My paying gig involves Football!

UPDATE: Cougars lost 23-7.

Thank goodness, it's not playing football. Earlier this year I negotiated with the University of Saint Francis to carry their Football and Basketball games on our AM radio station at 1250am, WGL out of Fort Wayne, Indiana. The USF Cougars are among the very best in their class. We are going to be carrying their game today on our live internet stream and if they win today, then they are in the championship game in 2 weeks.

Go here to get to the radio station website, which will have Christmas music on before and after the game. Just follow the link to get to the streaming.

And you can go here to learn more about USF.

Fun Friday!

I recall a few years ago when one of my daughters called me from college with a hesitant tone in her voice, telling me there was something she needed to talk to me about. Our thoughts went to the worst, (rape, pregnancy) to mild, (problems with grades or boyfriend) but we had to wait until she came home to find out the details.

When she showed me the Tat on her shoulder, we laughed and told her to go have another!

However, she may need this product in 20 or 30 years:

Learning can be fun

This is from Kim Komando's Cool Site of the Day email:

Today's Cool Site...

Fight hunger with your vocabulary

Did you know that about 25,000 people die each day from hunger? And sadly, most are children.

It is our duty to help those in need. But it can be difficult knowing where to start. Well, I have a fun way for you to help fight hunger.

At FreeRice, you can play a vocabulary game. For each correct answer, 10 grains of rice are donated to the World Food Program. The rice is then distributed to those in need.

This might not sound like a lot of rice. However, the vocabulary game is fun and addictive. Your contributions will quickly add up.

Wondering where FreeRice gets the food to donate? The site is supported by advertisers. The advertising generates money to buy the rice. FreeRice is a non-profit organization. You can learn more by reading the Frequently Asked Questions.

Now, the thing I like most about FreeRice is that it’s a win-win situation. In exchange for helping the hungry, you’re helping yourself. The questions can be quite challenging, so they'll improve your word power!

TO VISIT TODAY'S COOL SITE, GO HERE:

www.freerice.com

Mindless waste of time? or Guilty Pleasure?

Someone, actually lots and lots of someones watched Dancing with the Stars:

ABC 'Dancing' Away With November Sweeps

by Wayne Friedman, Thursday, Nov 29, 2007 8:00 AM ET

ABC IS NEARING A NOVEMBER sweeps period win--but that victory comes at a price. Through Tuesday night, ABC averaged a Nielsen Media Research 3.6 rating/10 share--but those numbers are down 10% versus a year ago. CBS was just a tick off the pace at a 3.4/9, slipping 12% from a year before. NBC has been the hardest hit--now at a 3.2/9, down 14%. The CW trailed with a 1.1/3, down 13%. Perhaps the biggest story has been Fox's 17% improvement to a respectable 3.0/8. Fox still came in at fourth place. But now it goes into its typical big January start, featuring its still killer show, "American Idol"--which is much stronger than in years past. ABC gained much from its "Dancing With the Stars" finale on Tuesday night, where it posted a 6.3 rating/15 share. All that helped ABC to a 5.8/14 average for the night. Even then, this was a difficult chore--as the fast-improving Fox, with the help of "House," grabbed an equally hefty 5.2/13. "House" actually earned a better 18-49 rating compared to "Dancing"--posting a 7.0/16. But in adding in all viewers, "Dancing" easily had the better time of it, pulling in 24.9 million overall viewers to a 16.9 million for "House." NBC was well down the list on Tuesday night--coming in with a 3.6/9, with its best a resurgent "Law & Order: SVU" with a 4.6/12. CBS was far behind NBC at a 2.6/6, with its best coming from "NCIS" at a 3.3/9. Its worst was a free-falling "Cane," now at a 1.6/4. The CW checked in with a 1.1/3, with its "Beauty and the Geek" posting a 1.3/3.

