Redoing websites, redoing blogs. Mini-Newsletter #1, Jan. 7 2015.

THE MOON AND THE WILLOW TREE NEWS #1.

Autoquote of the Day:
more Nature Quotes














The Nontraditional Student Website
Work has begun on this website. It is a website for students going back to school after a break. Every page must be checked and redone. It should take another two weeks or so. My question is, why don't webmasters put a "directions" page on pages they decide to get rid of? If you have linked to an interesting page it is a hassle to redo your link. Just saying. It does not have to be an actual redirect page. A page "this page has moved to here..." is just fine. Or redo the page. Just KEEP the LINK. OK? Hope everyone is listening. (har har)

Sink Fun
The front sink was not plumbed correctly when it was first put in, I just heard over the phone. The plumber checked it out and got both cold and wet doing that. Getting this sink fixed/unclogged once a year has been the norm. Plus, it smells funny. Now a new plumber suggests a more direct course (not a sideways direction to a bathroom first before emptying out) and a new direction (down instead of sideways) and a bigger pipe (for less chance of clogs)  for a bit more cost than just a snake fix, which is not working anyhow anymore now so is not really a choice at all. I must now get ready for a dishpan dishwashing process until Friday. It might be an earlier fix, but he doesn't want to promise.

Snow!
There is a dusting today. This is a nice sight. And it was snowing earlier on my way here. But it's not too slippery. It is very cold though, and will get colder. I will be glad to get back home, seriously. It's our first real winter weather here. I wore my double-length purple and grey ruffled scarf, which almost looks like an infinity scarf when I knot it in front. Plus put emergency mittens in my pocket.

Big News Stories of the Day
This has to be the murder of cartoonists in France. They killed them because they didn't like what they said or drew. Crazytown stuff. I hope they catch these murderers. It's really so tragic.
On a sort of related subject, NPR had a story about Guantanemo today. I do hope it closes soon. Now there is the question of millions of dollars being spent on it. I wish these prisoners had had real trials and had not been tortured. Anyway, that was the news this morning, such as it is. Bad stuff.

Changing the subject - good Outdoor Journey Project news
The Outdoor Journey Project Facebook page had a GSUSA Staff member join yesterday. It is Jennifer Alleback, the Chief Girl Experience Officer at GSUSA. I hope to get some great ideas from her about how to get an Outdoor Journey added to the current Journey program in Girl Scouting, plus many more badges. Or some good conversation anyhow. The girls need to get back outdoors, go camping, use the camps, and learn valuable life skills, leadership, and teamwork too. Jennifer is not the only staff member in the group. Also, we have Boy Scout leaders, Girl Scout leaders, and other Scouters helping us with this project.

More Postings
I am keeping up better with my blogs and sites. But they each need to be almost totally redone and checked. It is long past due for this. Next to fix: the Betsyanne website. I have many links to check on it too. All the Teaching pages need to be redone, as well as my Free clipart book.

Quote of the day: Via the Brainyquote site: (which has been redesigned too):

In order to carry a positive action we must develop here a positive vision.

<The> Dalai Lama

Onward and Upward!

Betsyanne

Join me on Twitter.

Changing passwords, moving blogs around, experimenting.

Today I experiment with my blogs.

I will see if I can point some other ones right here. It's my most popular blog, so that makes sense to do that. Maybe posting more would be good. Right now, my attention is on too many areas at once.

If it does not work I will try to move them back.

It will be easier to post more often on just a few blogs, instead of too many.

And change passwords.

Another hacker group has hacked in to all kinds of sites and published their "findings" today.

Ack.

Here are a couple of links about that in case you want to check it out too:

Anonymous (?) publishes links and credit card numbers too

Hacker News reports a data breach

Onward and Upward!

-Betsyanne

Nov. Update: Discoveries, the Wampanoag Native American Tribe, its history, good deeds, and language project

Update - Update for November 28th, the day after Thanksgiving.

