A good website to know

Everyone knows that you have to be careful online. There are viruses and hackers lurking everywhere. And that's just two bad things that can happen on the net.

I've always kept spyware programs, anti-virus programs and anti-malware programs on my computer. They haven't always saved me however. 

What makes me the angriest is when I pay for a program and the nasties still get through. I've had McAfee for several years. Paid for it. I still got viruses. I even got a trojan virus not so long back that crashed my entire hard drive. 

Which brings me around to what I want to share with you today.

There is a website called FileHippo. You can click here to visit it. Go ahead, click it and check it out, I'll still be here.

Back? Cool. I like that site because the software on it is free. I've gotten some good programs off it and some of them have been better than the programs I've paid for. Actually, most of them have been better.

I guess my only point today is to share that with you. When I find things that work for me and don't cost me an arm and a leg I like to tell other people about them. Have a good one...I'll see you soon.

A funny & A way to help

Happy Valentine's Day everyone ♥

Reading the news last night while I couldn't sleep, I came across two things that I wanted to share with you today on this day of love. The first one is funny. The second is awesome.

The first story made me laugh so hard I thought I was going to fall out of my chair. It seems that British men don't want to be left out of the "Wonderbra" phenomenon that took over the U.S. several years ago. No, they aren't wearing bras but they are wearing "anatomy-boosting underwear". For real. Would I lie to you?

According to the story "The pants work by using a lift and hold feature at the front, like a male version of the cleavage-boosting Wonderbra. "The briefs mean that no man ever needs to feel inadequate again on the most passionate day of the social calendar," said Rob Faucherand, head of men's accessories buying at Debenhams (a British department store that has seen a 76% increase in sales of the underwear in the past week). "However we can't be held responsible for what happens once the pants come off," he added."

Personally I don't notice a mans "package" until after the pants are off...haha! I wish them luck though. Hopefully it won't cause their romantic evening to end short. :)

Ok, sorry, I couldn't help myself. On a serious note though, the second story I read totally made me feel good in an it's-an-awesome-way-to-help way instead of a falling-out-of-my-chair-laughing way.

Stars have united to remake Michael Jackson's We Are The World song/video 25 years after the original to aid Haiti in their time of need. The video is so cool to me. I love how they incorporated rap and Haitian music into it (I'm a big fan of just about ALL genres of music). You can download the tune and donate for Haiti relief. Here's the video. Enjoy it and donate if you can. They need our help.

Much love to all my Blogland friends. Happy Valentine's Day ♥

Now THAT'S better

I was scanning the news stories a little while ago and it seemed like all I saw was bad. First case of highly drug-resistant TB found in US. Seniors worry about Medicare Advantage cuts. Jon Gosselin's NYC Apartment Ransacked. Weapon Involved in Charlie Sheen Domestic Dispute. It made me really sad.

I was about to just give up on the news for the night when a different kind of story jumped out at me. It made me feel a little better about the world.

It started out sad but it ended up warming my heart.

A woman in Italy went to retrieve the Christmas gifts she had hidden for her two toddler daughters and found they had been stolen out of the basement. Frantic, she rushed around town trying to buy new gifts from gas stations. She didn't want them to wake up on Christmas morning and not have anything under the tree. When the police found out what happened, they contacted a toy store owner in a nearby town. He opened his store at 4:00 a.m. just so the lady could get her daughters new gifts.

I hope they caught the low down thief that would steal presents on Christmas Eve and I hope they treat the toy store owner like a hero. If you ask me, that's exactly what he is.

Don't call Dell for help

A couple of weeks ago our hard drive crashed on our computer. It was a huge loss for us; pictures, music, programs...all gone. I cried a lot. Luckily we were still under warranty with Dell. We contacted them and they sent a technician out to replace our hard drive. That's where our real trouble began.

First, the hard drive they brought to replace our old one is smaller than the one we had. Second, the programs, including Microsoft Works (which I used often), were not on any of the disks that they sent to "bring us back to original status".

