How to Avoid Problems with Layers in Google SketchUp 8

Layers can be really helpful; they control visibility and gather particular kinds of geometry so that you can easily turn it on (make it visible) and turn it off (make it invisible) when you need to. But you need to know how to use them; if you don’t, bad things can happen. Check out the following do’s and don’ts before you start working with layers:



  • Do all your modeling on Layer0. Keeping all your loose geometry (that’s not part of a group or component) together in one place is the only way to make sure that you don’t end up with edges and faces all over the place. SketchUp, unfortunately, lets you put geometry on whatever layer you want, which means that you can end up with a face on one layer, and one or more of the edges that define it on another. When that happens, it’s next to impossible to work out where everything belongs.



  • Don’t move anything but groups and components to other layers. If you’re going to use layers, follow this rule: Never put anything on a layer other than Layer0 unless it’s a group or a component. Doing so ensures that you don’t end up with stray edges and faces on separate layers.



  • Use layers to organize big groups of similar things. More complicated SketchUp models often include things like trees, furniture, cars, and people. These kinds of things are almost always already components, so they’re perfect candidates for being kept on separate layers.



  • Don’t use layers to organize interconnected geometry; use the Outliner instead. Interconnected geometry means things like building floor levels and staircases. These model parts aren’t meant to be physically separate from other parts like vehicles and people are.



  • Feel free to use layers to iterate. Iteration is the process of doing multiple versions of the same thing. Lots of designers work this way to figure out problems and present different options to their clients. Using layers is a great way to iterate: You can move each version of the thing you’re working on to a different layer, and then turn them on and off to show each in turn. Just remember to follow the rule about using groups and components only on separate layers (mentioned previously), and you’ll be fine.













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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-avoid-problems-with-layers-in-google-sketch.html

How to Use Snow Leopard’s FileVault to Protect Your Privacy

Snow Leopard offers a feature called FileVault, which helps you protect the privacy of your Mac files. FileVault provides Home folder encryption that prevents just about anyone except the NSA or FBI from gaining access to the files in your Home folder. (You’ll notice that things slow down just a bit when logging in and out or working with files that are several gigabytes in size, but for those who need the peace of mind, this minimal performance hit is worth it.)


These days, everyone’s interested in securing his or her personal files from prying eyes. Granted, this isn’t a problem if you’re the only one using your Mac. However, if you’re sharing a computer in a multiuser environment, you might want a little more protection than just user permissions for those all-important Fantasy Football formations that you’ll unleash next season.


To enable the FileVault feature, go to System Preferences and open the Security pane. Two alter passwords control access to your Home folder when FileVault is active:



  • The Master Password can unlock any Home folder for any user. Only someone with an admin account can set the Master Password. The Master Password must be set before you can turn on the FileVault feature for any account on your system.



  • Your Login Password unlocks your Home folder.




Do not forget your Login Password, and make doggone sure that your Admin user remembers that all-important Master Password!


Mac OS X displays a dire warning for anyone who’s considering using FileVault: If you forget these passwords, you can’t retrieve any data from your Home folder. Period. As Jerry Reed says, “It’s a gone pecan.”




dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-use-snow-leopards-filevault-to-protect-your.html

Common Day Trading Mistakes

Day trading is tough. Most day traders lose money, in part because they make obvious, avoidable mistakes. Here’s a list of some of the most common mistakes that day traders make. Following them is no guarantee that you will make money trading, but it will certainly reduce your risk and improve your odds of being a day trading success in Canada.



  • Starting with unrealistic expectations. Some research shows that 80 percent of day traders wash out in the first year. Yes, some traders make a lot of money. But they are the exception.


    If you go into trading knowing that it’s hard, that you should risk only money that you can afford to lose, and that you need to think about it as a business, you’ll have a leg up on those who think they’ve found an easy way to make millions from the comfort of their own home — and who are then stunned to discover they are broke.



  • Starting without a business plan. Successful businesses have business plans, and your trading business is no different. You need to specify what you are going to trade, and when, and how, and with how much money, before you get started.


    You need to determine what equipment you need, what services and training you want, and how you will measure your success. Having the plan will keep your expectations in line and create a professional starting point for your new trading venture.



  • Starting without a trading plan. A business plan sets the framework for your trading business, but you need to fill in the details. How are you going to trade? What signals will you watch for? Why will you enter a position, and why will you close it? That’s your trading plan.



  • Good traders have trading plans, so that they know exactly what they will do as they see opportunities in the market. This reduces the fear and doubt that can unsettle most traders and it heads off the panic that destroys more than a few.



  • Failing to manage risk. Even traders who stick with it have many losing trades. That’s why they have risk management systems in place. Their trading plans include stops, which automatically execute buy or sell orders when securities reach predetermined levels. They also have a money management system so that they risk their capital appropriately.


    If you’re going to day trade, use the protection offered by stops and sound money management. Don’t risk money you can’t afford to lose, and plan for the risks that you take.



  • Not committing the time and money to do it right. Day trading isn’t something you can squeeze into an hour a day as a hobby. To do well, you need to set regular hours and have enough money to generate reasonable returns without unreasonable risks. If you have days of losses, a small account will quickly end up with too little money to meet minimum order sizes.


    On the upside, a 1 percent return on $1,000 is equal to $10, and a 1 percent return on $100,000 is $1,000. If you have more money to begin with, the dollars you make from day trading will seem more real to you.


    Canada doesn’t have rules on how much money you need to day trade, but brokers often require a trader to have a minimum amount of dough in their account to get started. It depends on what you plan to trade, but it can range between $1,000 for stocks and $25,000 for options.


    Some Canadian brokers follow the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rules that define “pattern day traders” based on their trading activity and as customers with $25,000 in their accounts. In any case, if you have $25,000 you can afford to lose you’re more likely to be a successful day trader than if you have only $2,500.






dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/common-day-trading-mistakes.html

Capital Requirements for Day Trading

You don’t necessarily need a lot of money to begin day trading, but you do need a lot of money to buy certain kinds of securities.


Stocks generally trade in round lots, which are orders of at least 100 shares. If you want to buy a stock worth $40 per share, you need $4,000 in your account. Your broker will probably let you borrow half of that money, but you still need to come up with the other $2,000.


Options and futures trade by contract; one contract represents some unit of the underlying security. For example, in the options market, one contract is good for 100 shares of the stock. These contracts also trade in round lots of 100 contracts per order.


No one will stop you from buying a smaller amount than the usual round lot in any given security, but you’ll probably pay a high commission and get worse execution for your order. Because the returns on each trade tend to be small anyway, don’t take up day trading until you have enough money to trade your target asset effectively.


Bonds do not trade in fractional amounts; they trade on a per-bond basis, and each bond has a face value of $1,000. Some trade for more or less than that, depending on how the bond’s interest rate differs from the market rate, but the $1,000 figure is a good number to keep in mind. Many dealers have a minimum order of 10 bonds, though, so a minimum order would be $10,000.




dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/capital-requirements-for-day-trading.html

How to Use Search Engine Optimization for Your Online Community

To put your online community high on the results pages of search engines, you have to use the terms and phrases most people use to find your community. Search engine optimization (SEO) is the act of creating content that appeals to search engines. It catches the attention of search engines, which in turn catch the attention of potential community members.