I hope everyone who celebrates it had a nice Thanksgiving yesterday.

Today I will touch on a couple of discoveries I have made this week.

My Discoveries:
I "discovered" that many of my blogs needed updating. So I updated some of them. CHECK. This is one. DOUBLE CHECK.

Here are some more I updated lately: The Nontraditional Student blog, my Girl Scout Betsy blog for the GS of Kentuckiana's Area 17 and Beyond, PLUS the unofficial Calendar page, The Find Scholarships and Grants blog, and My Online Writing Journey page (Squidoo to Hubpages).

My new trick is to write a blog posting, and not make it TOO long (except when I have to, or it is interesting to me...) And this one IS interesting, and I think you will like what I found out too.

Another Discovery: The Wampanoag Tribe Official Website and Language Classes Info.
I had some time to go online and read about Thanksgiving and also about the original Native American tribe that shared expertise and food with the Pilgrims when they arrived in the new world, The Wampanoag people.

Yes, we all know what happened a couple of generations after this... wars, and lots more, injustice, massacres, lies, and injustice. Just think how great it would have been without the wars, disease, and death that came along with all of this that happened later on.

It is important to remember that the Wampanoag Native Americans in the area could have just massacred the first newcomers, but they didn't. And they saved the remaining Plymouth residents from dying of starvation the second winter.

I found out that some people think that the Wampanoag Native Americans are gone. But they are not, they are very much alive today. Did you know that there is a Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe official page? AND that they are working right now to reclaim their language, which is called Wôpanâôt8âôk? I thought that was great.

Did you know that Wampanoag means People of the First Light/People of the Dawn? I certainly didn't know this.

Find out more:
http://www.mashpeewampanoagtribe.com/human_services

What the Tribe is saying about language classes (from their official website): "While students of all ages are welcome in community language classes, WLRP’s Language Committee and Board of Directors have prioritized founding a K-3 Wôpanâôt8ây Pâhshaneekamuq (Wampanoag Language Immersion Charter School), based on widespread community demand for children’s language classes. 

Weekly classes and language immersion camps will continue as well; however, in order to train a new generation of proficient speakers fully bilingual in both Wôpanâôt8ây and English, a publicly-funded regional charter school will teach all K-3 subjects in Wôpanâôt8ây beginning in August 2015, and aim to add additional grade levels annually. 

It is our deep belief that it is through our children and their language acquisition that the long term sustainability of our language can be ensured.

So there is some good news happening today, and I'm glad to hear of it.

This page is also about this Language Reclamation Project. People can donate there.
http://www.wlrp.org/

Onward and Upward!

Betsyanne

Talking Politics.... what I expected... and what happened. The view from an Independent turned Democrat.

Well, things went pretty much as I expected in the election of Nov. 4, 2014.

Republicans won many races, and I expect more gridlock in Congress and nationally in the next few years. I don't like it. I feel (as many do) that not much is being done nationally, and we are getting way to mired in the "us vs. them" to get much done now either.

Republicans say it's the Democrats who are holding up progress. And Democrats are saying the same thing. And the Supreme Court is handing down some very puzzling decisions - - that don't reflect what I think is fair.

Why is this happening? I don't think the will of the people is being done. People are not voting. Others are being told things that simply aren't true. The balance of power has gone to people with money and to corporations. People are believing what they are hearing on TV, supposed "news" which is often slanted.

But you never know. Things could still turn around later on.

It is good to get semi-back to normal now after these elections and not have to hear more of the popular rhetoric, tall tales, and awful commercials. I fear we will go back to gridlock after this. Some say that is the plan of many Republicans.

It doesn't have to be this way. The way I see it, there is WAY too much money in the elections, being used to spread much disinformation and fear in the electorate. We also don't have as many people voting as we need. And we need MORE, not less, choices. But who can run who is not a millionaire to start out with?

Solutions? I don't see them coming soon, but there are a few rays of hope.

