Using VBA Efficiently in Access 2010

When automating an Access 2010 database application using VBA, you can get lost with a blank page on which to begin writing code. Where do you start? Here are a few simple guidelines to follow that will have you writing VBA code like a pro:

• Get help. Yes, this article lists a few ways to enhance using VBA in Access, but press F1 at any time to start Microsoft Office Access Help, where you can learn about and see examples of VBA code.

  
  



• Use the Object Browser. The Object Browser lets you explore the different properties and methods of the objects in VBA. From the VBA Editor window, choose View → Object Browser — or simply press F2.

  
  



• Get more help. Sure, the built-in help tools within Access 2010 VBA are wonderful, but you can also use your favorite browser to search the Internet for help on a variety of topics on writing VBA code. You can even find examples that you can steal — or borrow — for your own project.

  
  



• Handle your errors. Even the most perfect programmer can’t stop errors from occurring, but he or she can stop them from bringing a program to a grinding halt. Use VBA’s built-in error handling with the On Error Goto and Resume statements to trap errors and change the program flow so that your applications don’t frustrate the people using them.

  
  



• Use functions and sub procedures. Use functions and sub procedures to handle tasks that will be performed by different areas of your program. As a general rule, if you find yourself copying and pasting code from one area of a program to another, you might want to put that code in its own procedure.

  
  



• Convert macros to VBA code. The Macro designer in Access 2010 lets you click and choose from lists of predefined tasks to automate your application. Build a macro that does what you want, and then convert that macro to VBA code so you can see how it would like if you typed it from scratch.

  
  

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/using-vba-efficiently-in-access-2010.html

Drinking Beer with Dinner in a Restaurant

Usually, a restaurant is an unlikely place to find a good beer. Wine has always been, and still is, the conceptual favorite for food and drink pairing. But now there’s hope. More and more often, you can expect to find an upscale eatery that’s either decided to wake up and smell the barley or has received numerous requests for something other than Chateauneuf Dew Pop and Vin d’Pay d’ay. Such a restaurant has a beer list, or at least a few decent craft brews to offer. Some are also starting to have occasional beer dinners.

The beer dinner is a phenomenon inspired by the plethora of available gourmet brews. Beer dinners are hosted by restaurants, brewpubs, gastropubs, and beer bars across the country. These places may not necessarily be known for their lengthy beer menus, but their owners recognize the draw of good beer. Beer dinners are often a joint effort between the chef and a hired beer celebrity — a brewmaster, beer importer, or beer writer.

Beer dinners customarily feature several courses that spotlight certain beer and food combinations and often use beer as an ingredient in as many of the dishes as possible. A typical beer dinner menu lists the dishes along with the beer served with each course; menus may also have a few lines of background about each beer. These events are a real treat, but they don’t come cheap. Look for special promotions and plan on making reservations way in advance.

Because beer dinners don’t occur every night of the week, they are, more or less, hit-or-miss propositions. To make sure you don’t miss any of these events, you may want to get on the mailing (and e-mail) list of establishments that are known to host beer dinners.

Some dinners may be themed. For example, one dinner may feature beers from only Germany or Belgium. Or at a banquet that features oyster dishes, Stout may be the only beer style served (oysters and Stout are a classic pairing). Themes can be food (such as game or fish), seasons, local specialties, or cooking styles.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/drinking-beer-with-dinner-in-a-restaurant.html

HDTV Insights: Using a PC for Blu-ray or High-Definition DVD

PC manufacturers are starting to equip their high-end PCs with Blu-ray disc drives. This makes a lot of sense simply because high-definition DVD formats can hold a lot more data than standard DVDs can (ten times as much, or more, depending on the format). So you might guess that using an HTPC with a Blu-ray or HD DVD drive would be an easy way to bring these high-definition video formats to your big-screen HDTV.

Well, that's actually an iffy thing. Both HD DVD and Blu-ray are built with a very strong copy-protection system called HDCP (high-bandwidth digital content protection). This system is designed to prevent unauthorized copying and distribution of movies by limiting the devices that can digitally connect to your HD DVD or Blu-ray disc player. When the player is inside your PC, the only way you can use an external monitor or HDTV to view a movie in its full high-definition resolution is to use an HDMI (or DVI) connector that supports HDCP.

Seems pretty simple, but in fact, very few PCs have video cards with HDMI connectors, and even fewer have HDMI connectors with HDCP support. So, to watch a high-definition movie, you have to jump through some pretty major hoops right up front. And if you pass these initial tests (HDMI connectors and HDCP support), you're still not guaranteed that everything will work as advertised. The consensus seems to be that Blu-ray or HD DVD playback on an HDTV might work.

Unfortunately, in many cases, the following two issues seem to crop up:

• HDMI and HDCP implementations might differ between the PC and the HDTV, keeping the HDCP system from making a proper "handshake" that would authorize the system to play a movie.

• The HDCP systems on the PC just don't have enough computing horsepower to keep up. A PC's CPU can max out trying to keep up with the HDCP decryption, and this can cause the movie to break up in a very distracting fashion.

Don't give up on HTPCs and Blu-ray and HD DVD, but also don't expect this combination to be better than a stand-alone player. If your HTPC is a laptop, you won't have problems viewing these movies on the laptop screen — and that alone might make the extra expense of an HD DVD or Blu-ray drive worthwhile.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/hdtv-insights-using-a-pc-for-bluray-or-highdefinit.html

Mergers and Acquisitions: What’s a Quality Company of Critical Mass?

M&A is a strange industry because it’s one of the few where the selling functions are in many ways easier than the buying functions. Simply put, quality companies with critical mass are in demand.

After a company gets above a certain revenue level and especially a certain profit level, Buyers of all shapes and sizes start chasing it. When an owner decides she wants to put her company up for sale, she stands a good chance of being in the driver’s seat. Assuming she follows the proper M&A process, she’ll likely have multiple offers, thus putting her in a position of control.

Although definitions vary from Buyer to Buyer, critical mass simply means a company that has size, scale, and scope. In other words, it isn’t a start-up or an unprofitable company selling a product indistinguishable from the competition.

In a very general sense, critical mass may mean any of the following:

• Revenues north of $10 million (and the farther north, the better): Larger companies usually have more critical mass than smaller companies because they’re often able to withstand an economic decline. They have more company to go around!

  
  

  Nothing is particularly magical about $10 million other than the fact that it’s larger than, say, $1 million. But after companies pass this threshold, they’re often considered lower middle market companies, which simply means they’re not a small company anymore.

  
  

  An unprofitable company with enough revenue may even have value to the right Buyer. Think of it this way: Say two companies each have an annual loss of $2 million. Everything else being equal, would you rather take Company A with $5 million in revenue, or Company B, with $100 million in revenue?

  
  



• EBITDA north of $2 million: Similar to revenues, the higher the EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization), the more critical mass for the company. Companies with large-enough profits will always be in vogue with Buyers. A company with only $500,000 in EBITDA may be more susceptible to an economic downturn than a company with $5 million in EBITDA.

  
  



• Access to C-level decision-makers at clients: C-level executives are the top-ranking (CEO, CFO, and the like) executives at companies. Selling products or services into the executive ranks is often a coveted level of access, and companies that lack that sophistication may be willing to pay a premium for it. Wouldn’t you rather have the CEO, CFO, or some other high-ranking official than some low-level flunky as your decision-maker?

  
  



• A strong name, good reputation, and/or brand awareness: Many Buyers are interested in obtaining these intangibles. In fact, a solid brand and reputation can help an otherwise troubled company generate a good price during a sale.