The search terms you want your community to rank high on are called keywords. If you want to use a phrase, it’s called a key phrase.


You want to use the most important keywords and key phrases in your content without looking all obvious about it, but sometimes, this is easier said than done.


First, you have to determine the important words and phrases to use as your keywords. You can’t just make up words and hope they lead people to your community. They have to be relevant and descriptive, and they have to make sense.


Many website owners make the mistake of using unnatural-sounding key phrases because of how people search. The problem is that most people don’t talk like they search. Even though you want to choose keywords that will help you rank high, the last thing you want to do is use poor grammar, misspellings, or clunky-sounding examples, simply because that’s what people type in to search engines.


The following list can help you determine how to find the right keywords for your community and content:



  • Use your stats. Your stats program tells you everything you need to know about the people who visit your website or community. Stats allow you to view the keywords and phrases that folks use to land on your website from search engines.


    If you work for Mattress King, for example, and your stats reveal people are finding your community by typing affordable mattresses, you know one important key phrase. Now enter that keyword in a search engine. Where is your community landing on the results page? If it’s one of the top results, that’s excellent; if not, you’ll want to do what you can to get higher on the list.



  • Do your own searching. Search for your community online without using its URL or its title. Simply think of the terms you would use to find out more about your brand or community topic. Also, think of search terms that don’t mention your brand. If your brand is Skippy, for example, search phrases may include peanut butter, peanut butter recipes, and peanut butter cookies.



  • Find out what keywords competing communities use. Using Skippy as an example again, find out what keywords competing brands such as Jif and Peter Pan use.


    Free tools available at Alexa and Compete let you know some of the keywords your competitors use.



  • Use a keyword suggestion program. You can use a keyword suggestion program to find keywords that relevant to your brand. Enter a keyword or subject, and the program offers you a list of keyword options, ranked by popularity. Some good tools to try are Google AdWords, Wordtracker, and SEO Book.




Use different methods to keep on top of the keywords and key phrases that are being used to find your community as well as to find what’s popular in your community. As keywords change every so often, it’s a good idea to check them every six months or so and create your content accordingly.


It’s also a good idea to try new keywords and key phrases to try to reach a totally new audience.




dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-use-search-engine-optimization-for-your-onl.html

Hobby Farming: Know Your Growing Seasons

Deciding which crops to plant depends on how well things will grow on your farm. The length of the growing season is vital because you want your plants to produce fruit before the first frost. Determine the best times for growing by checking the back of seed packets or by consulting the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone map.


The following table shows the average last and first frost dates, marking the start and end of the growing season for various regions in the United States.

























































USDA Plant Hardiness ZoneLast Frost (Beginning)First Frost (End)Length of Growing Season (Days)
1June 15–30July 15–3030
2May 15–30August 15–3090
3 and 4May 15–30September 15–30120
5, 6, and 7April 15–30October 15–30180
8March 15–30November 15–30240
9February 15–30December 15–30300
10January 31December 15–30315
11Frost freeFrost free365








dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/hobby-farming-know-your-growing-seasons.html

Guide to Children’s Health Symptoms

Use this handy list as a quick guide to what certain symptoms may mean for your children's health. This list is not exhaustive, however, and other problems could be the cause, so seek medical advice for confirmation and treatment.



  • Abdominal pain. Check for appendicitis; constipation; anxiety; diarrhoea.



  • Blisters, on palms of hands and soles of feet. Check for hand, foot, and mouth disease.



  • Blisters on skin. Check for chickenpox.



  • Coughing, croaking. Check for croup.



  • Coughing, gasping. Check for whooping cough.



  • Coughing, wheezy. Check for asthma.



  • Dislike of bright light. Check for meningitis.



  • Ear, yellow discharge. Check for ear infection; burst eardrum; glue ear.



  • Earache. Check for ear infection.



  • Fever. Check for infectious diseases.



  • Headache. Check for fever; cold or flu symptoms; dehydration; eye strain; meningitis.



  • Itching skin. Check for eczema, allergic reaction; chickenpox.



  • Mouth, spots or blisters inside. Check for measles; hand, foot, and mouth disease.



  • Neck or jaw, lump in. Check for swollen glands; mumps.



  • Listlessness. Check for meningitis.



  • Yellow skin, in newborn baby. Check for jaundice.



  • Rash. Check for food allergy; eczema; heat rash; milia, in babies; measles; roseola; German measles; scarlet fever; slapped cheek disease.



  • Runny nose. Check for infectious disease; allergy.



  • Skin, patches of red, rough, itchy. Check for eczema.



  • Swollen glands. Check for infectious diseases.



  • Throat, sore. Check for tonsillitis.



  • Vomiting. Check for gastroenteritis.











dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/guide-to-childrens-health-symptoms.html

MacBook Ports

Each port on your MacBook connects a different type of cable or device, allowing you to easily add all sorts of functionality to your computer. Each of these stellar holes is identified by an icon to help you identify it. Here’s a list of what you’ll find and a quick rundown on what these ports do.


Connections for external devices and networking:



  • FireWire: These ports are the standard in the Apple universe for connecting external hard drives and DVD recorders, but they do double-duty as the connector of choice for peripherals such as mini-DV camcorders. (A peripheral is another silly techno-nerd term that means a separate device you connect to your computer.) The MacBook Pro sports one FireWire 800 port. The MacBook and MacBook Air, on the other hand, offer only USB.



  • USB: Short for Universal Serial Bus, the familiar USB port is the jack-of-all-trades in today’s world of computer add-ons. Most external devices that you want to connect to your laptop (such as portable hard drives, scanners, and digital cameras) use a USB port, including the iPod.


    Depending on the model of laptop, you’ll have either two or three USB 2.0 ports available. USB 2.0 connections are much faster than the old USB 1.1 standard, but they still accept USB 1.1 devices running at the slower speed.



  • Thunderbolt: Okay, the name sounds like something out of an old Flash Gordon serial, but the Thunderbolt port on a MacBook Pro is really, really fast. (As in, “Leaving both USB and FireWire in the dust fast.”)


    Although most MacBook Pro owners will use Thunderbolt with an external hard drive, that same Thunderbolt port can also be connected to displays (like a DVI monitor or HDMI-capable TV) with the proper adapter. Apple also sells a 27-inch Thunderbolt display that doesn’t require any adapter at all.



  • Ethernet: Today’s Mac laptops (other than the MacBook Air) include a standard 10/100/1000 Ethernet port, so the laptop is ready to join your existing wired Ethernet network. (Alternatively, you can go wireless for your network connection.)


    Because the MacBook Air is designed to be completely wireless, it doesn’t have a wired Ethernet port, but if necessary, you can add a USB Ethernet adapter to add a wired network port to your Air.



  • ExpressCard/34 or SD memory: When you need the absolute fastest performance possible from an external device, you can connect that device to your laptop using the ExpressCard slot. These cards are the descendants of the popular PCMCIA (or PC Card) cards, which many models of older Mac PowerBooks used.


    Currently, only the 17-inch MacBook Pro offers an ExpressCard slot, but the 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pro models include a standard SDXC memory card slot (a treat for digital photographers because it allows iPhoto to import photos directly from an SDXC memory card).