For instance, if you are on Facebook, you may have noticed some groups there  trying to change the status quo.

Here are a couple of those in case you want to join the movement to get money OUT of our elections, whatever party you are in:

People for the American Way

The Other 98%

The Daily Kos (many causes...)

Move On

Occupy Democrats

Being Liberal

Join the Coffee Party Movement

I will list more here later on or in another posting.

What do YOU think needs to be done in the US today to get rid of this inaction and stalemate currently going on? Leave a comment.

Betsyanne

Onward and Upward!

My Other Blogs... updating is a MUST for all of them. Waylaid by some crystals in my ear... and getting back to work!

I was waylaid last week.
In a big way. I woke up in a tent at a Girl Scouting training weekend and could NOT get up. It was so scary. The best way to describe it is a slow-motion dizzy spell, with a down, down, on the ground component. I could not get up. I thought it might be the end. I imagined people finding me there later on... so bad, so sad.

Long story short... It could have been many things going wrong, but wound up just being a collection of crystals in my ear that were in the wrong place.

It's amazing how we stay upright with little crystals in the RIGHT place!

So now, like a miracle, I can move around without having to worry about it. I am grateful! One day, things are normal, and the next... well, things sure can change fast.

It's weird how having "time off" can mean not being able to do anything at all. Ack!

SO glad I can drive, not be dizzy, and not (this time anyway) be dealing with a stroke or a brain tumor.

I am updating THIS blog along with others now. And crossing my fingers I can do that regularly for awhile!

I'm truly counting my blessings this week.

Betsyanne

Onward and Upward!

President Obama, Michael Moore, and the Roosevelts...

Thoughts for the day: President Obama vs. The Roosevelts. Sunday, Sept. 14th.

Michael Moore calls President Obama a big disappointment.  Via the New York Post.

He has a video about that here:
http://nypost.com/2014/09/11/michael-moore-calls-obama-a-huge-disappointment/

I think some of the reasons the President can't get things done must be chalked up to the Congress, and maybe to his inner circle and advisors. There is only so much that a President CAN do. But I do think he could somehow talk to the public more about what is going on, so we can get on board with things.

I think we need to keep in mind that any President can't do things alone, he needs the support of the American people and of people in both Houses of Congress, people from all walks of life, and all political parties, working together and getting things done.

And we all know that not much is getting done right now. 

Mr. Moore doesn't think that the President is a total failure though. He says in the article, "'I think Obama … he’s done many, many good things,' Moore soft-pedaled to Hollywood Reporter, before going off. 'But he’s also been a huge disappointment.'"

Taking about Presidents, the lives of the famous Roosevelts, including Eleanor (and of course, including Theodore and Franklin) will be featured on PBS tonight at 8 Central.

The show is "The Roosevelts" by famous documentarian Ken Burns. I plan to watch this.  It plays all week. Bob Schieffer said today on Face the Nation (CBS News) that he thought that we could learn from these Presidents how to get things done. He's watched this show already.

Onward and Upward!
-Betsyanne

Here is a stsory about The Roosevelt series:
http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/films/the-roosevelts

More ways to tell if it's going to be a LONG or hard winter this year...

Here are some Kentucky homespun weather wisdom.

Two Kentucky ladies shared their homespun wisdom with me recently.

Of course, everyone has heard SOME ways to tell if a winter will be a hard winter or not. Think: animals having very thick winter coats, and reading what the Almanac says.

But here are some more I didn't know about:

#1. There are 3 Blood Moons - - this means a hard winter.

#2. If you cut a persimmon in half at the first Fall frost, and see either a fork, knife, or spoon pattern inside, it will be a hard winter.

#3. Each fog in August means one snowstorm in the winter.

#4. If it's hard to pull a corn shuck off, it will be a hard winter.

#5. If a nut tree has a lot more nuts than usual, ditto.

#6. If you see a wooly worm, and instead of it having black, brown and black on it, it has solid black, that means trouble. If you see white on it, it means lots of snow.