  
  

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/mergers-and-acquisitions-whats-a-quality-company-0.html

DIY Wallpaper Calculator

When you’re doing some DIY wallpapering, determine how much wallpaper to purchase by calculating the area you plan to paper and dividing that number by the usable yield per roll of paper. (Measurements here are for countries that have adopted the metric system.)

• Wall area: Total length of all walls x wall height

  
  



• Unpapered areas:

  
  
  
  

  • Window area = window height x window width x number of windows

    
    
  
  

  • Door area = door height x door width x number of doors

    
    
  
  
  
  



• Wallpapering area: Wall area – unpapered areas

  
  



• Wallpaper to order: Wallpapering area ÷ usable yield = number of single rolls needed

  
  

Usable Yield Chart for Wallpaper

Pattern Repeat (Drop)	Usable Yield
0 to 150 mm	2.5 sq. m
175 to 300 mm	2.2 sq. m
325 to 450 mm	2.0 sq. m
475 to 600 mm	1.8 sq. m

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/diy-wallpaper-calculator.html

How to Change and Manage Bookmarks on the iPad

If you decide a website you previously bookmarked with Safari on your iPad is no longer meaningful, you can change it or get rid of it:

• To remove a bookmark (or folder), tap the Bookmarks icon and then tap Edit. Tap the red circle next to the bookmark you want to toss off the list, and then tap Delete.

  
  

  To remove a single bookmark or folder, swipe its name from left to right and then tap the red Delete button.

  
  



• To change a bookmark name or location, tap Edit and then tap the bookmark. The Edit Bookmark screen appears, showing the name, URL, and location of the bookmark already filled in. Tap the fields you want to change. In the Name field, tap the X in the gray circle and then use the keyboard to enter a new title. In the Location field, tap the > symbol and scroll up or down the list until you find a new home for your bookmark.

  
  



• To create a new folder for your bookmarks, tap Edit and then tap the New Folder button. Enter the name of the new folder and choose where to put it.

  
  



• To move a bookmark up or down in a list, tap Edit and then drag the three bars to the right of the bookmark’s name to its new resting place.

  
  

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-change-and-manage-bookmarks-on-the-ipad.html

Locating the Source of Trial Balance Errors

If the trial balance report that you’ve prepared for your business isn’t correct — the debits don’t equal the credits — you need to locate the source of the error. When you need to find errors after completing a trial balance that fails, follow these four basic steps to identify and fix the problem:

1. Check your math.

   
   

   Keep your fingers crossed, and add up your columns again to be sure the error isn’t just one of addition. That’s the simplest kind of error to find and fix. Correct the addition mistake and re-total your columns.

   
   



2. Compare your balances.

   
   

   Double-check the balances on the trial balance worksheet by comparing them to the totals from your journals and your General Ledger. Be sure you didn’t make an error when transferring the account balances to the trial balance.

   
   

   Correcting this type of problem isn’t very difficult or time-consuming. Simply correct the incorrect balances, and add up the trial balance columns again.

   
   



3. Check your journal summaries.

   
   

   Double-check the math in all your journal summaries, making sure that all totals are correct and that any totals you posted to the General Ledger are correct. Running this kind of a check is somewhat time-consuming, but it’s still better than rechecking all your transactions.

   
   

   If you do find errors in your journal summaries, correct them, reenter the totals correctly, change the numbers on the trial balance worksheet to match your corrected totals, and retest your trial balance.

   
   



4. Check your journal and General Ledger entries.

   
   

   Unfortunately, if Steps 1, 2, and 3 fail to fix your problem, all that’s left is to go back and check your actual transaction entries. The process can be time-consuming, but the information in your books isn’t useful until your debits equal your credits.

   
   

   If this step is your last resort, scan through your entries looking specifically for ones that appear questionable. If you see an entry for office supplies that’s much larger or smaller than you normally expect, check the original source material for that entry to be sure it’s correct.

   
   

   If you carefully proved out the Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable journals, you can concentrate your efforts on accounts with separate journals. After you find and correct the error or errors, run another trial balance. If things still don’t match up, repeat the steps listed here until your debits and credits equal out.

   
   

You can always go back and correct the books and do another trial balance before you prepare the financial reports. Don’t close the books for the accounting period until the financial reports are completed and accepted.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/locating-the-source-of-trial-balance-errors.html

Fixing Broken Formula Links in Excel 2007

Formulas in Excel 2007 can reference external workbooks. Links become broken when external workbooks are moved, deleted, or renamed. When a workbook that contains an external reference is opened but cannot find the other workbook(s) referenced in one or more formulas, a warning message appears. Excel displays the following message when a link is broken.

>

>

Deciding what to do when formulas reference unfound external workbooks.

You have two choices when this error message appears:

• Click the Continue button. The cells that contain formulas that reference external workbooks present results calculated with the last known values found in the external workbooks from previous sessions.

  
  



• Click the Edit Links button. This action displays the Edit Links dialog box. This dialog box offers a number of choices for handling the broken links.

  
  >

  >

  Using the Edit Links dialog box to correct external reference problems.
  
  

The Edit Links dialog box gives you options on how to handle broken links. The buttons along the right side of the dialog box work like this:

• Update Values: When external workbooks are where they should be, this action gets the values from the external workbooks, and the cells with those formulas are recalculated. When there are broken links, a dialog box appears from which you browse to a file that contains the values. This does not necessarily have to be the missing workbook — it could be another workbook. However, using Update Values in this manner does not fix the link. It helps you get values, but does not change the way formulas are written. Instead, use the Change Source option, listed next.

  
  



• Change Source: This option displays a dialog box that lets you select an external workbook to use. Selecting a workbook in this dialog box actually alters the formula that references the external workbook. So this is the best course to take to permanently fix a broken link.

  
  



• Open Source: In the case of broken links, this action does nothing because the source (the external workbook) cannot be found. An error message will confirm this. In the case of working links, this action opens the workbook referenced in the link.

  
  



• Break Link: This action converts formulas that contain external links to the calculated values. In other words, the cells that contain formulas with external links are replaced with a value; the formulas are removed. Make sure this is what you want to do. You cannot undo this action, and it can be a serious mistake if you did this unintentionally.

  
  



• Check Status: Provides status on links. A number of values are possible (such as OK, Unknown, Error: Source not found, Error: Worksheet not found, and so on). In the Edit Links dialog box, Status is a column in the middle of the dialog box. Each link receives its own status.

  
  

>
dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/fixing-broken-formula-links-in-excel-2007.html

Composing a Shot for Your Vlog

Shot composition is one of the sexy phrases that film and art students use to answer the question, How does it look on camera? A lot of factors can influence how well-composed a shot is. So here's the basics of using background, color, and framing in composing shots for video.

Emphasizing or de-emphasizing backgrounds

One of the eternal truths you'll run into when you shoot a lot of video is that human beings are really good at glossing over the backgrounds. For example, have you ever had friends or family members over to your house, and been surprised when they noticed some neglected item in your home (or just some embarrassing dirt or clutter)? And then you realized that you had had that thing there for about six months — and looked it every day without really noticing it?

People are good at ignoring things that they see too often. Unfortunately, when you open your world to the Internet on video, suddenly you're broadcasting all your dirty laundry (perhaps literally) for the whole world to see.

Sometimes this is a good thing. For instance, if you have a terrific back yard, why not use it as an outdoor studio for your vlog? If it's pretty and you like showing it off, go for it!

