Maps#31: Have Map, Will Travel

I really loved this exercise. I had trouble getting Goggle to open, so I went to Yahoo maps instead. I put in my destination from Tomball to San Marcos. that was so easy, I decided to put in hotels in that area. It also had to the left the written directions of how to get there. My husband works with maps all day, so I am sure that he can tell me so much more to do with a map. I love the idea that I can put in a destination and poof there it is. No more getting lost or having to stop for directions.

Spring Cleaning #30 Take a Load off our Drives

I did go in and look at the P drive and saw one item from 2006 for periodicals that can be deleted. We all seem to put things on computers and then forget about them. I can see how our space can get full if we load things and then leave them forever. Once again I will say how important it is for all of us to do our part and clear some space. Even on my personal computer at home i start to run out of space cause there is so much saved that I forget about. I realize later that I did not really even mean to save it. Just a reminder for all of us to do yearly. When you spring clean, make your computer files one of your cleaning projects.

Spring Cleaning # 29 Email

Everyday, all around us emails are being sent out. Some are very important, others funny and lots are just a big waste of time. What we forget to do is get rid of the old, move whats important and delete the rest. I started several months ago on my personal email to delete unnecessary emails. One day I opened up my email and got this big warning. Yur email box is at capacity and cannot accept anymore at this time. I could not beleive it. What I failed to realize that I needed to start deleting old mail. But, wait there is one more step. After deleting those, I then had to go back and delete from the trash. I have now started deleting as soon as I see one that I don't need. It is so time consuming to have to continue to look at all these emails that will never be needed again. I love this exercise, because it is so important to leave space for those items that are important to come through and get rid of the spam ones that seem to be passed from person to person. It is kinda like a chain letter. I try to never forward sonething that someone else has sent me if I know that it is really kinda silly and not needed to take up space. I encourage all to adopt the habit of cleaning up your emails and not to give out your email to someone that will only abuse it to send spam!!!!

Spring Cleaning # 28 Don't Clog up Expensive Cyberspace

I beleive that this will be a much needed exercise for all of us. I am all about keeping things organizrd and clutter free. GTD had some really good points. One the the important topics was to take action on things and not jsut let them sit there. When I read my emails I make a point to delete the ones I will never need again. Of course I also immediately go into the deleted file and delete that as well. Maybe some of you forget to actually delete the deleted ones. Very important step to cleaning up cyberspace. I went to Google and set up a mock calendar. Very easy to do especially for someone like me who is finally becoming a little more computer savy. The setup is very nice and has lots of extras. How nice to have something pop up to remind you of an important date coming up. I already have a calendar thur my work email and will probably use it more. Thanks for having this exercise for all. It is a must needed and importnt task that we must all do!!

Sound#26 Making (or listening to)Music Together

Oh yes, the wonders of music for all. It is a new year after all, so more challenges await us all. I started will MOG to see how hard this task would be. After signing in I was off to see what the world was listening to. Of course I was not surprised to note that very few, (ok none at all) artists were anyone that I even remotely heard of. After a few attempts I finally came across some artists that I love to listen to.I really enjoyed reading what others think of certain artists. i know that I have said it before, but it is so cool to go onto the internet, find a song, listen to it, download it to your phone and it is yours with just a click. I like how easy it became on MOG to discover other artists and people that had similar interests. If you want to connect with others with common music interest, MOG and other sites like it are the place to go. I decided not to go the route of making my own music. I will save that for another time when I want to really challenge myself.

#25 Am I a Music Pirate?

First things first. i have actually burned a song to a cd before, so this exercise was pretty easy. Yes I really do know how to burn a cd. I would be surprised to hear someone say they have not. Now on to more pressing issues. There are always two sides to every story, so lets begin. Artists work very hard to get their music out there for all to hear and hopefully enjoy. Remember this is how they make their living. I beleive that sometimes as music is illegally distributed the artist will begin to lose money. On the news in recent years you here the story of young people being arrested for stealing music and sharing it with others. They were stuck with heafty fines and humiliated in the public arena. Is this fair??? Some say there must be an example made so others will not do it. With the laws in writing now, I hope we are all aware of how borrowing songs without permission will cost more than just a few dollars. Hopefully those who download songs all the time, will remember that someone is trying to make a living by writing and performing songs.

#24 Sound:The Sound of Music

After much laughing from my husband and older boys I decided to venture out on my own with this project. My family has been using Itunes and other sites for so long that it is like going to Walmart to shop. I like Itunes because for 99 cents you can have a song downloaded to your phone or Ipod or computer. Depending on how often you will use the service will depend on who you will use. One service for a small fee of around $20 will let you have as many downloads as you want. But remember if you ever stop the service the songs are no longer yours. As i have said in the past, technology has come a long way from the days of the old 45 record. I love the idea of being able to find a song that i need right away. At Christmas time I was in desperate need of a song for a class I was teaching at church. Low and behold on Itunes it was!!!! i am so looking forward to seeing where our journey takes us with this program in 2008