Free Computer Repair? Really !

A few years ago, I had a friend who had a FBI virus, it locks people's computers than ask them for $500 which supposedly is a fine. but the thing is the real FBI will be coming at their doors and not issue a fine on the internet. It took me 1/2 day to take care of the FBI virus, by taking the batteries out of the computer, then putting them back, press the power button then I kept pressing the F8 button until it was in safe mode. 

In safe mode I place the computer in System Restore which sets a computer to an earlier time when it did not have the virus, but however the updates would be old, so were the updates from the anti-virus. So I updated them.

Sometimes you can try restarting your computer, see if it will still work, or we might have no choice but fix it ourselves by going to another computer to see how to fix the damaged computer. That's would probably happen in a repair shop, people using another computer looking for answers to fix it. We could do that ourselves.

Another friend said his files kept disappearing, that was because that friend did not keep with the updates on both his computer and the anti-virus, after updated, I ran a full scan on the anti-virus, and it had found 137 viruses.

Any more computers like Windows 10 and on up, do the updating and scanning on their own, and a person is still able to work on hers/his computer.

If you bought a Windows 10 lately, you would notice that they may have a free trial on a third-party anti-virus, once the trial ends you can pay for the anti-viruses or uninstall the third-party anti-virus. Windows 10 on up have their own free antivirus built in the machine,

 Once a person uninstalls the third-party antivirus, the computer will ask if you want to start Windows Defender click yes but be sure your third-party anti-virus is uninstalled first. Why pay for an antivirus when you don't have to? Unless, of course, you own a big business and want more security, however, the anti-virus that came installed on windows is good enough for homes, or small businesses. (end)

Rotoscoping

 

When Max Fleischer saw animation from his studio, he felt there was something wrong with it.What was wrong is that the animation did not look realistic, so he invented and even patented "Rotoscoping". Rotoscoping is a method where they filmed real people live actions and their actions were trace on paper, one frame film of movie film at a time. The cartoon characters were drawn over the bodies. Once the patent had ended, Walt Disney and other studios followed suit.

Later, computers came into play, for example artist did not have to trace the paper drawings on celluloids anymore with a felt pen; If they're doing cell work, they simply feed the drawings into a computer and the computer automatically prints them  out on transparent celluloids.

Now, anymore, all a person has to do is press a button on a computer and change live people into cartoons, they can even make a cartoon movie that way;  Even so it will still need refinement, like shadowing for example.  In the video below by Ah-Ha they did use rotoscoping, except they even had traced the regular people's faces and bodies as well then incorporate them  in their music video. If you have Photoshop, you may have this function.

                                                         click here for Ah-Ha music video

This time below is a rotoscoped Superman cartoon from the 1940's. At that time Superman couldn't fly but just leap tall building because of earth's lesser gravity. this was alright in the comics, but in an animated cartoon it looks silly and was time wasting, so Max Fleischer studios called National Periodical (they weren't known as DC yet) and ask them if they could make Superman fly and it was granted. Note: DC means Detective Comics.

                                                               click here for Secret Agent

Finally, another Max Fleischer cartoon below Popeye and the magical dog Eugene. My favorite part personally is when Eugene sticks his head out from under the bed and barks "JEEP JEEP !" yeah, it's cute.

                                                             click here for Eugene The Jeep

                                                                        Finis

My Bed A Boat

 

I always wanted to thank Linda (my former babysitter) teaching me how to swim. I used to live in Columbus, Ohio and during the summer, when I was teenager, I usually went to Olympic swimming pool. Olympic was just the name, and it had nothing to do with the Olympics, After I  had paid my fee to get in, I usually stayed almost all day,

When I got home, I did a few chores, then went to bed, and yes, I always had felt the up and down sensation, like if I was still in the water, I had pretended my bed was a boat, floating on water, looking up at the starry night sky, and hoping it will continue during dream land when I was finally lulled to sleep.

Sometimes when people have trouble sleeping, the lullabies they may have heard may still help. In fact, Olivia Newton-John made a lullaby music album in the 1980's for adults.