But then, some unnoticed details of everyday life might barge in — the pile of unraked leaves, the thistle patch in the back, your old Bronco that you're going to sell when gas prices go down a bit — and you didn't even see any of these until you played back the video to edit it. Suddenly, what you thought looked terrific turns out to make you look like the world's worst gardener!

De-emphasizing a background (say, if it's too distracting) is generally tougher than emphasizing the background. If you want to make sure the viewer's attention isn't drawn to what's in the background, you can either control your camera's focus or replace (even remove) the background from your frame.

Showcasing the background

To emphasize a background, just light it up as much as possible. In addition to lighting your subject, stick an additional lamp behind the person, either off camera or on. If you're using a directional lamp, point it at the background.

For outdoors shots, just step back a few paces. If you have an auto-focus on your camera, it will automatically refocus to include the background behind your subject.

When you film outdoors, though, be alert to the sun's location and intensity. Overcast days are excellent for filming, because the clouds even out the sunlight and result in softer shadows. If you have a strong overhead sun, or if the sun is behind your subject, you'll get strong shadows on the face. Bring along a light (even a strong flashlight) and point it at your subject — this is the optimal time to use a camera-mounted light. The light will offset the strong overhead or backlighting and soften the shadows as well.

If you light the background without lighting your foreground subjects, then your subjects will be backlit and will appear more or less as silhouettes, which may be an effect you like. The anonymous informant shot from television is a pretty common technique, and you can use it in your vlogs even if you're not ratting out your crime-boss Uncle Ned.

Blurring out the background by controlling the camera's focus

Depending on your model of video camera, you may be able to control the lens focus enough to blur out the background when you're filming.

You can determine whether your video camera has a manual focus by whether the ring around the camera lens moves when you twist it gently and it changes the image in your viewfinder. If it does, then you have a manual-focus camera. Most people use the autofocus on their cameras most of the time, but if you practice a bit, you can get the manual focus to work in your favor.

If you have a manual focus, first turn off the autofocus feature on your camcorder. Then get as close to your subject as is comfortable, and turn the focus ring until the subject is in focus. Keep turning the ring. With luck, if the background is far enough away, it will start to blur. Start filming when your subject is still in focus but the background is blurry.

If you don't have a manual focus camera, you can still de-emphasize the background by putting as much distance as possible between your foreground and your background. Suppose you have a subject, such as someone you're interviewing. Put the person much closer to the camera than the background, such as a building on the street. Keep the camera close and all the background far away. The camera will focus automatically on the image that dominates the foreground — your subject. Because the background is outside the focal length of the camera, it'll be blurry and de-emphasized — which is fine.

Blocking out the background

The simplest way to de-emphasize a background is to cover it or shoot away from it. You can do this by draping a cloth over the background, by placing a large picture just behind your subject to block out the background, or by turning the camera so that it misses the distractions in the background entirely.

For example, suppose you have a nice sofa where you want to conduct an interview, but the view behind it is your front window — which looks out on your neighbor's garage. If you can't simply close the blinds or curtains, you can prop up a large picture or poster behind the back of the sofa and film close enough to your subject that you don't capture the window behind the person.

If you have a really hard time getting the picture to stay propped, consider investing in a small easel you can attach to the picture and position as needed.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/composing-a-shot-for-your-vlog.html

Treatments for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

That tingling and numbness radiating from your wrist to your palm and fingers was probably no big deal at first. After all, you could literally shake it off by shaking your hand. But lately, you’ve noticed that uncomfortable feeling has become painful and you’re losing your grip strength. The bad news: You might have carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). The good news: CTS can be treated.

Carpal tunnel syndrome doesn’t usually go away on its own. As a matter of fact, if left untreated, CTS often gets worse. In some of the more severe cases, muscles in the thumb actually waste away and people lose their ability to sense hot and cold with the affected hand.

CTS occurs when tendons in your hand swell and pinch your median nerve. The median nerve runs from your forearm into the palm of your hand. This nerve and the flexor tendons that bend your fingers pass through a narrow channel of bone and connective tissue called the carpel tunnel. The key word here is narrow. When the tendons swell, there’s no room in the tunnel for your median nerve. As it gets squeezed, your CTS begins.

Most of the treatments for CTS focus on relieving the pressure on the median nerve. Therapy can range from over-the-counter anti-inflammatories that reduce tendon swelling to surgery that enlarges the carpal tunnel.

• Medications may relieve pain and swelling. In mild to moderate CTS, aspirin, ibuprofen, or naproxen sodium can reduce your pain and swelling. However, these drugs won’t alleviate numbness and tingling in your fingers or muscle weakness.

  
  

  If over-the-counter medications don’t work, your doctor may decide to inject a steroid such as cortisone into your hand. While a steroid will immediately reduce the tendon swelling that’s putting pressure on your median nerve, the effects will last only about six months.

  
  



• Restraint and rest can ease irritated tendons. Wearing a brace or split will keep you from moving your wrist and hand in ways that further irritate your already swollen tendons. This can be particularly important at bed time. Many CTS sufferers notice their symptoms flair up while their sleeping. If you often wake up at night with a numb or tingling hand, it’s probably because you’re sleeping with your wrist bent. Wearing a brace will keep your wrist still and straight.

  
  

  If restraint and medications don’t work, your doctor may advise you may need to eliminate or alter the hand and wrist movements that prompt your symptoms. Following this advice may mean you’ll have to make some difficult lifestyle choices. For instance, if your occupation requires you to perform the same repetitive movements with your wrist and hand, you may need to change the type of work you do. Or, if you use vibrating power tools, you may need to stop using those types of tools.

  
  

CTS can be caused by another health condition, including diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and thyroid problems. If your doctor finds your CTS originated in an as-yet-untreated illness, she’ll begin your therapy by treating that medical condition.

• When all else fails, surgery. If no other course of therapy is easing or eliminating your CTS symptoms, having surgery that will lessen the pressure on your median nerve may be the only cure. During the operation, an orthopaedic surgeon will cut open the ligament that covers your carpal tunnel. This expands the width of the tunnel, eliminating the tight squeeze on your median nerve.

  
  

  The surgery is usually done on an outpatient basis under local anesthesia. You’ll probably need to wear a wrist brace for the first few weeks after the operation. Although full recovery may take up to a year, your grip strength will probably return within two to six months.

  
  

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/treatments-for-carpal-tunnel-syndrome.html

How to Develop an Influential Online Presence

Influence is the ability to compel others to think or act in a new way. For a professional mom blogger, being influential is important. But there are different ways that a blogger can be an influencer, and these ways range from very general to very specific:

• Conversation starter

  
  



• Instigator

  
  



• Inspirer

  
  



• Educator

  
  



• Leader

  
  



• Marketer

  
  



• Community builder

  
  



• Entertainer

  
  



• Informer

  
  

Also, you don’t need to be an influential personality in order to be an influencer. As is the case with Woo! Jr., many readers don’t know who wrote a particular post; they just know the content is engaging, useful, and relevant to their needs. For other kinds of blogs, it is simply the voice of the writer that is influential.

For all kinds of bloggers, as your influence grows, so will the number of opportunities that come to you.

The best way to increase your influence is to write what you love writing about, not work on increasing your influence. There really isn’t some magical way to get people to listen to you. Instead, you want to focus on adding value and being a resource to your readers. Just as it is in life, the more you give, the more you receive.

Authenticity and integrity are the most important part of blogging. This is true whether you’re blogging for personal or professional reasons. Every single successful blog has been written by writers who have been true to themselves and to their readers. Readers don’t stay attracted to blogs that don’t ring true and writers who aren’t genuine.