Connections for external video and audio are



  • Mini DisplayPort: In case that splendid screen isn’t big enough, you can buy an adapter for this port that allows you to send the video signal from your laptop to another VGA or DVI monitor, or even S-Video output for your TV and VCR.



  • Audio In/Out: You can send the high-quality audio from your rectangular beast to a set of standard headphones or an optical digital audio device such as a high-end home theater system. On the MacBook and 13-inch MacBook Pro, the same jack also allows you to pipe the signal from another audio device into your laptop.


    This one comes in particularly handy when you record MP3 files from your old vinyl albums or when you want to record loops in GarageBand. (The MacBook Air doesn’t support this Audio In feature.)



  • Audio Line Out: Last (but certainly not least) is the separate audio Line Out jack included with the 15 and 17-inch MacBook Pro models.






dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/macbook-ports.html

Get to Know the Controls on Your Nikon D3100 Digital Camera

Here's a quick reference guide to the buttons, dials, and other external controls on your D3100. Note that the lens shown is the Nikkor 18–55mm AF-S DX (Vibration Reduction) model sold with the D3100 kit; other lenses may not have the same controls.


image0.jpg
image1.jpg
image2.jpg


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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/get-to-know-the-controls-on-your-nikon-d3100-digit.html

Performing Your Song: Movin’ and Groovin’

When you sing for an audience, the movements you make around a stage or around the room need to enhance your singing and the story. Being able to move and sing is important, yet starting small is best. Consider these tips on coordinating movement with music:



  • At home, practice singing while doing simple tasks, just to practice doing two things at once.



  • When you’re comfortable moving and singing, speak through your song lyrics and notice what gestures you make. Knowing how you gesture when you speak helps you figure out how to move when you’re singing.



  • Some songs don’t require much movement. Err on the busy side at first when you’re practicing, and then pare the movements until you’re sure that you’re moving in response to what you’re saying.


    Just moving for its own sake when you’re singing doesn’t enhance your song. For example, classical songs don’t require much movement or many gestures.




If singing is new to you, adding some sort of movement may be too much for you right now. Take it one step at a time when you’re figuring out how to perform your new technique with a new song.




dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/performing-your-song-movin-and-groovin.html

Word Namespace Classes for Extending the Office Object Model with VSTO

The Microsoft.Office.Tools.Word namespace contains classes that represent objects in the Word object model. Here is a list of the class names, along with their descriptions, that you can use in VSTO to extend the Office Object Model:



  • Document: Document class represents the document in Word 2010.



  • Bookmark: Bookmark control represents the bookmark class from the Word object model. The bookmark control has a unique name, exposes events, and can be bound to data as well.











dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/word-namespace-classes-for-extending-the-office-ob.html

How to Develop a Goat Milking Routine

Goats are creatures of habit. If you want to maximize the amount of milk you get and make milking easier, you need to develop a regular milking routine, which means using the same place and same procedure every day.


A milking routine requires you to



  • Have a milking area separate from the other goats (otherwise they will bug you and steal grain from the goat being milked).



  • Milk the goat from the same side every time.



  • Wash the udder first, to encourage the udder to let down and to ensure cleanliness.



  • Milk your goats in the same order each time, unless one gets mastitis. You can choose any order you want, but the goats usually choose the order, with the herd queen going first. If you have CAEV-positive goats, milk them last or use separate equipment.




Other than the rare precocious milker, in order to freshen, a goat first has to have a kid.


Before she produces true milk, a goat produces colostrum. The supply of milk that a goat produces is based on the demand for that milk. If you milk only once a day, you get less milk than you do with two milkings because the goat produces less (unless she has kids still nursing and creating demand). You can milk three times a day and get even more milk, but doing so is generally not cost-effective when you consider the amount of time it takes.


Unless you're bottle-feeding kids, let them nurse whenever they want for the first two weeks. Then put the kids in a separate area each night and milk their dams in the morning before letting them out for the day. The kids keep the dams milked during the day, although you can usually get a little bit from an evening milking. That is, until they learn the routine and rush to their mothers to get that last drop before being locked up.


If you are bottle-feeding and plan to use the doe's milk, you need to start milking right after they kid. You can take their colostrum for feeding the kids or freeze for later use.


To prepare the does for twice-daily milking, put them through the milking routine in the evening whether you milk them or not. That way you can gradually increase their tolerance to grain in anticipation of weaning the kids and milking twice a day. Whether you milk once or twice a day, you need to do it at the same time to ensure that does don't decrease production or get uncomfortable from a too-full udder.




dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-develop-a-goat-milking-routine.html

Strategic Planning: Scenario Planning and the Butterfly Effect

Would you sleep better if you had a clear idea how to mitigate real risks in your strategic planning and business operations? One way to mitigate the uncertainty of the present is to plan for the future. We’ve all seen unsettling headlines pointing to a business slowdown in the newspapers and in national news: “Home Foreclosures Skyrocket,” “Housing Market Continues Slump,” “Disappearing Sales Tax Revenue,” and “Credit-Market Contagion From US Subprime Crisis Affects Global Economy.”


Most of us consider such trends to be too national to have local impact. However, the chatter in our local business community indicates otherwise as people are citing slower decisions with contracts, capital expenditures, and other big commitments. Human nature is to ignore the bad news rather than pay attention to it.


Whether you think you’re immune to this slowdown or not, consider the ramifications of disregarding such an economic change. You may be familiar with the butterfly effect, which theorizes that something seemingly innocuous, such as a butterfly’s wings, may be the catalyst for something larger, such as a tornado. Having a simple action plan for a couple of potential scenarios that may impact you is well worth your time.


So if the impossible happens, all you need to do is implement the plan instead of scrambling to figure out what to do. A scenario plan will help you do just that.




dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/strategic-planning-scenario-planning-and-the-butte.html

Debt Ratio in QuickBooks 2012

The debt ratio is one of the leverage ratios you can use in QuickBooks 2012. The debt ratio simply shows the firm’s debt as a percentage of its capital structure. The term capital structure refers to the total liabilities and owner’s equity amount. For example, in the case of the balance sheet shown, the capital structure totals $320,000.


Not coincidentally, the total liability and owner’s equity amount, $320,000, equals the total assets amount, $320,000.





















































A Simple Balance Sheet
Assets
Cash$25,000
Inventory25,000
Current assets$50,000
Fixed assets (net)270,000
Total assets$320,000
Liabilities
Accounts payable$20,000
Loan payable100,000
Owner’s equity
S. Nelson, capital200,000
Total liabilities and owner’s equity$320,000

This makes sense if you think about it a bit. A firm funds its assets with its capital. Therefore, the total assets always equal the total capital structure.


The formula for calculating the debt ratio is a simple one:


total debt/total assets

Using numbers from the simple balance sheet shown, for example, the debt ratio can be calculated as follows:


$120,000/$320,000

This formula returns the debt ratio of 0.375. This indicates that 37.5 percent of the firm’s capital comes from debt.


No guideline exists for debt ratio. Appropriate debt ratios vary by industry and by the size of the firm in an industry. In general, small firms that use QuickBooks probably want to show lower debt ratios than larger firms.


