ihcpl: Searching #75: google and beyond

I searched three entries in "blindsearch." The first subject that I searched was "Haiti." I was looking for information on the very recent earthquake in Haiti. Column #2 in blindsearch gave me the most information on the earthquake. The two headline entries that I went into were "Haiti news. headlines and latest stories on yahoo! news. I got quite a lot of very recent information on the earthquake. The other one I searched was "Haiti-salon.com. It also gave me good information. The second quiery I made was on "cats." Column #1 gave me the most information on cats: their care, behavior, and actions. The two items I looked under were "cats. cat adoption: cat care at cats.com. This gave a lot about cat health, behavior and feeding. The second entry I looked at was "about cats-all about cats and kittens-cat care-cat behavior. The third quiery I made was on the economy. Column "3 gave me the most on information on what I was looking for. This was information on jobs, public opinion on the economy, any improvement, current and future outlooks for the economy. I looked under "economic news and job reports-CNN money.com" and "economy.com. Moodys reporting on economy."

ihcpl:#76: sound effects: "simply the best sounds"

I also enjoyed using "simply the best sounds." It gave some wonderful sound effects. I went into MDI sounds: Movie Midi files:ghostbusters. I love the music and effects from that movie. I also got into the bugs bunny : you've got troubles mac sound. I went into commercials MP3. I picked one of my favorite commericals: the taco bell "yo quiero taco bell" sound clip. From the WAV files, I picked bugs bunny again. I picked the cartoon "bunny-troubles." It brought back many memories. I also went into Sun audio and picked "transportation sound effects." I listened to the "horn" sound effect and the "police siren" effects. They were both very authentic. I can see how these aids would be very helpful if you were blogging and needed sounds added.

ihcpl #76: searching: sound effects

I had a lot fun with searching for animal sounds in the "find sounds" section. I searched for cat sounds, dog sounds, chimpanzee sounds, and monkey sounds. There was an abundance of sounds for all these animals. Then when I tried to search a sound for fish and snake, there were fewer sounds. There were no sounds found for "possum" or "farrett." I can see why these animal sounds weren't found. I also found quite a few bird sounds on the site. It was very informative.

This is a blog test: May 18, 2009

I am creating this blog just to see if my blog site has been restored. I had some trouble with spam infiltrating it. It seems to be working allright. Technology, isn't it wonderful!

Money & finance: #59: Credit, Money management and saving

I am blogging about the second exercise in the money management and saving lesson. I have tried in the past making a budget plan. I found the process very difficult because the budget I came up with usually never worked. I would like to try again especially in these troubled financial times. I did get some very good ideas from CNN Money. There ideas were to identify how you're spending now, and to evaluate your current spending and set goals that take into account your long-term financial objectives. It also said to track your spending to make sure that you stay within your spending guidelines. You should concentrate on what needs to be cut, beware of luxuries and spending beyond your limits. These are all excellent ideas, and I may try again to make and actually stay within a budget.

Money and Finance: #59: Credit, Money Management, and Saving

I read the article "How credit scores work, " and I took the credit score quiz. I learned that the main type of credit score is called FICO because it originated with Fair Isaac and company. Also, I learned that the credit scores range from 300 to 850. I didn't know that. Also, paying your bills on time is the most important part of gaining a good credit score. Another thing I didn't know was that research shows a correlation between lower credit scores and increased insurance claims. That's why your credit score is important in getting insurance. I will write more later as I get further into the course.

Money & finance #58: banking, budgeting & spending

My bank does offer free online banking, but I am not comfortable with using it. They use such security safeguards as Sitekey where you enter a passcode and sitekey image, and the bank will question your computer entries if they aren't the ones you gave them. I am sure that many people love online banking, and I think it is for the most part, secure. I think I won't ever feel comfortable using it, however, unless I am forced to go to it. I looked at all the budgeting sites, Mint.com; expensr; wesabe; foonance, but I think I would rather manage my budget the old fashioned way by putting it in a log. I'm afraid I'm hopeless. Ripplepay, spenji, and scred would help you track your budget I'm sure if you felt comfortable using these tools. I liked the ideas about saving money like buying store brands instead of name brands. Also, you can shop at Walmart and Home Goods which offer the same merchandise for cheaper prices. Ialso agree with using the burner on your stove which is the right size for your pot, and using your microwave because it saves energy. Overall, this was a very interesing and helpful program.