Thursday, December 29

Have A Happy Vintage New Year!







They have some very strange ideas about holidays in the past. I love to look up vintage cards because I always find things like these. (Above.) These cards are copies of vintage New Year cards and postcards from the Victorian Era.

Here's my New Years poem I post every year since I wrote it. I was so pleased to use the word "jollification" in it, it's a great word

Time For A Very Good Year

The month of December has come to a close
the weather has brought a new blanket of snow
Christmas has faded from Rudolph’s red nose
looks like it's time for the new year.

To the party we go with our friends in tow
faces aglow and dressed in our best
jollification where ever we go
looks like it’s time for the New Year.

Champagne is flowing as midnight draws near
resolutions are made as we watch the ball drop
we raise up our glasses to toast to good cheer
that this New Year, be a very good year!

© Rebecca Sanchez 2011

Here’s to wishing you, and yours, a very good year from the bottom of my heart!


About "Time-Balls"

The actual notion of a ball "dropping" to signal the passage of time dates back long before New Year's Eve was ever celebrated in Times Square. The first "time-ball" was installed atop England's Royal Observatory at Greenwich in 1833. This ball would drop at one o'clock every afternoon, allowing the captains of nearby ships to precisely set their chronometers (a vital navigational instrument).

Around 150 public time-balls are believed to have been installed around the world after the success at Greenwich, though few survive and still work. The tradition is carried on today in places like the United States Naval Observatory in Washington, DC, where a time-ball descends from a flagpole at noon each day - and of course, once a year in Times Square, where it marks the stroke of midnight not for a few ships' captains, but for over one billion people watching worldwide.

Source: About time-balls from a Google search.

Keep On Bloggin'!

Monday, August 24

The Applehop

The Applehop
Getting over a miserable summer cold I was drinking beer on Sunday and got dry. The Heineken was drying me out along with the cold medicine. (Yes I read and ignore labels too.)

I decided to get a glass of Safeway apple juice to sip with it good for the cold and thirst. The mix in my mouth was delicious.

I poured some beer in a glass and added apple juice to taste. I think the bitter and the sweet go well but make it your way. When done right you have a sweet bubbly apple/hops drink that's sure to please and keep you hydrated.

Add to that a salty snack with some veggies and you're set for a Sunday afternoon of snacking and posting on social networks in front of the TV while watching Superjail or Or Game Of Thrones like I am. I just love that new Popcornopolis Caramel Corn you should definitely try it.

So I made up a drink and I'm calling it The Applehop. Don't serve it on ice drink it cold it's meant to be slammed. Add some rum/vodka and call it the Applehop Hammer.

I cook too if you're interested!

© Keep On Bloggin'!

Tuesday, July 7

How Do You Type A Copyright Symbol With A New Chromebook?


I spent a good part of the morning trying to answer this, going through horrible articles written by people thinking they were helping but they weren't because they didn't have the answer.

It's not Windows, not HTML, not ASCII, no, it's Unicode. What?

Ask the person who has used Windows all of their lives and they are sure they have the answer! It's 0169 using a Windows keyboard. What Windows keyboard-I have a new Chromebook?!

Of course, everyone wanted to talk about doing it in Google Docs but I wanted to use the symbol anytime and was sure there had to be a keyboard shortcut...but this was an Acer Chromebook 15 with a different keyboard so how do I do it?

I was beginning to miss Windows...but then I saw my answer via a stranger in the Chromebook Forum. It was "a9!" I felt like I had the answer to the Ultimate Question Of Life, The Universe, And Everything. But it wasn't enough...

I found some Chrome extensions with the Unicode characters on them that copied the code/image automatically. Neither one I tried had the copyright symbol. WTF?

Then I looked at my new Chromebook keyboard instructions and found that I could hold Shift/Ctrl and by pressing "u" use a code to get the same types of symbols as a Windows keyboard. 

Then I realized the "u" was for Unicode and found the forum where I found the Unicode for the © symbol. It is a9.