I could have lived without a few of them; the movie maker, Power DVD, some games. But I wanted my MS Works back. Like I said, I used it often. Daily. That's when the phone game began...

We called Dell at least 30 times. We left voice messages to please return our call. Do you think we got even one phone call in return? No.

When we did actually get a live person on the phone, all we got was transferred to another computer or connected to someone in the Philippines that had no idea how to help us. We finally got a hold of one woman who told us we didn't have MS Works on our computer originally. We did. We bought the computer brand new. No one had it before us. We didn't add any software. She was quite rude and said "I'll send you a copy of the invoice so that you can see it wasn't on there."

We are not stupid people. We did not add anything to our computer. It came with MS Works on it. I repeat, we did not add it ourselves.

So I ended up going to the Dell website, again, and looked up our original computer configuration. What do you think I found? Yep, MS Works. So I called them again. Still no help. I was told they would NOT replace the software and that I was wrong, we did not originally have it on our PC, even though it was right in front of me that we did. Needless to say, I'm disgusted with Dell.

Later that same night I received a call from 'Private Caller'. I usually ignore those calls but something made me answer it. The lady told me I could get a free word processing program online and because I need a word processing program I got it. It's actually not bad. It's called Open Office. You can click here to check it out. It's definitely not as good as MS Works but it's an OK replacement. Most of the templates have to be downloaded and there aren't nearly as many as MS Works has, but like I said, it's OK.

I will never call Dell for help again. I will also never recommend Dell to anyone that I know. The computer is good but the service sucks. They are no help whatsoever.

Two sides of the story

Saturday I wrote about Tim and Pimp this Bum and how I felt about the website. I received a response which I would like to respond to in turn.

The comment:

Anonymous said...

I absolutely understand the strong feelings expressed on here. I wanted to explain my side on a few points. First off, Tim has a fantastic sense of humor. He laughed at the idea, and had nothing to lose, only something to gain. Why bring him a fish, when we can teach him how to fish? So many people claim they are helping the homeless by giving to them. The fact is, they are simply placing a temporary band aid where surgery is needed. Tim can't get a job because he is addicted to alcohol. He shakes every morning, and loses use of bodily function if he doesn't get alcohol. If we put him up in a hotel every night, he would drain all the money from his account and be left on the street. He has requested to keep his money in the account unless there is an emergency. He is very honest, and giving, and will give all his money away to friends if he has it. The site was offensive on purpose. If our site was www.helpthehomeless.com we wouldn't have been on Fox & Friends yesterday. Period. Sad, but true. By design, we wanted to create controversy and buzz, so that in the end, we could leverage sponsorship to provide the 'surgery' Tim needs to permanently remove himself from his situation.

We planned on the site reaching a critical mass (which happened today) at which time we would tone it down. We currently have the toned-down version of the site which includes all the donors and the latest addition of SunRay treatment center which has donated a 13,800 scholarship for Alcohol Addiction treatment. He has a rough few weeks ahead of him, as he will have to detox before acceptance into the program. Tim has become like a brother to me, and places a lot of trust in us because we have been a constant in his life and always do what we say we will. He currently has around $1,432 in donations. We have made zero profit, in fact, our family has given more than any individual (that we know of) to help him.

I'm an eagle scout, you can check the records. I'm not going to collect all this money and steal it from a homeless man. It's shocking to me that in this world, no good deed goes unpunished. Is this what we want to teach people? Do a good turn for the sake of helping someone, and others will assume you have ulterior motives? What happened to benefit of the doubt?

And as Tim has said many times, if you don't want to donate, no hard feelings. We feel the same way, if we offend 100 people in order to reach 1,000 who donate, in the end it's more help for Tim.

Thank you to those who do understand what we are doing, there are 20 of you to every 1 who doesn't. And no hard feelings to those who criticize. If Tim gets out of rehab and gets his life back, you'll come around. :)

-Sean Dolan

My response:

Hi Sean,

I appreciate you stopping by and commenting on what I had to say. However I still have some problems with this even after you gave your side.