 The song Lullaby is in the public domain. However, that doesn't mean you can take Olivia's lullaby song, make copies of it, and sell them. You still will have to pay Olivia Newton-John royalties, but a person still can sing the lyrics herself/himself and sell those.   

Below is a video titled Rock and Roll Lullaby by B.J Thomas. Note: Mama-child is a mother that grew up without a father:

                                         Click here for R & R Lullaby

Yes, other genres of music may lull you to sleep, below is a German song "The Next Dance" sung by Andrea Jurgens (Yo-gins). Remember the German "J' sounds like our "Y" I always liked to listen to her voice. Note: Liebe (lee-ba) means love:

                                         click here for "The Next Dance"

       

Figuring kilowatt hours on appliances

 It's hot and you're wondering how much power your appliances consumes, especially window air conditioners. It's really a simple math formula really.

First: Find out the wattage* of your appliance(s), let's use a 500-watt air conditioner for example. As stated, the air conditioner uses 500 watts.

Second: Enter the number of hours you're planning to use the air conditioner. Let's use 24 hours. so far, we have (500*24)

Third:  Let's figure the kilowatt hours by dividing (500*24) by 1000. (500*24)/1000 which equals 12 kilowatt hours.

Fourth: Find your electric rate on your bill, let's say it states something like .049129777 yes you can use all the digits, if you want, but it will be much simpler to round it off from .04912777 to .05. your electric rate may be higher or lower, adjust accordingly.

When you multiply .05 to 12 the answer is: .60 or 60 cents a day, to figure monthly simply multiply the number of days in the month, if it's 31 days then multiply .60   by 31 (note the decimal point before the 6) the result is: $18.60 meaning since it is less $20 just keep it on, and let it ride. No sense in suffering. Let's breathe

Now if one has two 500-watt air conditioners, one for example in the living room and the other in a bedroom and both are on, then the cost per day is $1.20 or $37.20 in a 31-day month.

Now there are window conditioners that have a delay button, meaning you can program the conditioner to come on at a later time. For example: If you work 9 to 5, you can program the air conditioners to come on at 4 PM, and when you get home, it'll be cool in your rooms(s).

*NOTE: IF YOU CANNOT FIND THE WATTAGE ON YOUR APPLIANCE, LOOK FOR THE AMPS AND MULTIPLY THAT BY THE NUMBER OF VOLTAGE IT USES W=VA, THE ANSWER WILL BE A BALLPARK FIGURE, IT MAY BE LESS THAN THAT. 

ALSO NOTICE IF THE APPLIANCES ARE NOT ON, IT STILL USES ELECTRICITY, BUT JUST A TICKLE CURRENT. FOR EXAMPLE; A SMART TV STILL USES TICKLE CURRENT ELECTRICITY AT A  COST OF 5 CENTS A DAY. AS FOR DEEP FREEZERS AND REFRIGERATORS, THERE IS NO CHOICE BUT LEAVE THEM PLUG IN. WHILE IT KICKS ON AND OFF, IN THE OLD DAYS IT WAS $20 A MONTH, ENEGRY SAVING ONES WILL USE LESS THAN THAT PER MONTH (end)

Kindness Always

 Somewhere in the 1980's a black neighbor lady has had asked me if she can use my phone to call her mom, who  lived in another state. She did not have a phone of her own ,it was Thanksgiving day, but the weather was bad and the sheriff had closed all the roads. She usually visits her mom in that other state, but couldn't that time.

There were no cellphones in the 1980's or the companies probably were working on them. In the 1980's there were only land lines, I  gave the lady permission to use my phone to call her mom,  I also told her not to worry about to paying me back, also told her I get bonus checks from work during the holidays .Understand Ly she was on the phone for one hour, but I did not mind. She said "thank you for letting me use your phone" and went back home.

If  that lady needed to use my phone again it will be always be granted. When people regardless of race, peaceful religion beliefs or sexual orientation  need help, and if I am able then I will always oblige.

In the later years, I have help people with their computer problems, if a man lives alone they just say  "thank you" and I just go home, however if the man is married, or has a girlfriend they usually call me in a few days, to invite me for dinner, it is usually the wives' or girlfriends' idea,just to say "thank you" since I did not charge them, and yes I went to their dinners, it is and was the polite thing to do.

