photo credit: torbakhopper

It is Mother’s Day! We’d like to give a big shout out to all the moms out there, the moms that took over for other moms, the substitute moms, the moms away from home, and the dads that do great parenting or are single dads. Hats off to you! We wouldn’t be the great people we are without you. In honor of Mother’s Day, we wanted to send a couple ideas your way about things to do to celebrate your moms year round.

1) Just hang out! Sometimes we forget that we don’t have to do anything more than be with them to count for the world. If you’re far away, use technology to connect – Skype, Google+ hangouts, Google chat, Face Time and other instant messengers are great ways to connect.

2) Do things for mom without being asked. A mantra since childhood, it is still true as adults. Clean her house, cook for her, take her to the movies, buy her groceries, buy a gift card to her favorite store, buy new sheets, do the laundry, pay a bill, buy the parts she has been looking at to rebuild her computer, help her with the newest tech. Don’t make her ask but don’t completely take over her life either!

3) Take her on a picnic. Who says slowing life down and having a good time outdoors has disappeared? Grab a picnic basket with her fave foods and go to a local park.

4) Find a long lost album of her favorite artist and upload it to her computer or her phone. The delight on her face will be priceless!

5) Have a reading afternoon in a new coffee shop or an old favorite. A book plus a new experience and you is a recipe for awesome.

6) Donate to a charity of her choice with either your time or your finances. This is a great option if you are short on cash but have a couple hours to give.

What do you plan on doing for Mom today? The rest of the year? Give us some notes in the comments! Enjoy Mother’s Day!

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I started with a chair that has been in storage for almost 20 years. It was my grandfather’s office chair and we didn’t want to take away the love that was on it by sanding it and starting from scratch. That is an option if you want to give your furniture a totally new finish. A lot more work than this quick solution but totally worth it if you want to control the total look. There are plenty of how-to’s on that topic but we won’t get into it. This is perhaps the simplest thing you can do – use wood cleaner!

1) First, I wiped the chair down with a soft cloth to remove spiderwebs, dust, and any surface dirt.

2) Because the furniture was so pale looking and looked like it needed a 20 year shine, I mixed 1/2 cup of Murphy Pure Vegetable Oil soap (Original) and a gallon of hot tap water. As a note, I followed the directions on the bottle. Next time, I’m going to do some conversions because that is WAAAAAAAY more than is needed for this project. Could have gotten away with an 8th of this and probably still had more than enough for another piece. If you have hardwood floors though, go right ahead and make this much then do your floors!

3) I took a new soft cloth and made it really damp with the solution and just started wiping. You see an instant difference. I went over the furniture 3 or 4 times. Don’t be afraid to scrub! I could see dirt on the cloth so it really was cool to visually see what this product could do. In the photo you can see what it looks like damp. It stayed that way when it dried.

4) I let the piece dry so I could see if I needed to go over it again but I didn’t. If you find when you’re done that it still looks really dull, you probably want to refinish it to make it look nicer than it does at present.

In the end, this was a much simpler solution than trying to find some gimmick solution or refinishing my furniture. While sanding and painting furniture is something I’m working on for a different project (hopefully featured late summer on the blog!), it wasn’t the best solution here so you could see the character of the piece.

Have you tried something like this before? How’d it turn out? Let us know in the comments!

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photo credit: One Way Stock

1) Understand the commitment. There are several sites that can help explain this much better than we can. For example, organdonor.gov, the National Institutes of Health, and donatelife.net all have very easy to understand explanations and FAQs.

2) Let your family and friends know of your decision. Let them know WHAT you want to donate if you choose to donate. (For example, make sure they know that you do or don’t want your body donated to science). The websites above explain all the different types of donation if you want more info on what you can donate.

3) Register to be an organ donor when you renew your drivers license. Most states allow you to register this way and it is a clear identifier of your wishes.

4) Register on various websites that also help track organ donors. organdonor.gov gives you links to all the state registries through donatelife.net in order for you to register on the internet directly with your state registry. Yes, Facebook has gotten into the registration game, but make sure you still let people know the “old-fashioned” way.

5) Help spread the news. Family members and friends may be on the fence or also don’t understand what it means to be an organ donor. Share accurate information with them so they can make their own decisions.