You start out by saying Tim has a fantastic sense of humor and that he has nothing left to lose. He does have something left to lose whether you care to admit it or not. He has his dignity to lose and what you are doing is most definitely damaging his dignity and feelings of self-worth. He may be smiling on the outside but I can NOT believe that a human being would be "ok" with being made fun of, called names and made to look like their hard life is nothing more than an advertising gimmick.

You say he is addicted to alcohol and can't be trusted with his own money. That's sad. And it's sad for more than the obvious reasons. Addictions can ruin lives and cause a lot of heartache. It's also sad that you say he can't be trusted with his own money. That statement bothered me quite a bit. Is he mentally unable to understand money? Does he have some kind of illness (besides alcohol addiction) that leaves him in a juvenile state mentally and therefore you feel he needs his money allocated out to him? A lot of people spend their money unwisely but they don't have the need to have someone lock their money away so that they are unable to spend it. It's another way I feel you are demeaning his character. In addition to calling him a bum and 'pimping' his life out the way you have, you now say he isn't trustworthy. You make him out to be a horrible person regardless of your attempt to make us believe he's like a brother to you. Would you treat your brother this way? Would you call him names and leave him in the cold because you didn't think you could trust him to do things the way you think they should be done? I doubt it. I imagine you would set up a nice comfortable place in your own home for your brother. I could be wrong.

As far as you being an Eagle Scout, congratulations. I was a Girl Scout. What does that have to do with anything? You want to prove to me that you are a good person? Being an Eagle Scout doesn't do that for me. How many cases of ministers molesting children, teachers selling drugs or police taking bribes can you think of? I can think of quite a few just off the top of my head. Supposedly "good" people do bad things all the time. And it's been my experience that usually the one doing the loudest yelling about how good they are is the one that is out there doing the most damage. Benefit of the doubt? Ok, if you have good examples for me to base my decision on. Just telling me you are honest doesn't tell me you are honest. If I see that you have done good for Tim and actually helped him, I'll be more than happy to stand up and say you did it. I believe in giving credit where credit is due but I don't believe in 'just because I said it' being the truth. I need proof. That's just me. I don't mean any offense by it but it's a fact of who I am.

I'm glad that you toned down the site. I did visit it again after your comment. I'm very glad the Wish List has been changed on the sidebar. I found that quite offensive the way it was set up before. It made it very close to the way online games look and I just can not think of a person and their life as a game no matter how hard I try. We all deserve to be treated as humans and not as a pawn in a game.

I have added Tim and the other people who are homeless around the world to my list of prayers. I hope that someday everything is better for them and that they have a comfortable place to sleep out of the weather and eat a hot meal when they are hungry. I also hope that they will be able to live their own lives without people deciding for them important things like when they'll be allowed to spend their own money. I'm not a rich person. I'm not even financially comfortable. I'd even go so far as to say we're pretty poor. But I have been blessed with a home, food and people who care about and trust me. I am allowed to make my own decisions and mess up quite often but I still have that freedom. I hope one day everyone in the world has the same.

Thank you again for visiting Sean. I wish you well. I hope it all turns out like you planned. I just hate the way you went about it. It wasn't right. I've honestly tried to see your side of it but it keeps coming back to that. It wasn't right. And I don't like it. Sorry. Have a great day.

You can click here if you'd like to visit Sean's site Pimp This Bum!

This post has been on my mind all day. Now I'd like to add a little bit more... I REALLY do NOT like this. I did 'come around' a little after re-visiting the site. Just a little though. What I keep doing is rereading the comment that Sean left for me. I think if you're anything like me you'll understand my doing that. I want to see if there is anything that helps me understand his way of thinking about this.

If I'm completely honest I have to tell you WHAT specifically bothers me about his comment. First, he's very condescending. He felt the need to brag about his family doing so much for these men even though the only thing that's changed for them so far is that they are now on the internet. HOPEFULLY he's a man of his word and the things he say will happen do happen but I don't know if they will.