Writing authentically doesn’t mean writing perfectly. In fact, every successful blog also has at least a few early blog posts that the bloggers are downright embarrassed to admit they wrote. Authenticity simply means being honest about your intentions and the information you are putting forward. But it also means writing from the heart — whatever that means to you. When you write and represent who you really are, readers know it. And they love it.

In addition to this, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has put forth guidelines for bloggers that aim to ensure that any opinions expressed that have been compensated by an advertiser must be disclosed in certain ways. The Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) has similar guidelines for all marketers and writers involved in all forms of social media. These guidelines are critically important to maintain the integrity of the blogosphere and all our long-term interests as bloggers.

Earning the trust of your readers is vital, no matter what business you create with your blog. Readers who trust you are likelier to buy from you, recommend you, or come back to your site. Some ways to earn that trust are obvious — for example, telling the truth and being transparent in your words and actions. More ways you can earn the trust of your readers sound a lot like a mom’s good advice, because they are (and they work):

• Admit your faults and mistakes. It takes courage to be vulnerable to others and it shows that you are human.

  
  



• Put your readers first. Always make sure that your readers’ best interests are served.

  
  



• Be inspiring. Knowing you have had your own struggles makes you more real to your readers. Passing along that feeling of “I can do it” is irresistible!

  
  



• Stick to your word. Make sure that you do everything you say you will do, even in the smallest measure.

  
  



• Be consistent. People want to know what they can expect from you. When you are inconsistent, it can lead readers to wonder what else they don’t know about you.

  
  



• Give more than you expect to receive. Blogging is not the best platform for a hard-sell approach, because of the social nature of the business. Your fellow bloggers will respond to you best when you make adding value a priority.

  
  

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-develop-an-influential-online-presence.html

Should You Get an HPV Vaccine?

Within the last few years, two vaccines to prevent the human papilloma virus (HPV) have hit the healthcare marketplace. These vaccines come with lots of caveats that can make it difficult for average consumers to decide which vaccine is right for them – or if they should even bother getting vaccinated at all.

First, it helps to know a few facts about HPV.

• HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease. An estimated 20 million Americans have been exposed to the virus.

  
  



• There are more than 100 different strains of HPV and 30 of these strains are passed from person to person through sexual contact. They infect areas of the body where sexual contact occurs, including the genitals, anus, mouth, and throat.

  
  



• Both males and females can contract HPV.

  
  



• You can be infected with HPV and never know it. The immune system destroys the virus in 90 percent of people.

  
  



• Strains 16 and 18 cause 75 percent of cervical cancer, 70 percent of vaginal cancer, and 50 percent of vulvar cancer in women.

  
  



• Strains 6 and 11 cause 90 percent of genital warts in males and females.

  
  

The two FDA-approved vaccines that protect people from contracting HPV are Gardasil and Cervarix. Gardasil protects against strains 6, 11, 16, and 18. Cervarix is specifically designed to eliminate the spread of strains 16 and 18, the two types of HPV that cause cervical, vaginal, and vulvar cancer.

Now that you know some facts about HPV and the two drugs available to prevent it, here are some guidelines to help you decide if you’d benefit from being vaccinated.

HPV vaccination may be for you if:

• You’re a male or female who hasn’t yet become sexually active but you want to make sure you begin your sex life protected from genital warts. By being vaccinated with Gardasil now, you’ll ensure you won’t get the two types of HPV that cause genital warts later on.

  
  



• You’re a female who hasn’t had sex and you want to guard against developing cervical, vaginal, or vulvar cancer when you’re older. By being vaccinated with either Gardasil or Cervarix, you can protect yourself from the two types of HPV that cause cancer.

  
  



• You’re a parent who wants to protect your children from HPV. You can have any of your children who are 9 years of age or older vaccinated, as long as they’re not sexually active.

  
  



• You’re a male or female who has had only one or two sexual partners. Being sexually active automatically puts you at higher risk for contracting HPV. If you’ve already been exposed to the strains of HPV the vaccines protect against, then being inoculated won’t do you any good.

  
  

  However, if you haven’t had a lot of sexual partners, you may not have all the types of HPV the vaccines guard against, so they may offer you some protection. In this case, only you and your doctor can decide if an HPV vaccine would benefit you.

  
  

Ask your doctor about HPV DNA testing. If you’re female, the test can tell you if you’ve been exposed to HPV 16 and 18, the two strains known to cause female reproductive cancers. The test can also detect the presence of several non-cancer causing HPV strains, including those that cause genital warts.

You can skip the HPV vaccine if:

• You’ve had multiple sexual partners. Chances are you’ve already been exposed to the HPV strains the vaccines are designed to guard against.

  
  



• You’re older than 26. However, research is being conducted to test the vaccines’ effectiveness and safety in older adults.

  
  



• You’re pregnant or thinking about becoming pregnant. Although the vaccines don’t carry any known risks to pregnant women, neither drug has been tested to verify its safety for expectant mothers or unborn children.

  
  



• You’re allergic to yeast. Gardasil contains yeast but, if you’re female, you could still be a candidate for Cervarix.

  
  

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/should-you-get-an-hpv-vaccine.html

Stock ETFs: Blended Options for Large Cap Exposure

If you are seeking a blended (large cap value and growth) investment option for smaller portfolios ($10,000 to $20,000), these ETFs are worth a look.

All the expense ratios, average cap sizes, price/earnings ratios, and top five holdings for the ETFs listed here are true as of a certain date and are subject to change. You should verify all key details before making any purchase.

Vanguard Large Cap ETF (VV)

Indexed to: MSCI U.S. Prime Market 750 Index (750 corporate biggies from both the value and growth sides of the grid)

Expense ratio: 0.12 percent

Average cap size: $43.2 billion

P/E ratio: 16.7

Top five holdings: Exxon Mobil, Apple, Chevron, General Electric, International Business Machines

The low cost makes this one a solid choice. The MSCI U.S. Prime Market 750, as the name implies, encompasses a larger universe of stocks than the more popular S&P 500, which translates to holdings with a somewhat smaller average cap size than you’ll find with some other large cap options.

The MSCI index is also more “indexy” than the S&P 500: The choice of companies is purely quantitative, whereas with the S&P, some human judgment is applied. This ETF is an excellent choice for people with smaller portfolios trying to limit the number of ETFs they have to manage. Shares trade free of commissions if held at Vanguard.

Vanguard Mega Cap 300 ETF (MGC)

Indexed to: MSCI U.S. Large Cap 300 Index (the biggest 300 U.S. companies, regardless of type)

Expense ratio: 0.13 percent

Average cap size: $62.9 billion (whooeeee!)

P/E ratio: 15.9

Top five holdings: Exxon Mobil, Apple, Chevron, General Electric, International Business Machines

The top five holdings are the very same that you’ll find with the other Vanguard blended option, the Vanguard Large Cap ETF (VV). But in the case of this ETF, you won’t be getting the lesser sized of the large cap companies. That’s less than optimal from a diversification standpoint, and for that reason, don’t choose MGC over VV as a stand-alone investment.

But if you are combining either of these funds with a blended small cap fund, then MGC will give you somewhat lower correlation (in other words, greater simultaneous zig and zag potential), which is a good thing. For most investors’ portfolios, either Vanguard option would be an excellent choice. Shares trade free of commissions if held at Vanguard.