Organ donation to us means that others get the gift of life and we were able to provide one last service to the world. Ask all the questions you can while you can and make sure that your wishes are written down. A will is a great place to have this wish but it really is very important that those around you who may be making the final decisions know what you want. While the organ donation teams at hospitals are very nice and help walk your family through the steps surrounding the actual donation, they have to be comfortable in knowing what to do in such an overwhelming time. If you choose not to donate, make sure your family knows that too so they do not violate your last wishes.

As a side note, also consider donating blood or signing up for a bone marrow registry. There is always a need. If you’re like me and you have a condition that prevents you from being a donor, do like I do and help promote the activity. I am here in part because someone chose to donate blood.

Are you registered to donate? Why or why not? How did you register?

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Creative Commons License photo credit: decade city

I (and Ellie for that matter) am a Nook fangirl. The devices work great for me, it’s easy to buy books and I am overall happy. But then I noticed that Amazon had some books at cheaper prices ESPECIALLY textbooks or other expensive books. B&N also has books at a better price than Amazon. We’re talking a $30 or $40 difference. Each bookstore also has their own (and very different) selections of books to put up for free or really cheap. The perks of both stores had me at the point of trying to figure out whether I should then have to own two proprietary devices (a Nook AND a Kindle) or to splurge on a tablet to read via apps. But none of these made much sense. I didn’t want to have to carry two devices (I got an e-reader for situations where I can’t carry a lot) and I didn’t need all the features of a tablet (not to mention the price points make it unaffordable right now). I also really like e-ink, like my e-reader battery life and didn’t want to only be able to read on a backlit device. So I started looking for a solution and boy did I find a good one.

To be clear, this solution is NOT meant to help anyone strip DRM from eBooks so they can then openly share with anyone else via any means. That’s illegal and it is not condoned by ThePinkC or any of the writers of this site. This is meant for you, a single user of Amazon or B&N, to be able put an eBook you legally bought in one store or the other in a format that you can read on your device. Please use this info responsibly and follow the laws and regulations of the place where you live.

Now, on to the solution – Wired ran an article back in 2011 on stripping the DRM and then converting the book into the format you can use or just stripping the DRM so your books are no longer subject to auto deletion from whoever you purchased them from. This article featured the work of Apprentice Alf (original piece here). Simply put, you use a free program called Calibre, the plugins created by Apprentice Alf, and the desktop programs of the service you want to convert books from (so if converting from Amazon, you’ll need Kindle for PC or Mac; same for Nook, etc) to you then can download the books, import them to Calibre and then upload to your device. It took me less than 20 minutes to download everything and get it set up. Since I can’t write the directions better myself, jump over to Wired or Apprentice Alf and follow the directions word for word (I actually used directions from both). And read the read me files in the plugins from Apprentice Alf so you install them correctly.

Just a couple notes – 1) if you’re hoping this will help you check out books from Amazon’s library because you’re a prime user, it won’t. 2) Calibre will keep all versions of the eBooks unless you tell it to delete certain versions or all versions. eBooks aren’t huge but if space is an issue, this would be where to start. 3) This method does not work for iBooks. Apprentice Alf has a couple links on suggestions if that’s what you’re looking to do. 4) This does work for PCs, Macs, Linux, etc.

I may eventually be able to afford a second device or want a second device and in that case, I’ll use it. But this solution seems like it will work for me for some time to come. It means both bookstores can get a lot more of my business and makes me ok with shopping for ePubs outside of B&N at places like Better World Books or Google Books, especially since Calibre seems to have a lot of perks for organizing all my books. (Though I must admit, it would be really nice if more indie stores had eBooks too…but I’m glad I love paper books!)

Has anyone else done anything like this? How did it work for you? Any legal ramifications of doing this where you live? Happy reading!!
photo credit: ikilledhertheniran

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photo credit: jaci XIII

Today I’ve got a few apps that might help you find some service locally or around the US and a few websites where you can get started. Of course, for all of you tech lovers I’ll be giving you a few ways to do service with technology in mind.

If you’re looking for service listings in a particular locale, you should always ask around or see what non-profits exist in the area. You can do this using Google or non-profit search sites like Guidestar, Volunteer Match, Idealist, All for Good, or Get Involved. If you’re traveling, it doesn’t hurt to post something on social media and see if anyone bites. As a note, it does hurt if you are on twitter with a locked account and no one you know lives there Don’t just stick with the usual suspects like the American Red Cross (or if you’re outside the US another Red Cross or Red Crescent Society). Really dig in and find something that matches your passions. If it’s fun, you’ll go back again and again.