I've already talked about his Eagle Scout comment I know, but I feel the need to say it again... What does that have to do with anything? Why put that into play like it has relevance to the issue? Unless he is using specific skills to help the men that he learned through the Eagle Scouts why even bring it up? Because, I believe, he thought it would make him look good. Like "Oh wow. He can't be that bad...He was an Eagle Scout for goodness sakes!" Well, I'm sorry. I don't buy that for the reasons I told you above. It has NO impact on anything except possibly his ego.

I feel as though it's Sean's intention to make me (and everyone else who doesn't jump on his bandwagon) feel guilty. "And as Tim has said many times, if you don't want to donate, no hard feelings. We feel the same way, if we offend 100 people in order to reach 1,000 who donate, in the end it's more help for Tim."

(I'm taking a deep breath because I feel myself slipping into that mad place again.)

Are those the REAL statistics... 100 offended people: 1000 people who donate? Truly? It would seem more likely to me that out of every 1000 who visit your site at least 100 people are offended and possibly up to 1/2 of them donate. I don't have the statistics on that site so I can't say but I bet I'm pretty close to the truth there.

Your other statistics are just as sketchy and unbelievable to me. You think there are 20 people that think what you are doing and the way that you are doing it is great but only 1 that doesn't? You said for every 20 people that understand there is one person that doesn't. Do you think I'm stupid? I can't grasp what you claim to be trying to do? If what you say is true then there would only be 5 people out of every 100 that disagreed with you. That I find completely hard to swallow. I haven't seen one thing that supports you yet. Maybe it's on your site...Oh wait, there is NO place to comment there. I forgot. You only get to see what YOU want us to see. Smart.

I do believe though that the bulk of my anger at this moment comes from your final statement to me: "If Tim gets out of rehab and gets his life back, you'll come around. :)"

I am a Christian woman. I believe that I should consider other people and their feelings, ideas and plans. I believe that I should not be judgmental and close my mind off to ideas that may not be something I like. I believe I should give them all a chance. So now what I would like to say to you I am going to say very carefully so my anger doesn't control my words. WHEN Tim gets out of rehab and gets his life back (because I have faith that he will) I will NOT come around. :) The belief that degrading people by calling them names and making their life into a game is an alright way to reach your goal will NEVER be on the OK list for me. While I commend you for attempting to help Tim, I do NOT now, nor will I ever believe the way that you went about doing it was acceptable.

A once a day tablet....um, huh?

I have the blah’s today. Or maybe it’s just a case of the lazies. I just don’t feel like getting off the couch. Yesterday I didn’t feel like getting dressed so I spent the whole day in my pj’s but I did actually get things accomplished. This morning however, well let’s just say it’s not going as well.

So I’ve dragged my pillow and blanket to the couch and have blasted my eyes with all the TV I can stand to watch. That’s going ok. Monk was on. Then Psych. Those are two of my favorite shows. Now my judge shows have begun. I like those too. But I have a complaint…

What is the deal with all the male enhancement ads? Seriously. They are really getting on my nerves. I don’t think there’s any shame in going to your doctor and getting some help with any issues you may have. But why do they feel the need to plaster it all over my TV? Every other commercial break they manage to slip one in (pun most definitely NOT intended).

When the Enzyte commercials first came out with smiling Bob, I let a little giggle slip out at them. Then the Viagra commercials started and, as I’m sure they intended, I found myself singing the song when it was on. I’d be washing dishes, minding my own business, not thinking about male enhancement AT ALL, and *poof* Viva Viaaaagra would come drifting out of my mouth. Ugh.

Now there are male enhancement commercials everywhere you look and I think they are just ridiculous. The Zencore Plus commercials are the worst in my opinion. I think they have really crossed a line.

Before you start judging me and thinking I’m some kind of prude let me tell you what I believe. I believe sex is good. I believe it should be kept privately between consenting adults in their homes and not on my TV. If I want to see it on my TV there are plenty of places that will rent me videos.

I especially don’t believe I should see these commercials on family channels or in between family movies. For example, the other night I was watching Willie Wonka. I adore that movie. I was enjoying my millionth viewing of it, commercial time, WHAT? You guessed it, Zencore Plus. I went from kids and chocolate and silly songs to a man ‘getting it on’ with first one woman in an elevator, then a second woman only minutes later.