#7. If hornets build their cones low, it will be a mild winter. If they build them high, that's a bad winter sign.

Can you think of any more? :-)

Onward and Upward!

Betsyanne

Fog Photo by Natureworks on Morguefile.

Trees, logos, and more. Updating and checking my blog today. 2 great art link sites!

Photo by cheriedurbin on Morguefile.

Hello, Moon and Willow Tree readers. I am very glad you stopped by today. I was checking in, making sure I was updated here today.

This photo reminds me of Girl Scout Camps. It brings back memories of outdoor cooking, Girl Scout trainings, and the Girl Scouts of Kentuckiana's special camps.

Trees were my focus today. Again. Yes, since the Willow Tree has gone, I have not yet planted a substitute. I have thought about planting one for months now. I thought first of an Oak tree, (so majestic - and also strong), then another Willow, (beautiful, magical, but brittle in old age) or a big bush tree that would not get very tall. But I have not yet decided for sure.

Where the tree was, there is an indentation. And the moles are having a field day tunneling in the area. I miss the tree, the shade it provided, and the way beautiful violets grew all around it. Sigh.

To find this picture of other trees, I went straight to the Morguefile site. This site features copyright-free photos, most of which need no attribution. But I like to say who took the photos I use (it's just polite) so there it is.

I had not been to the Morguefile site in awhile, and always like it.

I saw they were on Twitter too, so just now followed them there as @betsyanne. 
If you are there, please follow me.

As for why I don't use Morguefile a lot, I usually try for cartoon, logo-like artwork, which can be found on the Clker site. It's faster there too.

Have a great week.

Onward and Upward!

Betsyanne

 

 The Betsyanne website / The Nontraditional Student blog and site

Our Squirrel, Neat Facebook pages, plus some other neat sites. Sharing.

A short rant first.

Just a short rant about the Delayed Maintenance at my Homestead.

Ack! There is a lot!

OK, rant over. There is a lot to do before official Fall. I just thought I'd remind myself about that.

Good news. Our squirrel that lived in our huge Willow Tree, showed up today. I have been missing him!

He hides his nuts under our porch. Sometimes he knocks on our door, along with a couple of birds. He now lives in a big tree right across the road. He's better be pretty canny and watch it when running back and forth, because there is a busy road in between. ::::crossing my fingers...::::

Sharing: Some Neat Sites
Facebook
Ok, here are some neat Facebook pages you may like.

#1. The Writer's Door - talk about content writing for profit. Especially (right now) the end of Squidoo. http://www.facebook.com/groups/thewritersdoor/722600964454746/

#2. Writer Beware - http://www.facebook.com/groups/thewritersdoor/722600964454746/ - From the page: "Writer Beware® shines a bright light into the shadow-world of literary schemes, scams, & pitfalls. We also provide publishing news, writing advice, and occasional opinion pieces."

#3. Girl Scout Gab - a neat place to check out for Girl Scout leader and troop advice, links and more. http://www.facebook.com/groups/457826160937443/

#4. (mine) The Outdoor Journey on Facebook - this is an unofficial Girl Scout group of Leader-Volunteers and supporters who want more official Outdoor Program back in Girl Scouting. http://www.facebook.com/groups/outdoor.journey/

Online Sites
These are sites I wish I spent more time on...

#1. The NaNoWriMo site - - get ready, November. I'm hopefully joining here again. From the site: "Write a Novel in a Month - Track your Progress - Get pep talks and support - Meet fellow writers online and in person.

#2. The Site Wizard - - lots of great advice is here. I want my sites to work a lot more like his too. http://www.thesitewizard.com/.

#3.  Mashable - I haven't been here in FOREVER. But when I was, I found awesome sites to share. http://mashable.com/.

#4. Pinterest - - I used to spend WAY too much time here. Now I only spend a little bit of time. And I miss it. http://www.pinterest.com/.