Computer Help Sites

This post is for my own reference as well as yours. See, over the years I have needed extra help tweaking, fixing, (and sometimes fixing after tweaking!) my computer(s).
My first experience of any substance was using my father-in-law's Gateway about a dozen years ago along with one at a radio station I worked for. 9 years ago got my own and then 5 1/2 years ago got my first laptop. My first Windows experience was Windows 3.1. Eventually I worked with Windows 95 and Windows 98, but when I first bought a new laptop and desktop computer in 2002, it was Windows XP. With the growing reluctance of Windows Vista and even the backlash against Microsoft, I have explored ways to get my work done using alternative software.

My first computer was one I inherited after my Mom passed away. Hers was custom built by a local computer geek. About 6 months later, I went to the Gateway store and handed them $3,000 for a laptop, desktop, a couple of printers, and all the connections I would need. The Laptop was for work, Desktop for the family. The Laptop lasted about 15 months and developed problems with the power cord socket. I bought a replacement Toshiba laptop from Circuit City after investigating for about a week my options, and knowing that I had a limited amount of time to transfer my stuff from the Gateway to the Toshiba before the Gateway would be dead. The problem with Laptops is that they need to be sent away for repairs instead of being done locally. Hopefully that will change one day.

Well, after 10 months of excellent service from the Toshiba, the screen started having problems. Not wanting to spend the money to replace it, I was glad it was still under warranty. However, since this was my work computer, I still needed a replacement while my Toshiba was being fixed which would take up to three weeks.

So, I ended up buying an Acer laptop on line from Circuit City, because I liked the price and I could pick it up in 20 minutes from my local store. When I went to pick it up and saw how big it was (17 inch compared to my 15 inch) I had doubts about keeping it, but at least I would use it for the time being. It took me a weekend to transfer files and install programs on the Acer before I could return the Toshiba for the screen repairs.

When I got the Toshiba back, I transfered everything back again. Well, a year later the screen on the Toshiba started going out again. This time, I knew how to transfer files and programs and it only took a few hours instead of an entire weekend.

As I write this on my Acer laptop, the Toshiba is sitting in a drawer at home waiting for me to decide whether to spend the money to fix it now, later, or never.

I have also played around with developing blogs and websites and am great full for all the templates that have been created by others that make it easy for someone like myself to do as much as I am able to do without having to learn "Code" (That's computer language).

So, on to the links: Kim Komando has been doing a radio show for several years. I trust her advice. She has links to all kinds of software and you can subscribe to her newsletters.

By the way, I recommend only going with the free software (known as freeware). Otherwise you could end up paying money needlessly. All the recommendations I am making are free, although some have optional premium packages that you can upgrade to.

Switch to Firefox as a web browser instead of Internet Explorer.

Try Thunderbird instead of Outlook.

And if you want internet based email, which everyone should have then go with G-mail from Google.

Be careful using the following tweaks. Always create a system restore point BEFORE you make changes. And if you don't know what you are doing, ask someone. The main thing is that with enough curiosity and caution, you can fix a lot of problems without having to pay tech support.

Here you go:
Free software-1
Free Software-2
Free Software-3
Free Software-4
Free software-5

Free Fix it guides and tweaks-1
Free Fix it guides and tweaks-2
Free Fix it guides and tweaks-3
Free Fix it guides and tweaks-4
Free Fix it guides and tweaks-5
Free Fix it guides and tweaks-6
Free Fix it guides and tweaks-7
Free Fix it guides and tweaks-8
Free Fix it guides and tweaks-9
Free Fix it guides and tweaks-10

And if you still can't find what you are looking for, Google it!

Do I care? No.

Dancing with the Stars wraps up in a few minutes. I am only watching by spousalviewingosmosis.

Reading, 'riting, and relaxing

Did a few updates on the Blogs today. Found a few other Fort Wayne Folks that are blogging. If a blog had not been updated in 30 to 60 days, it was left off the list. Go ahead and click away. You'll find others with thoughts on our city, and life in Hoosierland.