What I thought about that was this:

1. How many kids are watching this specific showing of Willie Wonka and now seeing this commercial?
2. How many of those kids now think it’s cool to be with multiple partners?
3. How about multiple partners in the same day/hour/minutes?
4. Why don’t they show them LATE when kids will be in bed?
5. Why show them at all? Don’t people see their doctors for things like that?

What do you think? Do you think it’s ok to show these commercials? Do you think they promote sexual promiscuity? Or do you think they are a legitimate item that needs to be advertised? I’d love to hear all your opinions on this matter. I’d like to know if I‘m the only one that feels this way about these commercials. Maybe I’m just seeing them wrong…

It brings new meaning to Mad Cow

You’re casually riding your bike through a beautiful park in Colorado. You’re following the trail enjoying the scenery… Uh oh look out! There’s a killer cow!

It sounds crazy but it’s a true story. A lady was riding her bike through Boulder Open Space and Mountain Park when a cow crossed her path. She stopped, allowing the cow room to cross in front of her. The cow had other ideas. He knocked her off her bike and then stepped on her legs.

A park ranger found the woman injured on the path. She told him what had happened. The cow was searched for but had left the area by the time other rangers arrived. A warning to bikers and hikers was issued.

The open space of Marshall Mesa is leased by ranchers that use the land as a grazing area for their livestock. Witnesses that saw the attacking cow say it appeared to have an injured leg. The cows owner was notified.

Jason Vogel, vice president of the Boulder Mountain Bike Alliance, was quoted in a Daily Camera’s Boulder & county news story as saying this attack was “odd, rare and random” although there was another cow attack in the same area in 2003. In that attack a woman was rammed three times and her pelvis was fractured by a grazing momma cow that felt threatened by the cyclist that was too close to her calf for comfort (say that fast three times).

I adore cows. Seriously. If you have any doubt just look at my email address. That will show you how much of a cow lover I am. I’ve collected cow ‘things’ for years and have taken more than my share of pictures of them in fields and on farms.

I’ve never had one attack me though. No charging, angry cows tried to knock me over and then step on me. For a brief moment I thought “Well, maybe it was because of the baby…” but no, there have been plenty of calves present when I was around the cows I’ve come in contact with.

The lady in this bike attack just had a stroke of bad luck in my opinion. Call it cowincidence that this was the second cow attack in the area. Just an incidental ocowrence. Ok, ok. I’ll be good. I couldn’t help it. This story just mooved me.

Everything has a purpose

Meet Molly. She's a grey speckled pony who was abandoned by her owners when Hurricane Katrina hit southern Louisiana. She spent weeks on her own before finally being rescued and taken to a farm where abandoned animals were stockpiled. While there, she was attacked by a pit bull terrier and almost died. Her gnawed right front leg became infected, and her vet went to LSU for help, but LSU was overwhelmed, and this pony was a welfare case.

You know how that goes. But after surgeon Rustin Moore met Molly, he changed his mind. He saw how the pony was careful to lie down on different sides so she didn't seem to get sores, and how she allowed people to handle her. She protected her injured leg. She constantly shifted her weight and didn't overload her good leg. She was a smart pony with a serious survival ethic.

Moore agreed to remove her leg below the knee, and a temporary artificial limb was built. Molly walked out of the clinic and her story really begins there.

'This was the right horse and the right owner,' Moore insists. Molly happened to be a one-in-a-million patient. She's tough as nails, but sweet, and she was willing to cope with pain. She made it obvious she understood that she was in trouble. The other important factor, according to Moore, is having a truly committed and compliant owner who is dedicated to providing the daily care required over the lifetime of the horse.

Molly's story turns into a parable for life in post-Katrina Louisiana . The little pony gained weight, and her mane finally felt a comb. A human prosthesis designer built her a leg.

The prosthetic has given Molly a whole new life, Allison Barca DVM, Molly's regular vet, reports.