Hooray for a mailbox that doesn't fall down...

Ever since the willow tree fell down (actually, split in two), the mailbox has been very wobbly.

Part of the tree fell on it, I'm pretty sure about that. It was very nice of the tree guys to nail it back together, and it did last for awhile. Then it started to come apart.

We used duct tape to try to hold it on better, and I should have taken a picture of that, because it was very funny-looking, hanging over with the tape coming off. It got so bad that we thought that we wouldn't be able to get our mail anymore.

So here is a photo.  It's now fixed. The mailbox doesn't really look straight, because it isn't, but it's on there. I was lucky... I put it back together backwards. But it turned out OK. But next time I'm gonna break down and measure.

Onward and Upward!

-Betsyanne

Nontraditional Students - The Betsyanne site - Selling and Writing - Scholarships and Grants
Betsyanne

Facebook - so much fun, so much of a time-waster too!

Are you on Facebook? If you are, comment below.

I find Facebook a GREAT and fun time-waster. Yes, time-waster, but really worth it. AND a way of connecting with family and friends, making new friends, AND of keeping up with politics and news.

I have a Facebook Business Page and also a Personal Page (for people that know me, as a friend or acquaintance.)

Are you on Facebook? If you are, and want to have Fans or Followers, list it as a comment.

Nowadays, I do limit my Facebook time. It's easy to get carried away and spend altogether TOO much time there, but I still love it.

Here are some great postings I have run across lately.

George Takei's blistering response to #HobbyLobby

Race to the Top Funds went to Administration Offices: study

UPDATE: 3 Inmates Escape from Paducah Facility

And here is something really neat. It's a trailer from Conquer Australia. I can't wait until they have these here where I can look at them close up. You can only see this on Facebook though.

And it's pretty cool. It's worth being on Facebook for, really. This is one awesome trailer.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=860653320617924&set=vb.100000197926461&type=2&theater

Onward and Upward!

-Betsyanne

UPDATE: Willow Tree plans, Facebook, online selling, and more.

Well... now that the infamous/semi-famous Willow Tree is gone, I am thinking of planting another.

Then this blog title will still fit this blog! But seriously, I do still have some Willow trees to the side of my house. So the title DOES still fit.

So we will see.

In the meantime, I am selling online, and have a posting about that at the Garden Spot Blog today too.

AND I have a deadline of September to get all three books I have redone, and ready for final proofreading and covers.

So I am busy, busy. BUT still have some neat sites to share. Are you on Facebook? If you are, leave a comment. I find Facebook so fascinating. There are sites to share, articles, videos too, and many new friends to make there.

Here are just a few of the neat articles I have discovered lately there. I will share them here today.

#1. Train Passengers look to Supreme Court for relief... http://www.narprail.org/news/press-releases/2592-train-passengers-look-to-supreme-court-for-relief-1

 #2. Park Ranger Fired for Dancing on the Job (Chattanoogan, TN)  http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2014/jun/19/park-ranger-says-he-was-fired-dancing-job/ (has a video too)

#3. Mom-Designed Action Figures for Boys Highlight Brains Over Brawn https://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/mom-designed-action-figures-for-boys-highlight-brains-over-brawn-170845540.html. (This one also has a video, but I only read the article on it.)

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And yes, Facebook is addicting. But it's so fun!!

Join me on my Business page here on FB. It is called (for now) Betsy's CGC Collectibles, Graphics, Cards and more.

Betsyanne

News: about the Moon and about the Willow Tree (and the full moon on Friday the 13th)

Yup, on Friday the 13th, there will be a full moon.

It's been all over the internet.

What does this mean? Probably a bunch of yelling and screaming, and packs of werewolves hunting all over the place.

So, heads up. And lock your doors for sure. But you might want to peek at the moon too.

About the willow tree, mine fell down. Big Time. Come to find out these trees do not last forever. It may have been felled by a lightning strike, or just had it and decided to fall. It fell sideways instead of into the house, so that's good.

