Free software

I remember when the internet was a new and exciting place--filled with new ideas and new software to try. Developers wanted feedback on their products, so they offered them for free in an effort to get customers to try it.

That hasn't been the case for some time now, except that every now and then, there is a free product that is worth having. Such is the case with Glary Utilities. I know because I just used it on my tired Windows XP system.

Glary Utilities cleaned my cluttered registry, which is something I refuse to touch. It emptied my bloated cache, freeing my sluggish system from way too much junk. And, it streamlined my startup. It will even get rid of those remnants of old programs that add to a clogged computer.

I was getting to the point where I had to wait to access "my computer." Closing a file would take forever. The only other way to help was to reboot the system.

I am happy to say that things are moving right along now, thanks to Glary Utilities. This really is a great program and it will cost nothing to give it a try. You can buy the pro version for $39.95 or download a free version. I've used the free version and I've been happy with it. Download it today at: http://www.glaryutilities.com/

Give it a try. You won't be sorry.

Time to bring in plants

We still haven't had a frost--hurray--but it had to be pretty close last night. I brought in my plants yesterday anyway. I was cold outside, so I'm sure they were too. It stayed in the 40º's, but it was too close to comfort for me.

I always love bringing them in. If they were people they would have a glow about them. They seem happy to come inside where it is warmer, and there is no wind. They are obviously tired of the summer breezes which have begun to take on a blustery feel. My plants seem very relieved to be indoors. I've placed them all in the back porch, which isn't heated, but the south-facing windows and proximity to the rest of the house will keep it warm enough. But I can't help but think, wait til the plants meet the cats.

I know I have written about the girls before--all six of them--although Mama lives outside. And Emily, our senior member, rarely goes in that room nor does she bother with the plants. But then there are the terrible-two kittens--four of them. They love playing with the babies of my spider plant. They flick them with their paws and consider it great fun.

They have taken to sitting atop my grape ivy and in between the arms of my Christmas cactus. I have sprinkled cinnamon on all of the plants. I read somewhere that cats don't like the smell of cinnamon. I hope that works. So far, so good, but it will likely be a long winter. That means a good workout for the spray bottle. Just one look at the spray bottle and the girls freak out.

Anyway, I love the look of the porch, all decorated with too many plants. I go out there to read, draw, write on my laptop, or talk on the phone. It is always a joy to be around all of them again. It is like trying to trick myself into forgetting what time of year it really is.

The room had been so empty. Every time I step down into that room, I just want to take a deep breath. I'm glad to have my plants back. I just hope nothing slithery decided to take a ride into the house with them.

Ozarks frost

A friend mentioned to me yesterday that we were supposed to have our first frost, here in the Ozarks. I checked my favorite weather map at Intellicast.com to learn that he was probably incorrect. Nevertheless I'm grateful for his warning because I did begin the arduous process of bringing my favorite plants indoors. I didn't bring them all in, however.

There are lots of chores to do before it gets really cold and this is a good time to do them. It has been cold enough that those pesky chiggers aren't so prevalent--and neither are the many, many spiders we had late summer--so working in the yard might just be fun.

I live in a small ranch house with north-facing windows. It is pretty dark, which I am not happy about. It is built to stay cool in the heat of the summer, but I really miss the bright sunshine in the room. And there are no windows in the kitchen (which I will always hate) but it is an open concept with the kitchen sink overlooking the dining room and living room. The saving grace is the large south-facing window just beyond the kitchen where I can keep some plants. There is also a lovely sun porch, which is the ideal place for my plants. It isn't heated, but it benefits from the warmth of the rest of the house.

I also have five cats--four of which are two-year old litter-mate kittens, who like nothing more than to get into everything--so I'm a little apprehensive about this plant thing. The girls just love to knock things off tables and jump onto things, plus the unmentionable cat problem with dirt. I'm going to try to dust the plants with cinnamon. I read someplace that cats don't like cinnamon and that will keep them away. Yeah right!

So far, none of those things have ever worked for me. I recall the hot pepper to keep squirrels off the bird feeders. Hah! They ate it. I suspect my cats are at least as naughty as squirrels.

While we are not expected to have our first frost where I live--it has occurred in other places in the Ozarks already--until later in the month, I have some time to bring in the remainder. Perhaps if I sneak a few in at a time the girls' curiosity won't overwhelm their good sense of right and wrong (as if they had that anyway).