And she asks for it. She will put her little limb out,and come to you and let you know that she wants you to put it on. Sometimes she wants you to take it off too. And sometimes, Molly gets away from Barca. 'It can be pretty bad when you can't catch a three-legged horse,' she laughs.

Most important of all, Molly has a job now. Kay,the rescue farm owner, started taking Molly to shelters, hospitals, nursing homes, and rehabilitation centers. Anywhere she thought that people needed hope. Wherever Molly went, she showed people her pluck. She inspired people, and she had a good time doing it.

'It's obvious to me that Molly had a bigger role to play in life, Moore said. She survived the hurricane, she survived a horrible injury, and now she is giving hope to others.'

Barca concluded, 'She's not back to normal, but she's going to be better. To me, she could be a symbol for New Orleans itself.'



This is Molly's most recent prosthesis. The bottom photo shows the ground surface that she stands on, which has a smiley face embossed in it. Wherever Molly goes, she leaves a smiley hoof print behind.

Updated list of recalled Kellogg products

I've had several people contact me today worried about the products that are affected by the recent salmonella outbreak. Kellogg has voluntarily recalled the following products and are advising consumers to destroy them:

Austin® Quality Foods Cheese Crackers with Peanut Butter - all sizes

Austin® Quality Foods Cheese & Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers - all sizes

Austin® Quality Foods Mega Stuffed Cheese Crackers with Peanut Butter - all sizes

Austin® Quality Foods PB & J Cracker Sandwiches - all sizes

Austin® Quality Foods Super Snack Pack Sandwich Crackers

Austin® Quality Foods Chocolate Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers - all sizes

Austin® Quality Foods Toasty Crackers with Peanut Butter - all sizes

Austin® Quality Foods Reduced Fat Cheese & Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers

Austin® Quality Foods Reduced Fat Toasty Crackers with Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers

Austin® Quality Foods Cookie/Cracker Pack

Austin® Quality Foods Variety Pack

Keebler® Cheese & Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers - all sizes

Keebler® Toast & PB'n J Flavored Sandwich Crackers - all sizes

Keebler® Toast & Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers - all sizes

Famous Amos® Peanut Butter Cookies (2- and 3-ounce)

Keebler® Soft Batch Homestyle Peanut Butter Cookies (2.5-ounce)

The Kellogg website states "The actions we are taking today are in keeping with our more than 100- year commitment to providing consumers with safe, high-quality products," said David Mackay, president and CEO, Kellogg Company. "We apologize for this unfortunate situation."

If you have any questions about Kellogg products or would like a refund you can call the Kellogg Consumer Response Center at 877-869-5633.

FDA urges people to avoid peanut butter products

Deep freeze can lead to serious issues

The bitter cold that is sweeping across the North and Mideast sections of the country can be very dangerous. Frostbite and hypothermia are real dangers that can be life threatening.

Frostbite can occur in 15 minutes or less. It causes a loss of feeling in your extremities (fingers, toes, ears, nose) and can lead to the loss of limbs. The affected area appears white or pale, sometimes even gray. When the temperature is at or below zero, your blood vessels that are closest to the skin constrict causing the blood flow to dramatically slow in these areas and the tissue freezes.

Hypothermia develops when your body temperature drops below 95 degrees. There are three stages to hypothermia. In the first stage your hands become numb, you experience mild to strong shivering and your breathing becomes quick and shallow. In the second stage, shivering becomes stronger, your muscles no longer cooperate with what you want them to do and your skin turns pale. And in the third and final stage, your body shuts down. Shivering usually stops, thinking is impaired and your muscle coordination is gone. You have noticeable trouble walking or performing simple tasks (such as picking up and holding a cup). Death will occur if medical help is not obtained.

If you or someone you love are experiencing any of the above signs, seek medical attention immediately. In these extreme temperatures that our country is experiencing numerous issues can develop quickly.

Helpful links:

National Weather Service's Warnings

The CDC's article Extreme Cold: A Prevention Guide to Promote Your Personal Health and Safety

Government agencies that can help