likely need to do this in many small batches. Be careful when you remove the plate because it will be very hot.

O'brien to Ryan to Goldburg

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are eagerly renewing their fight against privatizing Social Security now that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has picked Paul Ryan as his running mate. It was a fight that didn't go well for the GOP when President George W. Bush pushed the idea in 2005.

In his 2010 "Road Map for America's Future," the Wisconsin congressman proposed a plan to allow younger workers to divert more than one-third of their Social Security taxes into personal accounts that they would own and could will to their heirs.

Ryan wrote that the accounts would provide workers an opportunity "to build a significant nest egg for retirement that far exceeds what the current program can provide." Workers 55 and older would stay in the current system.

Romney hasn't embraced the proposal and Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee, didn't include it in either of the federal budgets passed by House Republicans the past two years. But now that Ryan is running for vice president, Democrats hope to capitalize on the issue.

Twelve August in Ohio

Just took our dog Caleb outside for his morning stroll. I enjoy walking in the morning grass, barefooted, good way to start the day. August 12 and the grass was damp and cool with morning dew, mid August. Moisture on the windshield of our car, the state fair is over, football games are starting, Fall is not far away. Where did the Summer go?

How is it that Obama is able to fly all over the country in AF One, and campaign, at our expense. Must cost us a fortune. I would think his campaigning should be paid for by his campaign.

Paul Ryan, know nothing about him except that he is a fly fisherman. Fly fisherman are unique. They are focused, very focused. Not everyone can use a fly rod, takes practice and a special sort of person. I never met a fly fisherman I didn't like. Is that a great recommendation, or not?

The Olympics is drawing to a close. Another four years has come and gone. Another great event ruined, for me, be television. One Olympian promised a little five year old girl, who is ill, with I think Cystic Fibrosis, that if she won a medal she would sell her medal, and give the money to the little girl to help with her medical bills. She won Gold, and she is. Now that, to me, is a great story. I hope someone steps forward and gives that child some money so the Olympian can keep her medal.

Nice heart warming story. A Mother and her Son shoplifted over a million dollars from CVS stores by filling boxes with high priced items, and then paying the small price on the box. They hoped to steal money in all fifty states, and he was saving money, from the thefts, to take his Mother to Hawaii. Goal oriented folks. Wonder what she wanted him to steal and gave her for Mother's Day?

Still on our Low Salt, Low Sugar diet. Learning to love pasta and fresh veggies. The good news, still losing weight. Did have a few setbacks this week, bought a loaf of "white bread" and had some cheese sandwiches, a few with peanut butter also.

Learned this. When you go to a "fast food" place, order french fries with NO SALT. They put some in the basket, deep fry them, take them out and put them in your container. They are fresh and hot, and, I must admit, I don't miss the salt that much. But, fresh, hot fries.

TIME is running out!!!!!!!!

By Dalina Castellanos July 8, 2012, 12:57 p.m.


In less than 24 hours, more than 64,000 Internet users could find themselves staring at a blank screen due to malware.

Windows and Mac users, heed this advice: If you haven’t checked to see if your computer is infected, you can do so by clicking here.

If your computer is clean, you'll get a big green image. If it's not, you'll get a red screen.

Seeing red? Worry not.

Internet service providers are joining the battle by providing their customers with help pages and customer-service lines to get you a new DNS address and root out the malware to fix the problem.

If by Monday you can’t read this online, call your Internet service provider and get some help — but be patient, many other users may be in the same boat.

If your computer is infected, the process may take more than just a call.

The DNS Changer Working Group suggests backing up your computer and having you or a computer professional follow malware cleanup guides that may include reformatting the computer's hard drive and reinstalling the operating system and applications.

The malware problem is a result of a large online advertising scam that took over more than 4 million computers around the world. When the FBI went in to shut down the scheme, the agency realized that turning off the malicious servers would cause infected computers to lose access to the Internet. So the FBI set up two other servers, which have been connecting infected users to the Internet, but they will be shut down at 12:01 a.m. EDT Monday.

The FBI estimates that more than 250,000 computers may be infected worldwide, the Associated Press reported.

WARNING - one more time

READ THIS before it is too late. Information published before but worth a second glance. Read and check the link.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Despite repeated alerts, tens of thousands of Americans may still lose their Internet service Monday unless they do a quick check of their computers for malware that could have taken over their machines more than a year ago.

The warnings about the Internet problem have been splashed across Facebook and Google. Internet service providers have sent notices, and the FBI set up a special website.

According to the FBI, the number of computers that probably are infected is more than 277,000 worldwide, down from about 360,000 in April. About 64,000 still-infected computers are probably in the United States.

To check whether a computer is infected, users can visit a website run by the group brought in by the FBI: 

WARNING - WARNING - CHECK HERE - WARNING - WARNING

The site includes links to respected commercial sites that will run a quick check on the computer, and it also lays out detailed instructions if users want to actually check the computer themselves.