Today is predicted to be 70º and the sun is already shining brightly. I can't think of anything I would rather do than some re-potting, cleaning up and generally working with greenery.

Disappointed in Classmates.com

I'm very disappointed by Classmates.com

I just love the internet! Since the days of playing Trivia online at Q-Link with the Commodore 64 in the early 1980's, I have been enamored with the global potential of linking with others via computer. The internet has done so much for what Q-Link dubbed the 'People Connection.'

Then in the early days when AOL was about the only way to access this brave new world, and then by the painfully slow dialup connection, the internet was filled with free games, free software, free access. Call me old, but I remember how NetZero advertised its free access?

One of those free sites was Classmates.com. It was very cool to sign on and link up with old friends from high school. There were names buried in the back of our conscious minds that we hadn't even thought about in years and never dreamed we would be in touch with again. It was so long ago that it was hard to even remember if the names we saw were friend or foe. It really didn't matter. It was just nice to recognize their name. And then to put a face to that name was even more satisfying--like a memory test that we've passed with flying colors.

While I have thrilled at meeting new friends and now revel in connecting with those who had somehow slipped out of my daily life, the internet has had its disappointments.

At the risk of sounding like Michael Moore in his latest movie about the negatives of Capitalism, I am disappointed in how everyone and their uncle wants my money I don't have. I get annoyed with all the marketing that is done online, and I get frustrated by how what used to be free online is now charging a fee. But, the one thing that I really am appalled by is the road taken by Classmates.com.

I was once a real fan of Classmates.com, but no more. Not only was this a free site when I joined it, but I even told friends about it. It was a wonderful website. But instead of using advertising on the site to pay its bills, the site uses other 'tactics' to try to entice membership. I can't believe anyone falls for it.

I get emails all the time that say, so-and-so signed your guestbook and if you want to know who it is, give us money. Call me cheap, but I refuse to pay for such a thing, especially when there are other and better ways to achieve the same result. Facebook has done a far better job in connecting classmates than Classmates.com. I have really enjoyed my Facebook connections from high school. Reconnecting has been wonderful on so many levels.

Shame on you Classmates.com.

Seeing reality

I've just been jolted by reality and I'm not so sure I like it.

I realize that my childhood was a very long time ago. That isn't the kind of thought that pops into my head on a regular basis. The fact of my aging does, however, drift into my consciousness at times--mostly while I'm lying in bed awaiting the magic dust from Mr. Sandman.

While I am well aware of the little things that change as we age, my thoughts and the way I process them have evolved over time. The change has been so slow that my changes in thinking have barely been discernable. But now and then, there is a shock of realism that seemingly marks time. I just had one of those.

I'm not sure why, but I decided to look up the city on the internet where my grandparents lived. I don't know what I expected to see. But, I can assure you I didn't get it.

They lived in a tiny town in Michigan. I remember it only vaguely from my childhood. I remember the big farmhouse they lived in and the land around it. It had a big red barn and a somewhat dilapidated hay barn. If that barn was dilapidated fifty years ago, chances are it has been history for some time. I never gave that a thought. It is funny how our memory is stubborn--refusing to believe that what we remember no longer exists.

I was saddened to look at the website of this city. While my mind has conjured it up the way it was, possibly embelished just a little by my own fantasies, that just isn't the way it is any more.

It is just like any other small city, struggling to grow, pay its bills, and deal with mundane day-to-day activities. The city charter has little room for my fanciful ideals about black skies peppered with twinkling stars, the thrill of chasing elusive, dancing fireflies, or picking bouquets of wildflowers along a deserted country road. Seeing the pictures erased the romantic memories with unremarkable reality.

On second thought, this lesson in reality teaches me to be grateful, not for what has been lost, but in what remains. I have retained the ability to see through childlike eyes. Imagination is a gift. The beauty of age provides is that I can appreciate the comparison, which makes the gift all the more precious.

Weather watching in real time

Do you find yourself getting stressed out over certain weather predictions? I know I certainly do.

For days, meteorologists from the local television stations to the Weather Channel and CNN were warning that we, in Arkansas, were about to get deluged by rain and severe storms.

I tend to take real notice of these predictions, since the weather seems to be a bit extreme lately. We have all seen, thanks to the Weather Channel's Storm Stories and plain, old, regular news broadcasts, what Mother Nature can do to us when she really wants to raise a ruckus.