Schwab U.S. Large-Cap ETF (SCHX)

Indexed to: Dow Jones U.S. Large-Cap Total Stock Market Index (approximately 750 of America’s largest corporations)

Expense ratio: 0.08 percent

Average cap size: $40.65 billion

P/E ratio: 16.2

Top five holdings: Apple, A&T, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, General Electric

The management fee is one of the lowest in the industry. And, like all Schwab ETFs, you can trade this baby for free if held at Schwab. Most importantly, the index is a good one. Schwab does a good job of tracking the index, even though its ETFs were introduced only in late 2009.

iShares Russell 1000 ETF (IWB)

Indexed to: Russell 1000 (the largest 1,000 publicly traded companies in the land)

Expense ratio: 0.15 percent

Average cap size: $38.8 billion

P/E ratio: 20.2

Top five holdings: Exxon Mobil, Apple, Chevron, General Electric, International Business Machines

The cost isn’t high, but it is higher than the comparable Vanguard and Schwab funds . On the other hand, this ETF offers somewhat greater diversification — only a potential plus, really, if this is going to be a major part of your portfolio.

Given the exposure to smaller companies, which tend to see greater price flux than large companies, this fund may prove over the long run to be slightly more volatile but slightly more rewarding than the comparable Vanguard or Schwab or other iShares options. Like a number of other broad-based iShares ETFs, IWB trades are free if held at Fidelity.

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/stock-etfs-blended-options-for-large-cap-exposure.html

Restricting Movement with Semi-Closed Chess Games

Semi-closed chess games are those in which White plays 1.d4 and Black responds with anything other than 1.…d5. As with semi-open games, these openings can result in asymmetrical positions that can become quite complicated. They appeal to the player who likes to counterattack.

Opening Name	Opening Moves
Benko Gambit	1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5
Benoni Defense	1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5
Blumenfeld Gambit	1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 c5 4.d5 b5
Bogo-Indian Defense	1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4+
Budapest Gambit	1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5
Catalan System	1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.g3
Döry Defense	1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Ne4
Dutch Defense	1.d4 f5
Grünfeld Defense	1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5
King’s Indian Defense	1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7
Nimzo-Indian Defense	1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4
Old Indian Defense	1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 d6
Queen’s Indian Defense	1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6
Torre Attack	1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.Bg5
Trompowsky Attack	1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5
Veresov Attack	1.d4 d5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bg5

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/restricting-movement-with-semiclosed-chess-games.html

Strategic Planning: Understand Your Relationship Management Processes

Organizations don’t operate in an isolated pool with just their employees and their customers. Instead, companies and departments have relationships with the communities they operate in, governmental agencies, and partners such as other companies, industry associations, and maybe even competitors.

Your company may need to manage relationships with all or a few of these entities because everyone is a piece of the bigger picture. These relationships break down into the following areas and processes:

• Environmental sustainability: If your company impacts the environment (what business doesn’t?), how effective are you at managing your resource consumption, water and air emissions, waste disposal, and overall environmental impact?

  
  



• Employee well-being and compliance: How’s your employee health and safety performance? Are you efficiently taking care of your employees to minimize any safety accidents or repetitive stress injuries?

  
  



• Community contributions: Are you investing in your community through nonprofit organizations or other community programs? Small organizations tend to take a hit-or-miss approach to this area, meaning that they don’t consistently contribute to an ongoing charity. Consider the time and energy savings with a consistent community outreach program.

  
  



• Alliance management: Are you efficiently taking care of the organizations you work with? Do you have a consistent approach to managing these critical relationships? Are you effective with your alliance? In other words, are you working with the right ones?

  
  

Maximizing profits is just part of running a big business, according to John Mackey, co-CEO and cofounder of Whole Foods — the nation’s leading natural and organic grocery chain with $4.7 billion in annual sales. He feels there’s a larger trend toward businesses having a greater responsibility in society.

Employees, customers, and shareholders all want their businesses to be good corporate citizens. Mackey believes that profits and being a good citizen go hand-in-hand. He puts his money where his mouth is, with 5 percent of annual net profits going toward charitable causes as well as numerous community programs.

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/strategic-planning-understand-your-relationship-ma.html

Modify the WordPress Theme Functions File

WordPress child themes, or a subset of instructions based on the parent theme, can provide a theme functions file, or a functions.php file, like they can provide template files. Unlike template files, the functions.php file of a child theme does not override the file of the parent theme.

When a parent theme and a child theme each have a functions.php file, both the parent and child functions.php files are run by WordPress, simultaneously. The child theme's functions.php file runs first, and the parent theme's functions.php file runs second. This is intentional because the child theme can replace functions defined in the parent theme's functions.php file.

However, this works only if the functions are set up to allow this. As an example, we will use and modify a child theme called TwentyTen Child, based on the WordPress theme Twenty Ten.

The Twenty Ten functions.php file defines a twentyten_setup function. This function handles the configuration of many theme options and activates some additional features. Child themes can replace this function to change the default configuration and features of the theme, too.

The following lines of code summarize how the functions.php file allows this to happen:

if ( ! function_exists( 'twentyten_setup' ) ):
function twentyten_setup() {
// removed code
}
endif;

Wrapping the function declaration in the if statement protects the site from breaking in the event of a code conflict and allows a child theme to define its own version of the function.

In the TwentyTen Child theme, you can see how modifying this function affects the theme. Add a new twentyten_setup function that adds post thumbnails support to the TwentyTen Child theme's functions.php file:

<?php
function twentyten_setup() {
add_theme_support( 'post-thumbnails' );
}

The result of this change is that the child theme no longer supports other special WordPress features, such as custom editor styling, automatic feed link generation, internationalization and location, and so on.

The takeaway from this example is that a child theme can provide its own custom version of the function only because the parent theme wraps the function declaration in an if block that checks for the function first.

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/modify-the-wordpress-theme-functions-file.html

Preparation Phase of an Office 365 Implementation

After you have a good handle on what you plan to do during an Office 365 implemenation, you need to prepare to do it. Keep in mind that because every organization is different, you should only use these steps as a guide.

If you are a small organization, then moving to Office 365 might be as easy as a walk in the park. If you are part of a thousand-person multinational organization with offices around the world, then the process will be much more involved.

As you begin preparing, you will inevitably realize some deficiencies in your plan. Think of these steps as iterative. When you know more about what you should include in your plan, include it. Go back and update your plan. As you walk through the preparation phase, you will know more than you did during the planning phase.

This is why an iterative process is so very important. You don’t know what you don’t know, and to think that you could plan everything without being all-knowing is a ridiculous thought.

Domain Naming System and Office 365 implementation

The Domain Naming System (DNS) is a standard used to let computers communicate over the Internet. For example, Microsoft manages the domain microsoft.com. All the Microsoft computers that are accessed over the Internet are part of this domain, and each is assigned a specific number, known as an Internet Protocol (IP) address.

When you send an e-mail to someone at Microsoft, your computer asks the microsoft.com DNS server what computer handles e-mail.

When you move to Office 365, you must make changes in DNS so that network traffic understands where it should be routed. In essence, what happens is that when the DNS is changed, anyone sending you an e-mail will have that e-mail routed to your Office 365 implementation rather than to the current location.

Mailboxes and Office 365 implementation

There are specific computers responsible for hosting your e-mail. If you keep your e-mail on your local computer, then you won’t have any e-mail data to migrate. However, if you leave your e-mail on the server, then all that data will need to be migrated to the Office 365 mailboxes.

This migration can be one of the most technically difficult parts of moving e-mail systems, but with guidance from a partner, it can be pain free.

Portals and Office 365 implementation

A web portal, also known as an Intranet site, can be as simple as a static web page, or as complex as a fully integrated solution. SharePoint provides a tremendous amount of functionality, and it has seen massive adoption in the last decade.