Want to work with college students and help them do service? Service organizations like Alpha Phi Omega, National co-ed Service Fraternity (yes, shameless plug – hey Brothers!) and Gamma Sigma Sigma, National Service Sorority are always looking for community members to serve as advisors or who might have skills to share once or multiple times a year (think technology workshop on campus or helping them set up and coordinate websites and social media that can easily be transitioned from one caretaker to another). If you have a technology business or serve as a leader in a company, you might have some good advice to share with students in organizations like Omicron Delta Kappa, National Leadership Honor Society, or non-greek letter groups like business or journalism clubs. Many colleges have lists of organizations on their websites.

One app that has some service postings is the Opp Guide. It was designed for youth by youth but includes several local opportunities that you can search by zip code. I found several opportunities adults would be interested in so I think it’s safe to say if you’re over 10, it’s for you. Catalista is similar and is available for both Android and iOS.

What if you want to do a service trip? Many groups focus in this area as well. One group that I’m familiar with is the Appalachia Service Project. These projects can be arranged for individuals or groups (they are geared toward groups) of many ages. Check out their app (iPhone / Android) to see if there are any you’d like to participate in. If you’re a college student, see if your college has Alternative Spring Break or if your summer internship can be a service project. Sierra Club sponsors Vacation Volunteering. REI hosts travel trips around the globe that have service at the core (they also have local service projects). Volunteer with the National Park Service. If you want a longer service trip, what about Technology Without Borders or the Peace Corps? Sometimes you can’t rely on a group to arrange things for you because nothing fits. In that case, get the contact information of someone at a place where you’d like to volunteer and ask. It can be just that simple.

How about GIS and/or GPS? If you know how to use it, you could be of great help to youth programs like 4-H. 4-H has had a GIS and GPS program for several years and is always looking for volunteers and mentors to help teach the curriculum to youth around the country. If you’re good at GPS, you might also look to help teach it to local youth that go hiking or are in scouting groups. Ask your local troops.

If you have the time and willingness to use your skills in videography or photography, you could help local sports teams or make some people smile by hosting a photo day at a local senior center.

Don’t want to really do hands on service or don’t have the time? If you’ve got some cash, you could buy supplies for a local shelter, soup kitchen, or children’s non-profit. You could see what local schools need and help out with some of those supplies. If you’ve got networks, you could help solicit donations or volunteers for organizations. And if you don’t have cash, or are willing to switch your search engine, if you use GoodSearch your favorite non-profit gets a penny per search!

As you can see, there are tons of ways to serve, so try a few or try a lot. You’ll find something you enjoy! How do you serve the community? Any service with a tech twist? Post in the comments!

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Considering the circumstances, I assume if you still follow this blog you had a personal connection to Ellie.  I did also.  The ultimate geek girl was my little sister.  My other sister asked several of us if we might be able to contribute to this blog.  Initially, figured I was the least likely person to have something to add.  And maybe I am.  That said, here we are.

It seems the hardest part of writing something like this is developing a topic.  I certainly can’t share about a techie subject.  And I’m hardly an expert on any other subject.  Since I’m likely a stranger to you, writing about myself might drive you away from this page before you could finish this paragraph.  So, what’s left?  In case this is my only appearance here I imagine something about Elmyra would be appropriate.

There is the first thing.  My sister was named Elmyra.  I guess our mother may have always called her Ellie.  I really don’t remember.  Somewhere along the line she became Myra.  Not that it changed anything.  It just always caught me off guard when I heard it.  But, it does speak to our relationship.  I loved my sister, but I didn’t know her.  I was there (well, at home)  when she was born.  By the time she passed away we hadn’t seen each other in years.  I had talked to her via skype a few months before.  When Elmyra was 11, I moved to Texas to begin my career.  Although she earned three college degrees, I was only able to attend one graduation.  I never made it to New York, where she was making her home.  I don’t think she ever made it to Texas.