Small firm see their operating income fluctuate more wildly than large firms. Because of that fluctuation, carrying and servicing such debt is more problematic. Lower debt, therefore, is probably better.




dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/debt-ratio-in-quickbooks-2012.html

Mac OS X Tiger Timesaver: Creating and Using Groups

Every record in your Mac OSX Tiger Address Book can also be a member of one or more groups. (They don't have to be, though; a record can be independent of all groups.) Defining groups brings you three main benefits:



  • Better organization for finding a record

  • Ability to send an entire group (like your family) updated contact information with the click of a button

  • Ability to send e-mails to a defined set of people, such as everyone in your department, by referring to the group name in the Mail application

You can create a group in four ways:



  • Using the New Group From Selection tool

  • Manually

  • Duplicating an existing group


Hold down the Option key when you have selected a person's record in the Name column to see what groups that person is in.



Using the New Group From Selection tool


A quick way to create a new group is to choose File --> New Group From Selection.



1. Make sure you are in Cards and Columns mode by pressing COMMAND-1 (see Figure 1).


Address Book supports three modes (all available through the View menu): Cards and Columns, Card Only, and Directories. Cards and Columns is the best for creating groups.


2. Click the All option under Group to display every record.


3. COMMAND-click the names listed in the Name column to select the group members.


4. Choose File --> New Group From Selection (see Figure 2).


A new group is created in the Group column. This new group's name ("Group Name" by default) is highlighted, ready for you to type the new name.


5. Enter the new group's name.


6. Press Return to complete the transaction.


>



Figure 1: Address Book's Cards and Columns mode.




>



Figure 2: The New Group From Selection option eases the group creation process.

Creating a group manually


To create a group manually, just follow these steps:



1. Make sure that you're in Cards and Columns view mode; choose it from the View menu or press COMMAND-1.


2. Click the plus sign in the lower-left corner to create a new group.


3. Type the new group's name in the new, highlighted field that appears (see Figure 3).


4. Search or browse through the Address Book names, adding people to the new group by dragging their cards onto the group name.


To delete a group member, select the member's name from under the Group listing and then press Delete. Press Return at the prompt that appears (see Figure 4) to remove the user only from this group (not from the whole Address Book).



>



Figure 3: When you add a new group, it's given a default name that you can easily change.



>



Figure 4: When you delete a user from a group, you have to clarify your intentions.

Duplicating an existing group


If you want to create a new group that contains some of the members of an existing group (like the immediate family subset of your extended family group), you might want to simply duplicate the existing group and edit members accordingly. Here's how:



1. Select the existing group in the Group listing (the left column).


2. Choose Edit --> Copy or press COMMAND-C.


3. Choose Edit --> Paste or press COMMAND-V to create a copy of that group.


4. Rename the new group (called Old Group Name copy) by double-clicking the group's name.


5. Edit the group's members by using the steps outlined in the preceding section.


>
dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/mac-os-x-tiger-timesaver-creating-and-using-groups.html

Collecting Sales Tax on Items You Sell on Etsy

Odds are, you need to collect sales tax for the items you sell in your Etsy shop at least some of the time, (Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and New Jersey are the big exceptions that don't require sales tax.) You also may not need to collect sales tax if you use your Etsy shop to sell prescription drugs (not recommended); agricultural products, such as animal feed or seed; groceries; or products for resale. So when do you need to collect sales tax?


Here's the short answer: You must collect sales tax — sometimes called a franchise tax, a transaction privilege tax, or a use tax, among other aliases — on most goods and some services delivered to a customer who lives in a U.S. state where your business maintains a physical presence, such as a store, office, or employee. So, for example, if you run your Etsy shop from your fifth-floor walkup in Brooklyn, and someone from the state of New York buys something from your shop, you need to hit that person with sales tax. But if your buyer lives in Cali, you're both off the hook (unless your shop is a collective and your partner lives in Long Beach).


In general terms, the sales tax process works like this:



  1. You get a sales tax ID number from your state.


    Check your state government's website for details.



  2. Each time you conduct a taxable transaction, you calculate the tax owed and collect it from the buyer.



  3. You keep excellent records about the tax that you've collected through your Etsy business.



  4. Each month, quarter, or year (depending on your level of sales), you file a tax return and submit the sales tax that you've collected to your state.



  5. You stay out of jail.




So how much sales tax do you need to collect? Ay, there's the rub. Sales tax rates vary widely from state to state. Plus, some cities, counties, and jurisdictions impose sales tax above and beyond the state rate. To make sure that your Etsy shop complies, you absolutely want to research your local laws, and maybe even consult a fancy-pants accountant or attorney for guidance.


Here's the good news: You can set up your Etsy shop to calculate and collect sales tax automatically. That way, when a shopper from your neck of the woods ponies up for one of your items, she's charged the appropriate tax automatically. It's like magic!


The sales tax ID number that you obtain from your state entitles you to buy supplies and other items for your Etsy business wholesale — which is typically at least half off the retail price. Holy bonus, Batman!











dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/collecting-sales-tax-on-items-you-sell-on-etsy.html

Network Administration: Net Services Commands

Among the more useful commands for network administrators are the Net Services commands. These commands are all two-word commands, beginning with Net — such as Net Use and Net Start. Here are a few details about the Net commands:



  • You can get a quick list of the available Net commands by typing net /? at a command prompt.



  • You can get brief help for any Net command by typing net help command. For example, to display help for the Net Use command, type net help use. (Yes, we all could use some help.)



  • Many of the Net commands prompt you for confirmation before completing an operation. For these commands, you can specify /Y or /N to bypass the confirmation prompt. You’ll want to do that if you include these commands in a batch file that runs unattended.


    You can use /Y or /N on any Net command, even if it doesn’t prompt you for confirmation. It is recommended that you place /Y on every Net command in a batch file that you intend on running unattended.






dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/network-administration-net-services-commands.html

How to Listen to an Audio CD on Your MacBook

Most MacBook owners want to listen to and record CDs as soon as they start using Lion. By default, Lion uses iTunes to play an audio CD. Take a moment to see how to master the common task of playing an audio CD. Follow these steps:



  1. Load the audio CD into your MacBook’s optical drive. (Remember, MacBook Air owners, you can add an external USB optical drive at any time.)


    A CD volume icon appears on your Desktop, and then Mac OS X automatically loads iTunes and displays its spiffy window.



  2. If you have iTunes set up to start playing by default, it automatically begins playing the disc; however, if you have to manually start the music, click the Play button at the upper left of the iTunes window to begin playing the disc at the beginning. To play an individual track, double-click the track name in the iTunes window.


    iTunes may also ask if you’d like the music from the CD added (or imported) into your iTunes music library. If you’d like to listen to the contents of the CD without having to load the physical disc in the future, feel free to import the CD tracks to your library — as long as the CD is your property, of course!



  3. To adjust the volume from within iTunes, drag the Volume slider to the left or right — it’s to the right of the Play and Fast Forward buttons.



  4. To eject the disc and load another audio CD, press Command+E, click the Eject icon next to the CD entry in the Source list, or click Controls→Eject Disc.