Office 365 includes SharePoint Online, which is nothing more than SharePoint hosted by Microsoft. During the migration phase of an implementation, you need to decide which content you want to move to SharePoint and which you can leave where it is currently located. In addition, you need to decide which functionality you want to integrate into your portal and which systems are better left in place.

Logins and licensing and Office 365 implementation

If you are a part of a very large organization, then your IT team probably manages your users with a Microsoft technology called Active Directory. For large organizations, you can sync this on-site management of users with the Office 365 users, which results in a single login and simplified access to the cloud environment.

If you are part of a small organization, then you might manage all your users in Office 365 directly. In either case, you need to come up with a list of the people who need to have access to Office 365 and the associated licensing.

Training and Office 365 implementation

Even the best software is useless unless people know about it and know how to use it. Microsoft has created a wealth of documentation and user training that can be had for little or no cost. In addition, any partner you decide to work with will have training plans available and can conduct training for Office 365.

Support and Office 365 implementation

After users start adopting Office 365, they are bound to have questions. You need to have a support system in place in order to accommodate even the simplest questions. The support system should include power users as a first point of content and then a formal support system that escalates all the way up to Microsoft supporting Office 365.

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/preparation-phase-of-an-office-365-implementation.html

How to Score in a Game of Hearts

When playing Hearts, at the end of the hand, each player collects all the cards in the taken tricks, and the arithmetic begins. Unlike other card games, Hearts doesn’t tax your math skills unduly. Each player gets 1 point per heart, for a total of 13 penalty points possible in each hand.

The Queen of Spades costs you 13 points on her own. Not surprisingly, therefore, you need to gear your strategy of both passing and playing to avoid taking this card. You may want to pass the Ace and King of Spades, and also the Queen of Spades, before play begins if you have only a few spades. Conversely, if you have length in spades (particularly with some of the low cards), spades don’t propose a danger to you.

You play to 100 points. At that point, you can play that whoever has the fewest points wins. Or if gambling for stakes, you can play that you settle up with everybody paying or receiving the differences in score.

Passing on low spades before play starts is almost certainly a tactical blunder because you help a player guard the Queen of Spades.

Because the penalty associated with the Queen of Spades outweighs that of the individual heart cards, leading spades early (if you can afford to, and as long as you don’t lead the ace or king) often ensures that someone else takes in this card — not you. By leading spades early, you hope to flush out the Queen of Spades, and with that card out of the way, you can’t be too badly hurt on a hand, even if you do win a number of hearts. So long as you don’t leave either the Ace or King of Spades insufficiently protected by small cards, leading spades early is usually safe.

You do have one challenging escape if you get a really terrible hand stuffed full of high cards. If you manage to take all the penalty cards and thus collect 26 points, you finish up doing remarkably well: You have the option of reducing your own score by 26 points or charging everyone else 26 points. This accomplishment is called shooting the moon, and just like becoming an astronaut, it’s a lot easier to do in theory than in practice. The right hand rarely comes along for it, and if your opponents see you trying to take all the tricks, they’ll save a heart or two for the end to take a couple penalty points and prevent you from achieving your aim.

Shooting the moon is more dangerous than it may seem; you lose more points in unsuccessful attempts to shoot the moon than you gain by making it. If you have a very good hand, you may choose to take an early trick with one or two points in it just to stop anyone else from trying to shoot the moon. Alternatively, you can give hearts to two different players to accomplish the same result with less discomfort to yourself.

Scoring variations in Hearts flourish as thickly as weeds on a lawn. Here, listed in descending order of frequency, are some of the most common additional scoring rules (you can play them simultaneously or not at all):

• Shooting the sun, as opposed to the moon, involves taking all the tricks as well as all the penalty points. You get a 52-point bonus for shooting the sun.

  
  



• Counting the Jack of Diamonds — or, in some circles, the 10 of Diamonds — as a bonus card is quite common. Winning the trick with that card in it has real merit because it reduces your penalty points by 11 (or 10, in the case of the 10 of Diamonds). If you have fewer penalty points than 10, you can even finish up being plus for the hand.

  
  

  If you allow shooting the moon, you generally don’t need to take the Jack of Diamonds to shoot the moon, but some versions of the game require that you win this card, too.

  
  

  Implementing the rule about the Jack of Diamonds influences which cards you decide to pass on. You may want to keep the top diamonds in order to try for the prize. However, you may find capturing the Jack of Diamonds is easier if you pass it on. In high-level games, you’re unlikely to find players winning tricks in diamonds early on with this card. In practice, because players rarely get the chance to take an early diamond trick with this card, it tends to get discarded at the end of the hand.

  
  



• If you manage to score exactly 100 points, your score is immediately halved to 50 points. Some versions play that if you avoid scoring any points on the next hand, you further reduce your score to zero.

  
  



• The 10 of Clubs can be a potentially lethal card if you play the rule that the card doubles the value of the penalty points for whoever takes it. For example, capturing the 10 of Clubs and three heart cards costs you 6 points, not 3.

  
  



• The Ace of Hearts may be charged at 5 points, not 1.

  
  



• Anyone who avoids winning a trick in a hand may be credited with -5 points.

  
  

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-score-in-a-game-of-hearts.html

Savings Bonds Pros and Cons

Returns on savings bonds are so low that they’ll never make you rich. In fact, returns are so low that large pension funds and other big investors don’t purchase savings bonds. However, for many individuals, savings bonds are the best approach for saving money.

Factors favoring savings bond are that you can

• Save automatically. Employers who sponsor savings bond programs can automatically deduct amounts you designate from your paychecks to purchase bonds.

  
  



• Diversify your risk. If you already have investments in stocks and bonds, you may want to invest in savings bonds. Doing so adds a no-risk element to your investment portfolio.

  
  



• End up with a safe investment. In exchange for a low return, savings bonds offer absolute safety for the principal investment; they’re absolutely no-risk investments.

  
  



• Avoid paying any sales commission. Investing in saving bonds doesn’t require the services of a broker to help you purchase them.

  
  



• Invest minimal amounts. The minimum investment in a savings bond is $25. If you subscribe to an employer-sponsored program, the minimum amount you pay each week can be even lower.

  
  



• Pay no or low taxes. The difference between the purchase price and the redemption value of Series EE bonds and the payment made on HH bonds comes in the form of interest. Interest income is subject to federal income tax but not state or local income taxes. You can defer paying federal income tax on the interest until you cash in the bonds.

  
  



• Gain educational tax benefits. The Education Bond Program allows interest to be completely or partially excluded from federal income tax when the bond owner pays for qualified higher education expenses at an eligible institution or state tuition plan in the same calendar year the bonds are redeemed.

  
  

Disadvantages of savings bonds include the fact that you

• Face penalties for early redemption. If you cash in your Series EE bonds after you’ve held them for six months, you’ll pay three months’ worth of interest — ouch! Series EE and Series I bonds cease paying interest after 30 years.

  
  



• Need to be careful when you redeem your bonds. Make sure that you know when interest is posted. If you redeem a bond right before interest is posted, you won’t reap your interest payment. If you redeem your bond early on in the same month that interest is posted, you may lose six months’ worth of interest.

  
  

Sometimes you can spend and save at the same time. At BondRewards, you can shop online at your favorite stores (more than 150 online stores participate in the program) and receive a small percentage of your purchase price in the form of a U.S. Savings Bond.

Check in your safe-deposit box or among the papers of elderly relatives for old bonds. More than $2 billion in savings bonds never have been redeemed.