So, here’s the odd truth.  I don’t miss my sister.  I miss the idea of her.  I certainly wish we had new time together.  I wish I had known she was as spiritually open as she was.  I wish we had gotten to have lunch in New York or she had gotten to tell me why she was into Urban Planning.  I wish she was going to visit me when I move overseas.  And if one day I have grandchildren, I wish they were going to have an Aunt Myra.  They would be better for it.

So, what does any of this mean?  I’m not sure.  Maybe nothing.  Take from it what you will.  What you can.

Arrivederci

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One way I do goal setting is to keep track using the 101 in 1001 principle. I set 101 things I want to do and give myself 1001 days to do it. I found the idea on a meme years ago and have kept it up. Sometimes I make it almost all things that I’d love to do but are unrealistic (the first goals that need revision), but usually I’m able to keep a good balance between “I really can do this” and “I need more money or time to accomplish this”. Any goals can be used which is awesome. I try to write update posts when I’ve accomplished a group of goals.

From: http://blog.purehome.com/2012/diy-roundup-display-your-new-years-resolutions/

If you’re a reader (even audio books!), Goodreads allows you to set goals for how many books you want to read in the year. If you track what books you complete using Goodreads, it automatically counts down for you. I reached my goal a couple years ago and missed it this year by about 12 books but it’s pretty motivating for me. You can update what you’ve read on the website or with one of their apps.

Want something more in your face? What about a vision board? There are lots of tips on the internet for creating one but you need photos or drawings or magazine cutouts that visually symbolize the goals you want to attain and something to put them on (posterboard, cloth, etc). Put it somewhere you see it and use it to motivate you to make your goals come true.

Write your goals where you can see them every day. I used to print my goals from my computer and put them over my dorm room door. Every time I left the room I looked at them. I also put them on my monitor so I could stare at them as I worked. Worked for me! The wall art image to the left is a different way to post but is really neat.

What about the to do apps like we’ve discussed previously on this website? Make a separate list in Wunderlist, Orchestra, Evernote, etc, and then use it to make the more detailed lists you need to accomplish each goal. Or make a set of lists in Google Drive or Dropbox and link back to them on your blog or into Evernote or a similar app so you can quickly update them.

There are soooo many ways to keep up with what goals you’ve set, but what about the goals you are setting? What categories of goals do you set? I’m big on short, medium and long term goals. There are some things I can accomplish within a couple months. There are some things that I can get done in in 3-6 months. There are some things that might take a year or more. Realize what those things are and be honest with yourself. Like I said above, I set a 101 in 1001 but I also have a set of 5 year goals. The 5 year goals are broken down by month for the next five years. I can alter these as I need to but I don’t say publish a paper the month after I have a goal to start writing. But I do have a realistic goal to save ten bucks a month so I can buy the new SimCity when it gets released. Priorities If you’ve never set a goal before, start with one. Get that done then set two. Rinse, wash, and repeat.

What goals are you setting for the new year? What do you use to keep up with them? Post in the comments!

These elephants are after some serious goals!!!
photo credit: hinnamsaisuy

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What do you want to accomplish this year??

photo credit: Christian Lambert (DVCphoto92)

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http://www.scdhec.gov/administration/ophp/hurricane/supply_kit.htm

Home Emergency Kit

Food – Make sure to have non-perishables such as peanut butter, tuna fish or meal replacement bars on hand and to have enough for everyone living with you for 3 days. Maybe consider extras if you have guests. Don’t forget a can opener and food for your pets!

Water – 1 gallon per day per person. You can buy water at the store or purify your own and replace it on schedule to prevent having contaminated water. Use a clean container if you do this!

Flashlights – Don’t rely on your cell to give you light! You’ll run the battery down faster. Get a good flashlight that has a bright beam. It can be one that costs a dollar. Make sure to get extra batteries for it (or that it has a working crank) while you’re at the store. You could also consider getting a headlamp to serve as one of your flashlights. Avoid using candles as they can increase your risk of having a fire.

Blankets

Clothes for each season

Shoes

http://spareone.com/image/cache/data/so-main-460x460.png

Copies of important papers like social security cards, birth certificates, passports

Cash – In an emergency, you don’t necessarily have access to ATMs or have the ability to use credit cards/debit cards. Plan ahead!

Medications – This includes your prescription meds. Ask your doctor for an extra prescription for this purpose.