BUT I have been wondering whether or not to plant another on in its place. Find out more here:

What to plant where the Willow Tree was.

And if you are superstitious, you can read more about this phenomenon here:
Full Moon and Friday the 13th collide this week - via Michael Muskal at the LA Times.

Betsyanne

Onward and Upward!

Kentucky Senior Farmer's Market Nutrition Program 2014 - via the ALIVE Center

New from the ALIVE Center this morning:

"KY Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program
Use your coupons to purchase fruits, vegetables, honey, etc. 

Coupon books will be distributed at:

Community Action of Southern Kentucky

Warren County Senior Center

Education and Human Services

Building

200 E. 4th Ave.

Bowling Green, KY

June 11th and 12th

1:30 - 2:30 p.m.

**Must be 60 yrs old, based on income, must bring proof of age and income

For more information, call 270-783-4484"

Catch up! Here are two more recent postings:

#1: Artist Inspiration - at the Flying Pig Gallery & Greenspace in Wisconsin

and #2: Spring is here: time to get back into selling!

 Check out more Bowling Green events here at these listed websites: Betsyanne's Event Websites Page. 

Later! -Betsyanne 

My Personal Page and blog
The Nontrads site and blog
My Squidoo pages
Join me on my Fan Page on Facebook
Join me on Twitter as @betsyanne or @nontrads

New: Get more OFFICIAL Outdoor Program back in Girl Scouting. Our website and Facebook page.

Artist Inspiration - - from the Flying Pig Gallery and Greenspace in Wisconsin

 I just posted some great photos of the Flying Pig Gallery and Greenspace near Algoma, Wisconsin.

They have LOTS of great ideas there for artists. Of course, inspiration is different from copying... as all artists know. But these great ideas will get your creativity flowing, I am sure.

Here are some highlights from the photos: (my favorites!)

And here are all the photos:
The Flying Pig Gallery and Greenspace - my Album on Facebook (Public)

Thanks for stopping by today! :-)

Betsyanne

My Personal Page and blog
The Nontrads site and blog
My Squidoo pages
Join me on my Fan Page on Facebook
Join me on Twitter as @betsyanne or @nontrads

Spring is here.... it's time to get back into Selling!

I have been very busy with my Outdoor Journey Project for Girl Scouts. Now it's also time to get back into my Selling, Art, Writing, and other Projects.

Via John (cygnus921) on Flickr.

So... I will be posting more about that all of those things soon.

In the meantime, here are some fun business pages to share with you, and one neat photo from Flickr that reminds me of Spring and Garden Fun.

Hootsuite: a great place to share your Tweets across multiple platforms - for free.

Flickr: where to put your photos for backup, and also just to share.

Etsy: a fun place to buy or sell your vintage or handmade goods.

Betsyanne

**The Outdoor Journey Project for Girl Scout Member-Volunteers, Staff, and Friends of Girl Scouting - to bring more official Outdoor Program back into girl Scouting - website, FB page, and Yahoo group.

My Personal Page and blog
The Nontrads site and blog
My Squidoo pages
Join me on my Fan Page on Facebook
Join me on Twitter as @betsyanne or @nontrads

LinkedIn and adding people: my advice - don't try adding from your address book!

My address book adding people "shortcut" turned into a LONG CUT today on LinkedIn.

I had to take EVERY name off of there after what I thought was a short list turned into everyone who has emailed me and is in my address book. They ALL were mailed an invitation.

There was no shortcut to fixing my error either. Each name had to be "uninvited" using many clicks, one.... by.... one.

On the good side, at least people COULD be un-invited. But doing it one by one (fixing the mistake) took hours.

Ack! But it's done now. One or maybe two people got the invitation, but not hundreds, so that part is good. I'm SO glad that job is done. Never, never again will I try to do this kind of shortcut.

On the happy side, here is a neat photo to share from Flickr.

Photo by Michael Coghlan on Fickr.