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/savings-bonds-pros-and-cons.html

How to Calculate Trust Accounting Income

As a trustee, you may need to use the Trust Accounting Income (TAI) formula to calculate the amount of income from the trust that you can distribute to beneficiaries. In some cases, you will need to use the Trust Accounting Income formula to prepare Form 1041, the U.S. Income Tax Return for Estates and Trusts.

If your trust invests in foreign securities, follow the rules for distributing the foreign tax credit to the beneficiaries. If your trust makes quarterly distributions, follow the rules for fourth-quarter distributions and Section 663(b) elections as necessary.

Trust Accounting Income is the formula that determines how much income is available to be distributed to the income beneficiary. You calculate TAI by adding together all items of income and then subtracting all expenses attributable to income.

If you’re required to distribute all the income in the trust, calculating TAI gives you the exact number you need to pay the beneficiary. If you’re directed to pay a set amount, nothing at all, or you only make distributions at your discretion, calculating TAI is something you must do only when preparing your annual Form 1041, U.S. Income Tax Return for Estates and Trusts.

If you are a trustee of a trust that invests in foreign securities, you will likely have to pay foreign taxes from income earned from those foreign securities.

The U.S. has tax treaties with most of these countries that entitle you to claim a refund for the foreign taxes you’re paying. However, in most cases, you may choose to claim a Foreign Tax Credit on Form 1116, which you then attach to your Form 1041. Foreign taxes paid are not income taxes chargeable to the trust.

If you’re distributing the income from the trust, you’re probably also distributing the foreign tax credit to the trust’s beneficiary. If this is your situation, don’t subtract foreign taxes paid when calculating TAI.

What’s left after adding together income and subtracting all the income-related expenses is the trust’s TAI. If you’re administering a trust that requires income to be paid out currently, you need to calculate TAI before you can make distributions.

If you want to make distributions more frequently than annually, you can make an educated guess for the first three quarters of every year. Then, in the fourth quarter, you have to calculate TAI for the entire year and adjust the fourth quarter distribution accordingly.

Because the fourth quarter doesn’t end until December 31, the IRS gives you 65 days after the end of the calendar year to make your calculation and pay that final distribution. If you use this extra time to make a year end distribution, be sure to tick the box on question 6 at the bottom of page 2 of Form 1041. You’ve just made a Section 663(b) election for the trust.

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-calculate-trust-accounting-income.html

Rules for Naming AppleScript's Variables

Because the Mac lacks common sense, there are rules that define what a variable can be called. Variable names

• Can consist of the letters of the alphabet (both uppercase and lowercase), the numerals 0 through 9, and the underscore character ( _ )

• Can't have spaces

• Can't start with a number

• Can't be the same as reserved words

You get the underscore character by pressing the Shift+- (minus sign or dash).

In general, if you accidentally give a variable a name that is a reserved word, AppleScript gives you an error message. The bad news is that the error message doesn't say something intelligible, like set is a reserved word. Instead, if you try and name a variable set and then try to compile the script, you get an error message (popping out of the top of your script window) telling you that a Syntax Error has occurred. The detailed error message says Expected expression but found "set".

The good news is that once you get a little practice under your belt, avoiding reserved words is no big deal. For now, just tuck this particular fact into the sidebar space of your mind. Table 1 shows some examples of acceptable and unacceptable variable names.

Table 1: Sample Variable Names

Variable Name	Acceptability
fred	Okay
x7zxc_45tre_aaffef	Okay, but pretty hard to understand
this is a variable	Uh-uh: breaks rule # 2 (no spaces allowed)
this_is_a_variable	A-Okay
NumberOfCars	Fine: You can mix and match uppercase and lowercase letters in a variable name
ThisIs_a_percent	Fine
ThisIs_a_%	No way: % isn't an allowed character
repeat	No, no, no! This is a reserved word

You don't have to worry about mixing uppercase and lowercase letters in a variable name because AppleScript isn't case sensitive. On the other hand, if you define two variables as The_Boss and the_boss, even though they look different to you, AppleScript treats them as being the same, which may cause problems in your script if you're thinking that they're different. The good news is that when you actually compile your script, Script Editor makes those two names look the same.

All right, you know the basics about what you can name variables. Here are some suggestions as to what style to use when picking variable names:

• Pick names that mean something: While xxzs435 works just the same as The_Last_Cashed_Check_Number, you can more easily understand what's going on in a script when you use comprehensible variable names.

• Mark the start of words: You can use the underscore to separate words in a variable name, as in Check_amount. Other people like to use capital letters, as in CheckAmount. Neither is intrinsically better, but pick some scheme that works for you because you'll find that a name like checkamount is harder to read as you quickly skim through a script than one that somehow marks the start of words.

• Don't worry too much about the rules: Sometimes you're in a hurry, or you use a variable to hold a value for only a line or two in a script. In cases such as these, feel free to use a shorter variable name, such as x, y, or temp, instead of a longer but clearer name, such as width_of_window, height_of_window, or temporary_holding_spot, in order to save time and typing. Remember: Unless you're doing this professionally — in which case you probably shouldn't be wasting your time reading this — you're the boss. No one but you has to be happy with your scripting style.tabmarktabmark

Now that you know how to name a variable, what do you do with one?

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/rules-for-naming-applescripts-variables.html

How to Copy a CD to Your PC

Audio Transcript

To copy a CD to your Windows Vista PC, first, place the CD in your CD-ROM/DVD drive. Choose start, then computer. In the computer window, double click the CD-ROM drive item to open it. If the file or folder that you want is stored within another folder, double click the folder or a series of folders, until you locate it.

When you find the file you want, click it to select it. Then press Ctrl + C on your keyboard to copy it. Depending on how you choose to display files and folders, you might see text listings as icons — or even thumb print representations of file contents.

Back in the computer window; double click on the icon for your hard drive to select it. Navigate through the folders on your hard drive until you find the location where you want to copy the file to. Press Ctrl + V to paste the file to its new location on your hard drive.

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-copy-a-cd-to-your-pc.html

Innovative Spotify Tools

Plenty of services, tools, and add-ons can boost Spotify and give it a little extra oomph. Think of these additions as power tools that can help you get things done faster or as little embellishments that can make your Spotify life easier. Many are mini-programs that plug into your existing web browser (such as Chrome or Firefox) or into Spotify itself; others are web based.

ListDJ for Spotify

After you plug in ListDJ, which offers on-demand lyrics of the song you’re listening to, you’ll never doubt what’s being sung again. Download this Spotify plug-in for Windows. You can also download a version for the Mac, but you need to have Growl installed first.

You can also try

• Lyrify: A Windows-only lyrics tool.

  
  



• ListeningNow: Xavi Esteve’s lyrics-display tool is a bookmarklet. It’s compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux. To get it working, you need a Last.fm account that has your listening data made public and scrobbling enabled.

  
  

Cleanify clipboard filter for Spotify

Cleanify is a website where you enter a Spotify track, album, or artist URI, and the site turns that link into a nice, readable address. But copying and pasting a Uniform Resource Indicator (URI) into the Cleanify website every time you want a more user-friendly address can be time consuming.

Enter Cleanify’s clipboard filter, which runs in the background and automatically converts Spotify links that you’ve copied and converts them to the clean versions. It’s available only for Windows and is downloadable.

You can also try Spo.tl, which reduces those long Spotify links to something that’s only around ten characters long.