This Is How You Do It

Press shift/ctrl together, hold them down, then press u, then press a, then press 9. When you're finished it says "ua9" but don't stop there! When you press the space bar afterward you'll see © (the copyright symbol.)

To get any other symbols look up the Unicode chart and do the same using the corresponding code. You can look that up yourself. "Okay, Google!"

So I'm sharing my find with you because I know I'm not the only writer with a Chromebook trying to figure this out. I love my new Acer Chromebook 15 and it's great not to have to deal with Windows. Enjoy!



© Keep On Bloggin'!

Thursday, May 28

The Language Of Plussing

 
Holy cow I have some old posts on here. It's still an interesting read because G+ just closed down a few years ago. We not only plussed but had Circles of friends that we'd trade to get more numbers. Technology grows in leaps and 
bounds!





The Language Of Plussing

We go on social networks to be social but how do you find other people in the big bad stream? And why should one bother to plus?

Google is a big network when looking to connect with someone. That’s why Google came up with the +1 social shorthand to track each other.

When using any language it’s important to learn the basics. The technical term pinging is what Google calls plussing and whether you know it or not you do it every day.

What if you want to talk to a person?

I have hundreds of friends in the stream so how do I find just one?

To send a post to a person type a + and the person's username immediately afterward. After typing 2 or 3 letters a menu will pop up to choose from. You can send one or more usernames on the same post it’s up to you. Unless it’s a very common username the menu should pop up quickly. Common usernames can be harder to find because the list is long.

You can send these posts public, private, or both but check before you post privately to make sure you aren’t overlooking the public setting. You can send a private post out to someone that way by accident so watch it!

People in your circles come up first when pinging someone so if you have a hard time finding the username on the menu go and add the person to a circle and they will be there next time. Always give a person time to see their notifications and answer.

How can a person tell if I plussed them?

If I can’t find their plusses how can I expect them to find mine?

You are beginning to use notifications and they will do the same looking through their notifications and will see that you did. Always give them time to see your messages because we all use notifications differently. If someone just won’t answer and it really bothers you take them out of your circles it wasn’t meant to be.

In your settings, you determine how you want to be notified and what you want to be notified about. Your settings are important and if you haven’t looked at them yet I would suggest you do so now and see how your notifications are set up. They are the most useful tool on G+ use them right and they will serve you.

I want them to see my post or comment right away!

Just because a friend is online doesn’t mean they are watching for you like a hawk so what can you do?

Don’t wait if you want someone, in particular, to see your post or comment ping them on it. I make a practice of plussing (pinging) every time I do anything on G+ because my friends will see it faster in notifications.

Why give people plusses at all?

Other people don’t plus so why should I?

It’s true that people are lousy at pinging each other I see it every day but why let that ruin your online experience? Communication skills are everything on a social network just like offline and the better you are at it the more people will want to include you!

Try going without talking all day offline and see where that gets you. You can be sure your friends will miss out on a lot but you don’t have to.

Here are a few examples of what the language of plussing can tell you.
  • +1 on a post-I like it! 
  • +1 on a comment-I saw your comment and am letting you know. 
  • +1 on a comment-I liked what you said but don’t want to comment. 
  • +1 on a comment-I agree with you! 
  • +1 and Reply (ping) about the same comment-I want to add or answer this and here’s my comment to see. 
  • +1 on anything-Going to tell Google your preferences, likes, dislikes, and other things about you. 
If you watch people that do plus you will see successful people who move effortlessly around G+ communicating freely and using it to their full advantage. Follow their lead.

Everyone on G+ waits to get plusses don’t fool yourself. As a newbie remember how you felt when you got your first plusses? How did it feel when you got no plusses?

If you hate a post or dislike a person you certainly wouldn’t want to plus them but maybe they shouldn’t be in your circles anyway.

By using this social shorthand to navigate G+ you will have an easier time finding your friends and understanding what’s going on. Your friends will know you appreciate their posts and I have found as a side effect of plussing often you get circled often.

It’s a plus-plus situation. (Wink, wink.)

Sources: My knowledge of G+, G+ and search.