  5. To exit iTunes, press Command+Q.




The first time you run iTunes, you’re asked to configure the program and specify whether Mac OS X should automatically connect to the Internet to download the track titles for the disc you’ve loaded. Accept all the default settings and allow automatic connection. Is simple, no?




dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-listen-to-an-audio-cd-on-your-macbook.html

Tips for Any Computer Upgrade or Repair

Whether you’re upgrading or fixing a computer, a few basics apply no matter what. The No. 1 thing is to turn off your computer before you start tinkering with its parts. Check out these tips for any computer upgrade or repair:



  • Turn off and unplug your computer before taking off its cover. Please. This one’s the most important step before a computer upgrade or repair. You can damage both yourself and your computer if you forget to turn off and unplug the computer.



  • Install computer parts one at a time. Always make sure the first part works with your version of Windows before installing the next computer part.



  • The red (or colored) wire is positive. The red (or colored) wire often plugs into the pin or socket marked by a little + sign.



  • The positive/red wire connects to Pin 1. When you upgrade or repair to a computer part by swapping an old part for a new one, you may need to connect a wire to a pin. Look for little numbers printed along the edge of a socket. Can’t see the number 1? Then push the plug into the socket with the red wire facing toward the low numbers on the socket.






dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/tips-for-any-computer-upgrade-or-repair.html

Choosing Your Investment Strategy

Take into consideration your life goals and circumstances when deciding on your investment strategy. By doing the work now, you’ll see a clear link between your ideal strategy and your long-term financial plan in the end. Take these factors into consideration to decide on your investment strategy before determining your asset allocation:



  • Your investment horizon and long-term financial goals: Your money needs to keep working for you far into the future, even if you’re already retired. Do the work now to project your long-term cash flow.



  • Your return requirements: What kind of return do you need from your portfolio? The answer will tell you how conservative or aggressive your investment strategy needs to be.



  • Your risk tolerance: How far are you willing to go to get the return you need? The higher the return you’d like, the more risk you must take.



  • Your constraints: Constraints are nonnegotiable, period. Maybe you won’t consider certain investments for personal or moral reasons, for example. Maybe you won’t even think about dropping a poorly performing stock from your portfolio because you inherited it from your Great-Aunt Jenny.



  • Your tax situation: Tax-free, lower-yielding municipal bonds may be a good choice for you now — however, taxable, and higher-yielding, bonds may serve you better in retirement, if you end up in a lower tax bracket.






dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/choosing-your-investment-strategy.html

Deciding to Try Pilates

First things first. Pilates does not rhyme with pirates. It's puh-LAH-teez. Pilates teaches fundamental movements that are easy to learn and are completely safe for the average Joe.



Pilates is full of contradictions: It's strangely mundane and yet ethereal, simultaneously simple and complex. Some people understand and deeply appreciate the benefits of Pilates the first time they try it. Others may feel that Pilates exercises are repetitive and silly, but after three months of doing the same exercise, they suddenly gain access to a new layer of information about their bodies. Some people may initially find an exercise completely out of their reach, but after a few weeks of training, they find it to be completely natural. Whatever your experience of Pilates, the bottom line is always the same: You will be transformed.



As in starting any new exercise program, consult your doctor before starting Pilates, especially if you suffer from heart conditions, hypertension, or any other serious illness. If you have back pain or any other serious injury, please get a diagnosis from a doctor and your doctor's okay before embarking on your Pilates journey.



Pilates exercises borrow from yoga, dance, and gymnastics, but also include lots of original movements that distinguish them from these other techniques. The Pilates method consists of a repertoire of over 500 exercises, to be done on a mat or on one of the many pieces of equipment Joseph Pilates invented. Don't worry about having to use complicated equipment — you can get a terrific workout at home with just a simple exercise mat.



The Pilates method works to strengthen the center (by engaging the deep abdominal muscles), lengthen the spine, build muscle tone, and increase body awareness and flexibility.



The Pilates method is also an excellent rehabilitation system for back, knee, hip, shoulder, and repetitive-stress injuries. Pilates addresses the body as a whole, correcting the body's asymmetries and chronic weaknesses to prevent reinjury and to bring the body back into balance.



Pilates uses a series of exercises


Pilates exercises are usually done in a series. Series are organized by levels. There are beginning, intermediate, and advanced series.



Beginners can start with pre-Pilates. The pre-Pilates exercises give you a deep understanding of the concepts that make up all Pilates exercises. After you understand these concepts, you can apply them to the Beginning Series. After you have mastered the Beginning Series, move on to the Intermediate Series, and so on. As you progress in the method, the series get longer and harder. An intermediate workout includes exercises from the Beginning Series, plus new and harder intermediate exercises. Sometimes you will just do a more difficult version of the same exercise when you advance in levels.



Going through a series in order and to trying to complete the whole series when you work out is important. Joseph Pilates was a genius when it comes to understanding muscle balance in the body. The series he developed makes sense to the body when done in the correct order. Usually, you start a series with an exercise that warms up the spine, then you do a few exercises that bend the spine in one direction, followed by an exercise that reverses that movement, and so on. You don't have to understand the science behind why these exercises are in the order that they're in (you would need a Ph.D. in kinesiology to fully understand the reasons). Just trust in the method and in the order of the exercises. The longer you study and practice Pilates, the more you'll appreciate the intelligence of the man who created it.



Pilates builds the powerhouse


Pilates exercises, as a whole, develop strong abdominal, back, butt, and deep-postural muscles. Pilates focuses on the muscles that support the skeletal system and act as the powerhouse of the body.



Powerhouse is a term that comes from Joe Pilates himself. The abdominals, butt, back, and inner thigh muscles, when working together, constitute the powerhouse. This is where many of the Pilates exercises can be initiated or the area that is being challenged in many exercises. These muscles are the main stabilizing muscles of the body and are very important for preventing injury to the back.



The powerhouse is especially useful when performing back-strengthening exercises, as in back extensions. For example, if you lie on your stomach and squeeze your legs together, imagine pulling your belly up off the mat so that you could slide a piece of paper underneath your navel. Then tuck your pelvis under by pressing your pubic bone into the mat and complete this movement by squeezing the low butt muscles. The engagement of these three muscle groups — the abs, the butt, and the inner thigh — means you're working the powerhouse. If you were to rise up into a cobra or back extension (other Pilates movements) with your upper body, you would try to use this powerhouse to resist the swaying and compression in your low back.



Why should you care about this powerhouse?



  • The powerhouse muscles protect your back from potential injury, and if you already have a weak or problematic back, then strengthening the powerhouse will probably alleviate your problems.

  • Working from the center of the body when doing any movement takes the load off of the joints and the spine and helps your body work more efficiently.

  • A strong powerhouse is a sexy thing. Who doesn't enjoy a toned belly, back, and inner thigh?


dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/deciding-to-try-pilates.html

Technical Analysis Secrets for Beating the Market

Technical analysis offers traders an edge to stay ahead in the market and improve your trading skills. So what are the top technical analysis ideas you need to know? Here are 15 technical analysis secrets to becoming a skilled technical analysis trader:



  • Get an edge — get some technical indicators. One technical indicator is better than none; just using the 200-day moving average on the Dow or S&P would have saved your bacon in all the recent bear market downturns. Use the confirmation principle — multiple indicators — to improve your odds. No indicator is a magic bullet, but don't demand so much confirmation from so many indicators that you hardly ever get a signal — analysis paralysis. Use indicators that work well together without duplicating the ruling concept.