Needless to say, I was a little uneasy as the predicted cold front was about to meet our 80-degree atmosphere head-on. Sure enough, storms started forming, as predicted.

This situation has made me really grateful to today's computer technology. I cranked up the laptop set to my favorite weather site--Intellicast.com. I have used this site for quite some time, even though there are probably many others now that offer the same thing.

This one, however, was cutting-edge when I first got interested in such things. It remains my favorite. I have an Intellicast widget on my Google start page that allows me to see the weather at a glance in my area.

As the storm approached, I watched it bearing down. I have placed a marker where my house is located. Intellicast lets you zoom in close--close enough to identify roads and landmarks. I could actually watch the weather as it approached--not just the neighborhood, but my house.

This is a great tool. I was able to watch a break in the clouds that I could corroborate by having no rain outside. When the big orange blob came back, the rain wailed outside. This gives a better understanding when there are tornado warnings or severe thunderstorm warnings. It is an excellent visual that allows you to watch exactly what is happening in real time.

What a far cry from the days when no one ever really knew what was happening. We were at the mercy of Mother Nature. How many people have died in tornadoes that they didn't know were coming.

When people talk about how technology is ruling our lives, I just smile. I love this techno age. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Playing Video Games

I'm not a bad person; so what if I get a little obsessed now and then?

Since the onset of my computer life, I have obsessed over computer games. There have been so many wonderful ways to wile away the hours that it almost defies logic. I'm sure I will one day wish I could have all those hours back.

But for now, I don't consider this time spent as a waste. It is almost like therapy. It allows my mind to wander free from the stresses of the day. Then again, it often creates a kind of stress of its own, but it is one that disappears easily. Rarely do I stay awake thinking about computer games. Now that I think about it, I do recall dreaming about them though.

I recall when I was pregnant with my second child, it began as I spent hours playing Space Invaders on the old Atari 2600.

Since that time in the early 1980's, I cannot count all the different games I've enjoyed. They seem to come in phases. I am a loyal game player.

For a time I was a Sim City freak. As an opponent of urban sprawl and rampant development, playing this game gave me a sense of understanding of the other side. I also enjoyed playing Sim Farm with these two games being the yin and yang of my Sim life.

For a long time, I played a frenzied Mahjongg. I even began collecting different versions. Some had great graphics. Others played calming, zen-like music. The one I played the most, however, was an old version from Galaxy Games. It is so old, that it isn't even available anymore, although many other versions of Mahjongg abound.

That is a real source of aggravation - falling in love with a game only to have all support discontinued.

That happened to me with one of my current favorites, Mind Your Marbles. I was so enamored with this game that I bought it from Big Fish Games. I own the game, have the original documentation, and the original code to run it. But Big Fish changed its system. When I bought a laptop I contacted the company to see why my code didn't work on my new computer. They said they no longer supported that game, even though my license was for a lifetime. I refuse to buy it again.

I wrote to other companies that sell Mind Your Marbles, but they won't honor a game from Big Fish Games, even if it is the same game. They could care less about my feelings. So, I'll never buy another game again. So many are available online anyway.

I do have several games from Big Fish that work with no problem -- probably because they are more recent. My favorite is Upwards, a fun variant of Scrabble, which I also play regularly. As a writer, I cannot live without word games. I admit that I am a fast typist, so playing these keep my vocabulary and typing skills well-honed.

The latest obsession that keeps me more than occupied is a Facebook game --Bubble Spinner by Mind Jolt Games. These simple arcade-style games are my favorites. I am not a fan of the graphic killer games, although I did love Castle Wolfenstein. I had that game when it was first introduced for the Commodore 64. That was a very long time ago.

As obsessed as I am, I am probably even more competitive. I admit that I get a kick out of winning. Striving to be the best you can be is not a bad thing.

I believe my competitive nature is inherited, and it is undeniable. Ask my daughter who also got the gamesman gene. The two of us go head-to-head often. I whip her at Scrabble, but she beats me in our all-time Mahjongg challenge. She has me by a few seconds. She and I don't play the game as it was intended. We play it as a personal challenge to beat each others' times, clearing the board as quickly as we can. I believe her record is 1.21 minutes. Mine is 1.23. I chalk it up to the generation gap. I admit that she is just plain faster than me.

There are so many game sites available online now -- offering free game play if you have the patience to deal with the multitude of advertisements that appear.

If you have a favorite game, let me know. I'm always open to a good challenge.