The movements to stop #SOPA and #PIPA have been gathering momentum. I’m worried that this activism will not be enough to sway the politicians supporting this bill, due to the money that they take for political activity. Passing of these bills will truly demonstrate the paid-for-politics of our system when opposition is so great. Let your representatives know that you are against SOPA and PIPA, at least in its current form. And make it clear that if they support these bills, then they will not only lose your vote, but they will gain your active opposition in the next election.
Out with the old and in with new.
Please help the less informed to use the BCC field when mass e-mailing those Holiday messages, or any bulk messages for that matter. If your one of the informed, please help just one person who is less informed to get educated on the BCC field.
http://resultswebsite.com/Netiquette_101.html
Some e-mail etiquette tips: http://www.wikihow.com/Improve-Your-Email-Etiquette
I salute the veteran survivors and often think of those who gave everything performing their duty.
The number of telemarketing and robo-calls to my mobile phone have increased lately. Enough so that I decided to spend a few minutes working out a way to block these calls. Unfortunately, I can’t just block a number on my iPhone and AT&T like I can with the “landline” and Ooma. A quick internet search turned up a workaround , but I wanted to update the information for iOS 5. Matt’s process is simple:
1. Create or download a ringtone that consists of a few seconds of silence.
2. Open iTunes, connect your iPhone, and import this as an additional ringtone
3. Create a new iPhone contact named “Telemarketer”, which becomes a blacklist, and choose the new silence ringtone as the custom ringtone.
Every time a telemarketer or robo-caller calls, just add that phone number to this contact.
I also edited the new contact making the following changes:
4. Assign a vibration of None.
5. Assign a text tone of None.
6. Assign a custom contact image.
my telemarketer contact image
While this isn’t really blocking the caller, it is a good work around. Thanks Matt.
Your next short-term (or maybe a longer-term) gig requires a contract to help protect you. While even contracts may be broken, at least you can take the contract to court (when signed by both parties). According to the Freelancers Union, a contract establishes clear expectations and may help you get paid if your client decides to hold out on their end of the deal. With high unemployment and the increased use of temporary workers by companies, a contract is vital. Fortunately, the Freelancers Union has a Contract Creator to help with this process. I’m not a lawyer, so I always consult with an appropriate attorney when dealing with the intricacies of the law, and you should too.
GrrCON (pronounced “Grrrr Con”) will run on September 16th, from 7am to 7pm, at DeVos Place in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan, September 16th, 2011.
Today I was reminded of Mattie Stepanek’s inner strength and global mission. While I never met this boy, my introduction to him on a television program and through his writings, I feel that he was here on Earth for a great purpose. For me, Mattie’s legacy is a reminder that I should do more to pass on a message of hope and peace. Mattie was a giant person and his message lives on through me.
I support people with varying levels of technology smarts at work. And I get it, technology is a tool and some people need to use it more than others to get their work done. Technology is also for entertainment and people will use technology depending on their need or comfort level with it. Well at home, my technology support revolves around my family and whether at work or home it feels good when I get technology right. In this case it was the Apple iPad. My wife and I already use Apple iPhones for communication and a whole lot more. I’m not a Apple Addict, but it seemed like a good idea at the time to get iPhones and I don’t regret the decision despite some issues with AT&T’s coverage in rural areas. (listening AT&T?) In fact, my wife even mentioned that the iPhone was one of the best technology purchases that I made for her. Frankly, I would now have another WinMo phone if there was one available at the time that was competitive in the market the time, but I’m getting off topic. Well, after a few months I finally asked how the iPad was working out because there had not been the usual gripes and groans as with other technology. The response was “okay”. Mmm, I’m thinking what is wrong now? So, I probed some more, what about internet access, e-mail, apps? Same response, things were working fine and she is able to fit the iPad into her (rather large) purses. This response was not the same as when she had used the shared laptop. Granted, I like to change operating systems and applications versions on a whim, but she was a good sport and test subject. What is came down to is that the iPad tablet is all that she needed, and combined with her iPhone and MobileMe synchronization, it was the perfect combination for her and me. Maintaining the iPad is too simple and now I’m free to tinker to my hearts content on the laptop. Although now I no longer have my best test subject. Oh well, it just feels good when I’m able to get the right technology solution for someone, especially the wife.
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