  • Know what your indicators are measuring. Understand the crowd sentiment underlying your technical indicators. Take an empirical approach. See what you're looking at on the chart. Don't let wishful thinking skew your vision. Accept the evidence of your eyes. When you misinterpret a chart, go back and find what you missed.



  • Use multiple time frames to get the big picture. Look at weekly charts as well as daily and smaller time frame charts.



  • Trade with the trend. If the security is trending upward, buy it. When it stops trending upward, sell it. If you don't know what's going on, don't trade. Don't fall into the "value trap" — that a high-quality security will come back after a fall. It may, but you may have to live a long time to see it happen. While you're waiting, you're missing opportunities to build capital.



  • Tune out the prune-faced naysayers who say "market timing doesn't work." Maybe it doesn't work for them, but millions of people use technical analysis in one form or another today. Algorithmic trading and high-frequency trading would not dominate all major markets if exploitable chart patterns did not exist.



  • Treat trading as a business. You can beat the index averages. And you can make extraordinary profits in securities markets. But you have to strive for excellence in your analysis and in managing the trade. You are up against serious professionals who want to take your money; don't go into the ring with a hobbyist's mindset.



  • Trade for the right reason — to make money. If you're trading for entertainment or to prove some philosophical or political point, stop and choose a more appropriate activity to serve those goals.



  • Use fundamentals to select securities, not to trade them. Get as much fundamental information as makes you comfortable, but at the end of the day, use it to select securities, not to trade them.



  • Impose strict risk management controls. Technical indicators give you an advantage — the "trader's edge" — but no indicator is a crystal ball. Technical indicators are wrong — a lot — so you make up for imperfections in technical techniques by imposing strict risk-management controls. Don't lie to yourself about your track record. Examining losses may uncover a surprisingly simple way to avoid losses in the future. Examining gains may disclose some personal talent that you can build on.



  • Accept that you can't control the market but you can control yourself. Establish rules when you're unemotional for times when you are emotional to overcome bad decision making. Reduce trading after a big loss and a big gain alike. Pace your trading to the amount of money you have. Don't overtrade.



  • Never trade without a stop-loss order. Acknowledge that you will take losses, and control them ruthlessly to preserve capital. The biggest cause of losses isn't bad indicators; it's failure to admit your indicators are sometimes wrong. You can design a reasonable technical trading regime and still fail to make money if you don't control losses. If you can't tolerate any loss, you shouldn't trade at all.



  • Never trade without a profit target. Plan every trade. Establish your best-case profit as well as your worst-case loss. Trading and investing aren't gambling — they're a business, with probable outcomes that you can estimate. Take money off the table once in a while and put it somewhere safe. Capital allocated to trading is not "savings." It is always at some risk when it is actively placed in a market.



  • Chose expert advisors with great care. Do your own work first. Nobody else understands your risk appetite and tolerance for uncertainty the way you do. Everyone trades the same indicator on the same security a different way, and no one way is the right way. If you take guidance from gurus, figure out their strengths and weaknesses, and verify their work with your own. Don't take tips from anyone you have not pre-qualified. Don't give tips, either, unless you're quitting your day job to set up an advisory business.



  • Diversify. Trade several securities and types of securities to reduce the risk of a market catastrophe wiping you out.



  • Keep reading and exploring. The field of technical analysis is exploding in all directions. New combinations of indicators, new types of securities, and new trading technologies are being invented all the time. A lot of it is intimidating and frightening, but you never know when you might come across something that resonates with you — your own "Eureka!" moment.






dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/technical-analysis-secrets-for-beating-the-market.html

How to Use Offline Browsing in Internet Explorer 8

You can use the offline browsing feature of Internet Explorer 8 to view your RSS feeds and Web page subscriptions. Offline browsing is especially beneficial when you’re using a laptop computer and can’t get connected to the Internet or when you rely on a slow dialup connection. Offline browsing enables you to download Web content during nonpeak hours and browse it whenever you want.


Once Internet Explorer goes into offline mode, it won’t go back online until you either restart the computer or manually turn offline browsing off.


To turn offline browsing on and off, choose Work Offline from the Tools drop-down menu (or press Alt+FW). You can view offline content in several ways:



  • By revisiting Web pages stored in the cache as part of the History. When browsing offline Web sites, you’ll find that Web sites open almost instantly.


    Open these pages by selecting them from the History Explorer bar, which you open by pressing Ctrl+Shift+H, by clicking the History tab on the Favorites/Feeds/History bar, or by choosing View→Explorer Bars→History from the Internet Explorer menu bar.



  • By visiting updated Web pages marked as Favorites that have been stored for later viewing. This will give you the most complete content. IE will also save other pages that are linked to the one you’re saving and automatically check for updated content.



  • To save a Web page for later offline viewing, choose File→Save As and and save it as one of the Web page or Web archive file types in the Save As Type drop-down menu.



  • Open these pages by choosing them from the Favorites menu, or click the View Favorites, Feeds and History button on the Favorites toolbar. Then select the Web from the Favorites tab.



  • By opening Web pages that are stored in folders on local disks, such as the hard drive or a CD-ROM. When browsing offline Web sites, you’ll find some of the links aren’t available for offline viewing.


    Open the page by typing the pathname in the address bar of Internet Explorer. You can also open a local Web page with the Open dialog box (press Ctrl+O).




Internet Explorer lets you know when a link isn’t available by adding the international “No” or “Don’t” symbol (you know, the circle with a backslash in it) to the normal hand mouse pointer.


If you click a hyperlink to a page that hasn’t been downloaded, IE will display a Web Page Unavailable While Offline alert dialog box. Click Connect or press Enter to have IE go online and go to the requested page. To remain offline, click the Stay Offline button instead.




dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-use-offline-browsing-in-internet-explorer-8.navId-323648.html

SQL For Dummies

This Cheat Sheet consists of several helpful tables and lists, containing information that comes up repeatedly when working with SQL. In one place, you can get a quick answer to a number of different questions that frequently arise during an SQL development effort.






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SQL Criteria for Normal Forms


To ensure that database tables are designed in such a way that they will hold your data reliably, you need to be sure that they are not subject to modification anomalies. Normalizing your databases will give you that assurance. Compare the SQL criteria in the following list to the tables in your database. Doing so will alert you to the possibility of anomalies, when you find that your database is not sufficiently normalized.


First Normal Form (1NF):



  • Table must be two-dimensional, with rows and columns.



  • Each row contains data that pertains to one thing or one portion of a thing.



  • Each column contains data for a single attribute of the thing being described.



  • Each cell (intersection of row and column) of the table must be single-valued.



  • All entries in a column must be of the same kind.



  • Each column must have a unique name.



  • No two rows may be identical.



  • The order of the columns and of the rows does not matter.




Second Normal Form (2NF):



  • Table must be in first normal form (1NF).



  • All nonkey attributes (columns) must be dependent on the entire key.




Third Normal Form (3NF):



  • Table must be in second normal form (2NF).



  • Table has no transitive dependencies.