Toiletries – Deodorant, toothbrush, toothpaste, toilet paper…you get the drift

Books – The paper kind. I support ereaders but they use battery power like other electronics. Maybe even toss in a book light for good measure.

Games – Again, non-electronic ones are best but if you have a battery powered system for kids, grab extra batteries to make sure they stay calm and entertained.

First Aid Kit – Enough first aid supplies for 3 days. I bought a pre-made kit meant for hiking and added items to it to meet my needs.

Cell Phone – You could rely on your personal phone (hopefully you can get extra batteries) and/or grab a cheap prepaid phone for the express purpose to be used in the kit. Keep it charged!

http://www.thegreenhead.com/imgs/eton-solarlink-fr600-emergency-crank-radio-1.jpg

Emergency radio – A battery powered, crank powered or solar powered radio is great in emergencies.

Additions for the car:

Jumper cables

First Aid Kit

Flashlight

Blankets or sleeping bag

Phone charger

Water

Food

Fuel can

Emergency radio

For more ideas of what can go in your kit and for premade shopping lists, check out the APHA Get Ready site, Ready.gov or the American Red Cross.

Technology Emergency Kit:

While technology might be the last thing on your mind in an emergency, having a backup of your hard drive with important files can be useful if you have to evacuate and you can’t take computers with you or if they run out of battery power. You may also have a serious need to place a phone call and without a working phone, it’s next to impossible.

Ice Standard for Android

In Case of Emergency info on your smartphone – Your emergency doesn’t always leave you able to take care of yourself. Put ICE info on your phone on the home screen or on the lock screen. How you do this depends on your phone’s operating system but look for free apps like Emergency ICE or Ice Standard on Android and CloseCall (supposedly no longer available in US app store) or Ice Standard on iPhone. I use Close Call in combo with RxmindMe (free version) so if I’m in trouble someone knows who to call, what meds I take, what I’m allergic to, etc. An ICE memo on Ellie’s Android phone helped us know all this when she got sick a couple years ago so I know for sure it works.

Other useful apps: The American Red Cross has a good series of apps you might be interested in (hurricane, first aid, find a shelter, etc) and you might want to grab your pharmacy’s app for quick access to your medication info.

Extra batteries for your laptop – You can buy a backup battery for many laptops these days. Especially if you don’t have a backup power supply to charge the battery you’ve got, give yourself a few more hours for playing Monkey Island.

PowerGen Mobile Juice Pack

Emergency power supply – This comes in handy if you’ve got a lot of electronics or household appliances you want to keep running. Use one meant for indoor use, such as this one from Duracell to prevent fumes/death hazard indoors. If you want something more mobile, try something like this and if you want something specifically for your phone, check out this mobile power pack.

Backups of important documents in “the cloud”, your email or a program like Evernote – The same list of important documents above is still subject to water damage or getting lost. Just in case you’re unable to access paper copies, you’ve at least got proof of who you are elsewhere. We’ll just hope those servers don’t die.

In Case of Emergency Flash Drive – Just as you backup your system a million different ways, you should have enough backups of your important documents. Check out this suggestion.

Camera – I love my camera so it goes everywhere with me. But you should also have a small point and shoot for taking photos of damage of your home, vehicle or just the conditions in general to make it easier to file insurance claims or let family members know what you’re going through. If you’re outside the home, a small point and shoot makes you less obvious than a large DSLR. Be sure to have backup batteries (charged) and a large memory card (>4GB) so you don’t have to delete any photos. Even though your phone can do everything these days, you run the battery down quickly in an emergency if you use it for that.

I’ve been putting my kit together over some months. I’ve still got some items to put in the kit, like jumper cables and saving for an emergency power supply. I keep an eye out for good sales of the items I need, particularly batteries and first aid kit/supplies. As Black Friday approaches, you’ll be seeing more sales on the tech items such as external hard drives. No matter what all you have in your kit, get a good container for it. A 20 gallon tote can help protect from moisture and can help carry items. One of the easy carry craft kits or a fishing tackle box could be great for organization. A backpack is a great idea if you have to walk long distances. Just in case I have to quickly leave my home, I have the most important things to me in one location so I can quickly pack them and move. An emergency isn’t the time to prepare!

In the comments, post pictures of your emergency kit(s) and list out (or post links for) suggestions you have for others to include in their kits. Thanks for reading!

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