It makes me think of Spring!

Betsyanne

My Personal Page and blog
The Nontrads site and blog
My Squidoo pages
Join me on my Fan Page on Facebook
Join me on Twitter as @betsyanne or @nontrads

Thoughts for the Day.... Things to do, Blogs, and more.

Blogs are on my weekly list. And now, my Squidoo is on my weekly list.

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Here are a few of the things I'm doing:

1. Finding things to sell for my new Etsy page I will have up soon.

2. Do Taxes.

3. Fix Squidoo pages and send an email about it.

4. Finish the blogs for the week.

5. Go on the KyNect page (again) and see if my insurance choice will save (again)

6. Call KyNect again to let them know about website problems. Maybe.

7. Organize papers

8. Organize everything else! At least some of it.

9. Put list of items and prices for ConCave on artist sheets.

10. Get more bags of things ready to go. Out.

In the meantime, while posting to blogs and taking care of FB pages, I see some very interesting links. Here are some to share:

Beware of Fake Facebook Fundraising Campaigns using Likes & Shares

A Legend Lost - Gypsy RV

WordTamer - an Interactive Journey in Creative Writing

The Internet Guide to Freighter Travel

Why Google Pushed Me to Build a (Bigger) Link Network

So What is Bubblews, and is it worth joining?

Doodle: Easy Scheduling

Later, gators!

Betsyanne

My Personal Page and blog
The Nontrads site and blog
My Squidoo pages
Join me on my Fan Page on Facebook
Join me on Twitter as @betsyanne or @nontrads

Are you on Yahoo? It's time to change your password. Here's how.

There was a recent news story about Yahoo being hacked. 





I wrote out how to change a password on Yahoo for a friend today. Here it is again for my readers.

How to Change your Yahoo Password:

#1. Log into Yahoo with your current password.

#2. At the top of your Yahoo page, go to the top right. You will see your Avatar (picture) and it should say, Hi, ______ (your name). To the right of that, at the very right, you will see a wheel symbol. Click that, then click Account Info.

#3. Put your password in the requested box to go on. Hit "sign in".

#4. Scroll down, until you see the Sign-in and Security Bar. The first link there is Change your Password. Put in your current password there, plus your new one.

Follow all instructions after that. You will need to sign in again after this.

Keep a copy of your password in a notebook or somewhere else secure (not as a text file on your desktop - too easy for a hacker to find).

Change your password to Yahoo maybe once every 3-6 months or more. Some say every two weeks, some say once a month.

But for sure, any time a site is hacked, and you find out, change it IMMEDIATELY.

There is a link to help you choose a secure password right there on the page, above the box.

You may also want to pick a new password with the help of these links:

http://www.cs.umd.edu/faq/Passwords.shtml

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~help/security/choosing_passwords.html

These look extra difficult to hack. Mine are usually one step down from these ultra-good ones.

I suggest having a number, a capital letter and a symbol in your password. Locate the capital letter where you least expect it (like in the middle).

And, if in need, you may want to use the Help section in Yahoo or any other site. How to find it? Usually at the bottom of the page, usually in little letters. OR search for it in the Search Box usually provided on most sites.

Here is where it is located on the Yahoo site: https://help.yahoo.com/kb/helpcentral

I found another very good site on Yahoo today too. It is How to tell if your account was hacked.

This page also talks about the recent Security problem, and explains what they did about it.

I just went to it, and it has some great links there (like you can check who has logged in to your account lately!)

All for now,

Betsyanne

Five great series books you can read more than once.

These are all great books and I think you'll like them too.

These are great books, and can be read more than once. I'm aware that young people often see movies more than once. Very young people see their favorite movies a lot more times than that!

I am the same way with some great series books. If you have not tried these series books or authors, and want something new to try, you can try these. They are not in any particular order.