Domain-Key Normal Form (DK/NF):



  • Every constraint on the table is a logical consequence of the definition of keys and domains.







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SQL Data Types


Here’s a list of all the formal data types that ISO/IEC standard SQL recognizes. In addition to these, you may define additional data types that are derived from these.


Exact Numerics:



  • INTEGER



  • SMALLINT



  • BIGINT



  • NUMERIC



  • DECIMAL




Approximate Numerics:



  • REAL



  • DOUBLE PRECISION



  • FLOAT




Binary Strings:



  • BINARY



  • BINARY VARYING



  • BINARY LARGE OBJECT




Boolean:



  • BOOLEAN




Character Strings:



  • CHARACTER



  • CHARACTER VARYING (VARCHAR)



  • CHARACTER LARGE OBJECT



  • NATIONAL CHARACTER



  • NATIONAL CHARACTER VARYING



  • NATIONAL CHARACTER LARGE OBJECT




Datetimes:



  • DATE



  • TIME WITHOUT TIMEZONE



  • TIMESTAMP WITHOUT TIMEZONE



  • TIME WITH TIMEZONE



  • TIMESTAMP WITH TIMEZONE




Intervals:



  • INTERVAL DAY



  • INTERVAL YEAR




Collection Types:



  • ARRAY



  • MULTISET




Other Types:



  • ROW



  • XML







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SQL Value Functions


These SQL value functions perform operations on data. There are all kinds of operations that could conceivably be performed on data items, but these are some that are needed most often.













































String Value Functions
FunctionEffect
SUBSTRINGExtracts a substring from a source string
SUBSTRING SIMILARExtracts a substring from a source string, using POSIX-based
regular expressions
SUBSTRING_REGEXExtracts from a string the first occurrence of an XQuery
regular expression pattern and returns one occurrence of the
matching substring
TRANSLATE_REGEXExtracts from a string the first or every occurrence of an
XQuery regular expression pattern and replaces it or them with an
XQuery replacement string
UPPERConverts a character string to all uppercase
LOWERConverts a character string to all lowercase
TRIMTrims off leading or trailing blanks
TRANSLATETransforms a source string from one character set to
another
CONVERTTransforms a source string from one character set to
another
























Numeric Value Functions
FunctionEffect
POSITIONReturns the starting position of a target string within a
source string
CHARACTER_LENGTHReturns the number of characters in a string
OCTET_LENGTHReturns the number of octets (bytes) in a character string
EXTRACTExtracts a single field from a datetime or interval




















Datetime Value Functions
FunctionEffect
CURRENT_DATEReturns the current date
CURRENT_TIME(p)Returns the current time; (p) is precision of seconds
CURRENT_TIMESTAMP(p)Returns the current date and the current time; (p) is precision
of seconds




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SQL Set Functions


The SQL set functions give you a quick answer to questions you may have about the characteristics of your data as a whole. How many rows does a table have? What is the highest value in the table? What is the lowest? These are the kinds of questions that the SQL set functions can answer for you.























COUNTReturns the number of rows in the specified table
MAXReturns the maximum value that occurs in the specified
table
MINReturns the minimum value that occurs in the specified
table
SUMAdds up the values in a specified column
AVGReturns the average of all the values in the specified
column




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SQL WHERE Clause Predicates


Predicates boil down to either a TRUE or a FALSE result. You can filter out unwanted rows from the result of an SQL query by applying a WHERE clause whose predicate excludes the unwanted rows.





























Comparison Predicates    
=Equal
<>Not equal
<Less than
<=Less than or equal
>Greater than
>=Greater than or equal
































Other Predicates    
ALLBETWEEN
DISTINCTEXISTS
INLIKE
MATCHNOT IN
NOT LIKENULL
OVERLAPSSIMILAR
SOME, ANYUNIQUE
































Other Predicates    
ALLBETWEEN
DISTINCTEXISTS
INLIKE
MATCHNOT IN
NOT LIKENULL
OVERLAPSSIMILAR
SOME, ANYUNIQUE




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dummies


Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/sql-for-dummies-cheat-sheet.html

Outlook 2010's Calendar Home Tab

The Calendar Home tab on the Outlook 2010 Ribbon lets you choose how you prefer to view your appointments. You can choose among views for a Day, a Week, a Work Week, or a Month. You can also choose a Schedule view for seeing several schedules at once.


image0.jpg







dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/outlook-2010s-calendar-home-tab.html

How to Avoid and Recognize the Swine Flu &#8212; or H1N1

During flu season, news of contagious diseases — like the dreaded swine flu — spreads quickly. Avoiding H1N1 starts with understanding how you catch the virus, what you can do to protect yourself from infection, and how you can figure out if you have the flu if you start feeling sick.


What's the swine flu really all about?


Viruses can mutate, and that's just how the so-called "swine flu" broke into our headlines. Influenza A (H1N1) combines flu viruses that cause sickness in pigs, birds, and humans. Because people are susceptible to the disease, each of us can pass H1N1 to another human being.


When an illness touches populations around the world, the widespread infection earns the term, pandemic. Pandemic does not mean that the disease has been proven to cause severe symptoms or death in its victims. A pandemic flu can be mild, but it most certainly is far reaching.


The H1N1 flu acts like any other flu. You can catch the bug through someone else's cough, sneeze, or close-up conversation. If a germ carrier, who may be contagious a day before even showing symptoms, coughs or sneezes on an object, that item becomes a camping ground for the virus, too.


Because H1N1 is the new flu on the block, flu shots that were developed before recent outbreaks are not likely to provide any protection for this strain. As experience with H1N1 yields more information, vaccines will become available. Practicing precaution is always a smart way to avoid infection.


How do I protect myself from the H1N1 flu?


To minimize your exposure to flu germs, follow common sense:




  • Stay away from people who are sick. Try not to touch anything that someone's handled if you know that the person has been ill recently.




  • Keep your hands away from your eyes, nose, and mouth. Pesky flu bugs are more than ready to march in . . . and claim a new victim.




  • Wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands . . . and then, wash your hands.




To stay healthy throughout the year (in the midst of and beyond spring and fall flu seasons), get plenty of sleep, eat well, drink lots of fluids, and don't stress out.


How do I know if I have H1N1?


Allergies and other illnesses can make you wonder if you're coming down with the flu. Here are some common flu symptoms:




  • Feeling unusually tired




  • Having a sore throat




  • Coughing a lot




  • Feeling congestion in your chest




  • Aching throughout your body




  • Having a headache




  • Registering a high fever when you take your body temperature




Some sufferers also have experienced vomiting and diarrhea as flu symptoms.


If you're feeling sick, and the symptoms fit, call your doctor right away. A simple test can reveal whether you're dealing with H1N1 or something else. If you've caught swine flu, your test results can help health care professionals track a possible epidemic.


Your physician can help you understand the disease and how your body may respond to symptom-reducing medications. Control spread of the flu by coughing or sneezing in tissues, rather than in your hands; limiting contact with others; and staying at home until you're well.


Can I catch swine flu from eating pork chops?