FoxyTunes for Spotify

FoxyTunes is a popular browser add-on for Firefox that lets you control virtually any media player from the browser window, thanks to easily accessible playback controls. You can also see what’s playing within the window. Right-click some relevant text in the web page you’re currently browsing (such as an artist name) to open a pop-up window, where you can check out a biography, lyrics, and more.

Playlistify anything bookmarklet for Spotify

Playlistify is a neat tool that converts any track listings (such as YouTube or iTunes playlists) into a Spotify playlist. Playlistify creator Roeland Landegent calls the conversion process baking.

The bookmarklet makes the baking process easier for text conversions (when you copy and paste a list of track names into the Playlistify text box). Just drag the Playlistify It bookmarklet to your browser’s bookmark bar.

The next time you highlight some tracks (say, on a music retailer’s website), click the bookmarklet, and the text gets transferred to the Playlistify text box (you may need to edit the text slightly to make sure each track is on its own line).

Playlistify actively encourages people to share the playlists they’ve created on the site. To date, almost 7,000 playlists had been shared. Roeland also posts regular updates and suggested playlists via his Twitter account, @playlistify.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/innovative-spotify-tools.html

Decorating for the Holidays with What You Already Have

Whether you want to change items that you already own or desperately need some budget-conscious ways to begin defining your holiday style, you can start by repurposing, reusing, recycling, and restyling what you already have.

Repurposing means to use an item that’s normally used for one thing (like a throw or painter’s drop cloth made of cotton canvas) and change it into something else for another function, like turning it into pillows or a slipcover. Repurposing items can mean simply looking at new retail items in a different light.

A copper kettle can become a fireplace accent by holding mounds of scented pinecones that are ready to be tossed into the fire. Think about transforming items from their usual purpose into something else. Repurposing is one of the more creative ways of turning new and previously owned items into works of art.

Reusing items can save you big bucks when decorating for the holidays. Items that are reusable for decorating, such as menorahs, wreaths, bows, and twinkle lights, can save you money. The idea here is to invest once and then use many times for many holidays.

White lights, for example, are heavily used at Christmas. But couldn’t you warm up a romantic Valentine’s Day night by stringing some up on a balcony or porch for a chilly, snuggly nightcap? Or think about reusing them for a sparkling Fourth of July get-together.

Use your lights on fences, rope off festivity parameters that may be hard to see in the dark, or wind them around tree limbs for lighting your evening from above. You can take individual items from one holiday into the next in many ways if you just plan in advance.

Recycling means taking an item that’s meant for the trash and turning it into a decorative item. For example, wire clean, empty jars (vintage or hodgepodge) together with aluminum wire, making them into sparkling tealight holders. A roadside chair, with the caning busted out of the seat, turns into a Thanksgiving decorating treasure by placing a large potted mum inside the opening for a welcoming autumnal feel at Thanksgiving.

Yes, you have to be somewhat crafty, and you can’t be afraid of cleaning things. Most of all, you have to be daring enough to dive into a pile of rubble to get to that section of picket fencing in order to recycle it into a Halloween vignette.

Restyling makes ready-made items better. Take a slipcover and embellish it! Have an old wreath? Take out faded flowers or ornaments and add new items or a fresh bow. What about old ornaments? Embellish your heart out. Restyling takes items to a new, personalized level.

You can breathe new life into an item by updating it or giving it a whole new look. Restyling is perfect for you if you’re the type of person who never accepts things as they are and says, “But wait till I get my hands on it!”

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/decorating-for-the-holidays-with-what-you-already-.html

Your Digital SLR and Light Sensitivity

Your digital SLR camera has an option to determine how sensitive the camera sensor is to light. Digital cameras are the same as film cameras in that light sensitivity is determined by ISO rating. The advantage of a digital camera is that you don’t have to change film to change ISO ratings.

When you increase the ISO rating, you increase the camera’s sensitivity to light, which means you can shoot with faster shutter speeds in low light situations. Increasing the ISO setting also increases digital noise, which is prevalent in shadow areas of your image or in large areas of similar color, such as the sky in a landscape picture. Digital noise doesn’t look good and degrades the quality of your image. If you own a high megapixel camera with a sensor that is smaller than a 35mm frame of film, the images are more susceptible to digital noise when you increase the ISO setting. You also end up with more digital noise when you take a picture with a shutter speed slower than 1 or 2 seconds.

If you own an image-editing application like Photoshop Elements or Photoshop, you can purchase a plug-in to clean noisy images.

When you increase ISO, you run the risk of creating an unusable image. How far up you can crank the ISO depends on the camera and its age camera. The sensors on newer cameras are more efficient and produce less noise than older ones.

The only way to be sure is to take test shots of the same subject in the same lighting at every ISO setting on your camera. Make sure you have some shadow areas in the scene you’re photographing. Download your test shots to your computer, open them in your image-editing application, and zoom in to 100 percent. Digital color noise shows up as tiny specks of color in the shadow areas, and luminance noise shows up as gray clumps in the shadow areas. When the amount of visible noise in an image is unacceptable to you, note the ISO setting and never exceed the next lowest ISO setting on your camera.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/your-digital-slr-and-light-sensitivity.html

A Guide to the Magic Show Audience

Most audience members enjoy the entertainment and mystery of a magic show. But magic is an assault on every law of nature we’ve learned — making some people’s brains squirm. As you’re working through your magical career, here are some of the rarer magic spectators to watch out for:

• The Yellow-Bellied Grabber: This spectator can’t resist grabbing your props. Before you perform, you’ll find him circling you like a vulture, trying to peek into your stuff; after each trick, he’s the first to snatch your props away in hopes of finding out how you did it. Turn him into your ally by choosing him to help with a trick that makes him look good.

  
  



• The Ruby-Throated Guesser: Immediately after you’ve created some moment of impeccable, poetic magic, this species shouts out her theory as to how you did it. ("You switched it when we weren’t looking!") That can rattle you if you’re not used to it; have a clever line (or another trick) ready to go, just in case.

  
  



• The Farfetched Guesser: This sub-class of spectator also likes to shout out guesses — but this variety comes up with incredibly ridiculous theories. They’ll accuse you of writing down a prediction in your pocket during the tenth of a second when you were reaching for a pen, or of having magnets installed in your hands, or of having made a secret agreement with everyone else in the audience before the show started. Although most people recognize the absurdity of these guesses, the outbursts can still detract from the delicious final moment of a trick.

  
  



• The Longbilled Believer: In this age of Psychic Hotlines, X-Files, and alien-abduction theories, an increasing number of audiences actually believe in magic. Do a mindreading trick for this kind, and you get almost no reaction at all — just a small, knowing smile and some nodding. It can be hard to impress one of these onlookers, since they’ve quietly believed all along that reality is a government conspiracy.

  
  



• The Clueless Dodobird: Somebody who forgets his card, making your trick worthless — or, worse, doesn’t follow instructions.

  
  



• The Puff-Chested Boyfriend: In the presence of a girlfriend, a funny thing happens to this ordinarily easygoing species: He becomes surprisingly defensive, remarkably unreceptive to being entertained by the magic. He doesn’t like her to see that he can be fooled.

  
  



• The Fuzzy-Tummied Hatchling: Performing for children — or the childlike — can be one of the most rewarding experiences for a magician. A child doesn’t yet have the ego of a Guesser or a Puff-Chested Boyfriend, and therefore isn’t threatened by your magic. As a result, you can relax, focusing on what you’re saying, on creating a feeling of mystery, on your delivery — and then bask in a young child’s reaction of pure wonder and delight.

  
  

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/a-guide-to-the-magic-show-audience.html