#1. The Alphabet Mysteries by Sue Grafton. Starting with A is for Alibi, these popular mysteries star Kinsey Milhone, a private investigator in California. I really like these books, mostly because Kinsey is such a funny, entertaining heroine. She doesn't take any nonsense, is very clever, and doesn't mind "bending the rules" to get evidence or find things out. AND she gets paid in advance. I found Sue Grafton's official website today, and I think I will sign up for updates here.


#2. The Lord of the Rings saga - - otherwise known as the Hobbit Series or Middle Earth books. If you have seen the movies, it's OK. Start out with The Hobbit and then continue on to the main three books, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, and the Return of the King. There are more books out there, but these are the main ones. I think I have read this series at least three times. It's excellent. And it's always fun to read the book, then see the movies. Again. This Lord of the Rings Wiki page is pretty good. Watch out for spoilers though. There are LOTS of other pages to discover for this wonderful series. One of the best is hosted by the Tolkien Society. While you're at it, the One Ring site and the Tolkien Online pages are good too.


#3. Patricia Cornwell's Scarpetta series is about Dr. Kay Scarpetta, renowned Medical Examiner. What is great about this series is not only the mysteries and the hunts for serial killers. It's the relationships and the history behind them that make these stories great. You get to know Kay (like Kinsey, above) as real, multi-faceted people with both public and private lives and backgrounds. Dr. Scarpetta has helped to raise her niece, who turns out to be a technical and computer genius. She is in love with Benton Wesley, an FBI profiler, and she works with a gruff, emotionally damaged policeman named Pete Marino, who secretly (or not-so-secretly) is in love with her, but won't admit it to himself. As you read more about these characters, you grow to really like them - a lot. And they grow in the series too. Patricia Cornwell has her own site here.


#4. The Miles Vorkosigan Series, by Lois McMaster Bujold, is an exciting space saga science fiction fantasy about Miles, born to a privileged family, but injured in an attack on his mother before he was born, resulting in brittle bones and short stature because of it. Luckily, he receives medical treatment, but must try a lot harder than his peers to prove himself. He has inter-planetary adventures aplenty, that are enthralling. There are several companion books to this series, but they start out with Cordelia's Honor, about Miles' parents. I actually have not read this one yet. Two related books can be read before this one if you want to. You can also read them out of order, which I did. The first Miles Vorkosigan book I read was The Vor Game, but if I were starting over (again) with these, which I plan to, I would start with Barrayar or Cordelia's Honor (Shards of Honor and Barrayar). You can find out more about the Miles Vorkosigan universe on the Vorkosigan Saga Wikipedia page.


#5. The Wild Card Series Books, R.R. Martin, Editor. These books/anthologies have just been republished after a long (10-year) stretch, but are books about an alternate universe in which superheroes have adventures. They are co-written by different authors, which makes them super interesting and hard to put down. They often talk about incidents from different points of view too. You must start at the beginning for this series to keep things straight. The first book to read is Wild Cards #1. One good thing about this series is that when you find the original books, they are very collectable. I just have paperback copies of SOME of these, but I am on the lookout for 1-5 again, and will be reading this series again in a few years. The stories here are not like any you may have read before. They also have great interpersonal relationships and "what-if" scenarios. It's an awesome series, co-written by some of the "who's who" of science fiction. You can find out more at the Wikipedia page. On Amazon, they have a great description of this series. Here it is: "There is a secret history of the world—a history in which an alien virus struck the Earth in the aftermath of World War II, endowing a handful of survivors with extraordinary powers. Some were called Aces—those with superhuman mental and physical abilities. Others were termed Jokers—cursed with bizarre mental or physical disabilities. Some turned their talents to the service of humanity. Others used their powers for evil. Wild Cards is their story."


I have attached links to buy books from these series from Amazon if you wish. I like getting either new or used books at Amazon.

Of course, you can also shop around at other fun new or used bookstores to find them. My favorite bookstore right now is in Nashville, and it's called McKay's Used Books. You can trade YOUR books there for store credit, which is also fun.

Betsyanne

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