No. If you include pork in your diet, you can continue to enjoy meals and dishes made from this meat. Although pork always requires safe cooking conditions (making sure the temperature rises to at least 160 degrees Fahrenheit), you won't risk flu infection from eating your favorite ribs, chops, roasts, or bacon.










dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-avoid-and-recognize-the-swine-or-h1n1-flu.html

Navigating the Main Screen in Outlook 2003

The main screen in Microsoft Outlook, as shown in Figure 1, has all the usual parts of a Windows screen but with a few important additions. At the left side of the screen, you see the Navigation Pane. Next to the Navigation Pane, you can find the Information Viewer, the part of the screen that takes up most of the space.



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Figure 1: The main screen in Microsoft Outlook.

The Navigation Pane


The Navigation Pane (the part of the Outlook screen formerly called the Outlook Bar) is the column on the left side of the Outlook screen. It contains several buttons with names such as Mail, Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, and Notes — the basic Outlook modules.



The Navigation Pane is made up of two sections:



  • An upper window section. This section of the Navigation Pane displays different kinds of information at different times. Sometimes the top half of the Navigation Pane shows the Folder List, sometimes it shows a list of available views, and sometimes it contains phrases in blue lettering. You can click a phrase to do what that phrase describes, such as "Open a Shared Calendar." If you want to make the Folder List appear in this top window section, choose Go --> Folder List.

  • A bottom section made up of buttons. Each button in the bottom section connects to one of Outlook's main modules — mail, calendar, contacts, tasks, and so on. Just click a button and see what happens. Clicking the button changes the stuff on the main screen to fit what that button describes. Click the Calendar button, for example, and a Calendar screen shows up. Click Contacts, and you get a screen for names and addresses. The process is like changing the channels on the TV set. If you switch to a channel that you don't want, switch to another — no problem.

Just above the Mail icon in the Navigation Pane, you can see a gray border separating buttons on the bottom from the top part of the bar. If you drag that gray borderline downward with your mouse, the buttons in the Navigation Pane disappear one by one. You may want to do this drag to get a better view of your Folder List. You can make those buttons reappear by simply dragging the gray border upward again.



The Information Viewer: Outlook's hotspot


Most of the action happens in Outlook at the Information Viewer. If the Navigation Pane is like the channel selector on your TV set, the Information Viewer is like the TV screen. When you're reading email, you look in the Information Viewer to read your messages; if you're adding or searching for contacts, you see contact names here. You can do all sorts of fancy sorting tricks that each module in Outlook lets you perform in the Information Viewer.



Because you can store more information in Outlook than you want to see at any one time, the Information Viewer shows you only a slice of the information available. The Calendar, for example, can store dates as far back as the year 1601 and as far ahead as 4500. (Got any plans on Saturday night 2,500 years from now?) Outlook breaks that time down and shows it to you in manageable slices in the Information Viewer. The smallest Calendar slice that you can look at is one day; the largest slice is a month.



The Information Viewer organizes the items that it shows you into units called views. You can use the views that come included with Outlook when you install it, or you can create your own views and save them.



You can navigate among the slices of information that Outlook shows you by clicking different parts of the Information Viewer. Some people use the word browsing for the process of moving around the Information Viewer — it's a little like thumbing through the pages of your pocket datebook.



To browse the Calendar data in the Information Viewer by week, follow these steps:



1. Click the Calendar button in the Navigation Pane (or press Ctrl+2).


2. Choose View --> Week.


Try these tricks to see how the Information Viewer behaves:



  • Click a date in the small calendar in the upper-right corner. The large calendar changes to a one-day view.

  • Click the W for Wednesday at the top of one of the small calendars. The large calendar changes to a monthly view.

You can change the appearance of the Information Viewer an infinite number of ways to make the work you do in Outlook make sense to you. For example, you may need to see the appointments for a single day or only the items that you assign to a certain category. Views can help you get a quick look at exactly the slice of information that you need.









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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/navigating-the-main-screen-in-outlook-2003.html

How to Visit an Art Museum

Even if you’re not a professional curator or art director, you can visit an art museum the ways the pros do. Just use the tips in the following list:



  • Get a postcard: Postcards are cheaper and are a whole lot easier to lug around than three-pound guide books. When you lose your way, simply flash a postcard at a guard and get directions quickly.



  • Make a wish list: If you go in a small group, write down the three items you’d like to steal — that is, the three best works in the entire collection. It’s amusing to compare notes.



  • Look at what you don’t like: Go to the galleries containing materials you just know you don’t like. Also find out what section of the museum is the least visited and take a look. Wonderful finds may come out of that.



  • Become a member of the museum: Become a member of the museum even for a day’s visit: for freebies, discounts at the gift shops, and for the warm feeling you’ll get when you know you’ve become a lifelong supporter of a place that honors beauty, artistic excellence, and the truth.



  • Listen to some music: Bring along a portable CD or tape player and listen to classical music.











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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-visit-an-art-museum.html

Laptop Battery Status

In this figure, Windows Vista shows that 21 minutes remain for battery life, and the battery has about 10 percent of its power remaining. The display for Windows XP is just as informative, though visually different. Here are some additional tips regarding battery life:


Finally, your laptop may feature a battery light on its case. The light may change color as the laptop drains. Or the battery light may be a fancy display that accurately tracks battery power. And, as usual, custom programs may monitor your battery’s status. For example, my laptop has a battery icon on the 3 key. Pressing Fn+3 on my laptop displays the battery status on the screen.



  • Oops! Almost forgot: You can also monitor battery use from the Control Panel's Windows Mobility Center. Type Win+X on the keyboard to quickly summon that window.



  • If you’re using the Windows Sidebar, you can get a battery monitor widget to display the battery life. Refer to a good Windows Vista reference for information on obtaining Sidebar gadgets.



  • A different icon may appear in the notification area when the laptop is AC powered. For example, a power plug or other icon may show up in its place.



  • Smart-battery technology is responsible for the ability of Windows to determine how much power is left in the battery. Be aware, however, that such a thing is an estimate. Different things can affect battery life, so don't bet real money on how much longer your laptop can survive on the battery.




AC powered means being powered by electricity from a wall socket.


DC powered means being powered by the battery.




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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/laptop-battery-status.html

Select the Right NaturallySpeaking Product

NaturallySpeaking is not a single product; it’s a family of products. And like most families, some members are richer than others. Depending on the features you want, you can pay a hefty price for software. You get what you pay for.


In spite of their socioeconomic differences, this family gets along pretty well. The products are all based on the same underlying voice recognition system, so they create the same kinds of user files. This fact has two consequences for you as a user:



  • The products are all about equally accurate at transcribing your speech.



  • It’s easy to upgrade to a better version.


    You can start out with the inexpensive Home edition, test out whether you like this whole idea of dictation, and then move up to a full-featured version without having to go through training all over again.




Which edition is best for you depends on why you’re interested in NaturallySpeaking in the first place. Are you a poor typist who wants to be able to create documents more quickly? A good typist who is starting to worry about carpal tunnel syndrome?


Are you a person who can’t use a mouse or keyboard at all? A busy executive who wants to dictate into a recorder rather than sit in front of a monitor? Is price an important factor to you? Do you need NaturallySpeaking to recognize a large, specialized vocabulary? Do you want to create macros that enable you to dictate directly into your company’s special forms?


The more features you want, the more you should expect to pay.











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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/select-the-right-naturallyspeaking-product.html