At a grocery store after I paid for my groceries . A lady and I believe her 5 year old daughter was behind me, she had enough money to pay for most of her groceries except she had no money left, to buy asthma inhalers for her daughter *, I told the grocery clerk and the lady "Hold on, I'll pay for it and gave her $20" and I told her that her daughter's life is worth more than $20, much more, Now, if I was unable to do this, I am very sure other people, at the store would pitch in to help. That's what people should always do, is to help each other, if they are able, or ask for help, never be afraid to ask for help. * some grocery stores have built-in pharmacies.

                                See also My Good Deeds click line below:

                                 Click here for My Good Deeds

Jacksonville Illinois Utility Scam Afoot.

 Recently I got at least 10 calls saying they're mine utility company, and I over paid them by $50. How can I? I am on the equalizer and pay the same amount each month, not only that they said my utility bill will be cut by 35%.  I was planning to display the 10 phone numbers of this scam, but I believe they are using burner (throw away) phones.

If a utility company does owe you money, they will not call, but simply credit your account. Please, be careful out there. As for me I like to scam scammers, I even sent a scammer's phone number,said it was my own, to another scammer.

Easter And Days

 It's the middle of March and our sun is at the Tropic of Cancer, or we could say that the sun entered the sign of Cancer, indicating that it is the first day of Spring. The first full moon on a Sunday after Spring is Easter. Jesus died during a full moon on Friday the 13th giving rise to the Friday The 13th superstitions, since it's a full moon then the moon has to be in the opposite sign of Capicorn (Goat's horn) *.The full moon is always 180 degrees apart from the sun.

July was named after Julius Caesar, and August was named after Augustus Caesar. originally August only had 30 days, but Augustus took one day from February which had 29 days and made February 28 days, and August 31 days. He wanted the same number of days in his month as his brother.

Speaking of the moon let's take one letter from" moon" making it" mon " and add a "th" or "month' the moon goes around the earth in about 28 1/2 days, almost a month.

How to tell if a year is a leap year? It's simple really, if the last two digits of the year are a multiple of 4, then 4 can be divided in the year without a remainder meaning it's a leap year with 366 days rather than  the usual 365.

 A number can have over a billion digits, but if the last two digits are multiple of 4, then 4 can be divided into it evenly. .Yes,,2024, is a leap year because the last two digits are a multiple of 4..

Why do we have leap year, the earth goes around the sun in 365 1/4 days which is why we have leap years every 4 years.

June,April,November and Septemper all have 30 days, the rest except for February has 31 days.(end)

* The moon doesn't stay in the same sign all month, it changes signs in about every 2 1/2 days; After being in Capicorn for 2 1/2 days it will enter the sign of Aquarius.

                                                            The Easter Bunny

Oil Greed Through The Years

 I like to play chess, On my computer disk chess game I can set up the board any way I want. One day I decided what would happen if I took the two kings off the board, to my surprise the computer program still  calculated where the kings should be, I did not see my king but I still  saw the 'check' prompt popped up.

This makes me wonder, if the program can be use in war situations. Programming a computer where the Russian soldiers had been attacking, then have it to predict were they are most likely to attack next. Even the most mi mute details can help.

In 1969 to 1974 Richard Nixon was president, it was about oil way back then also, in fact Nixon was the one who started the 55 MPH speed limit, as well as de-valuing American money, by printing more money and have the value of gold go down.

 Back then the American money system was base on gold, but any more, money is money, because the government says it is. Yes, that was during the Vietnam war and this country has oil, gas and other resources.

2011 Another terror attack? Did Iran actually do anything? I remember watching the news and seeing Americans firing weapons in the desert, firing at what? Anyway they were attacking every 2 to 4 hours. 2,4,2,4,etc or 4,2,4,2. Yes Iran has oil and other resources . Again with the oil

Food for oil, where would the food come from?  I let you take a guess on that one.

So if WW3 does happen hide in a country that has no natural resources such as oil. Usually such wars are all about greed (end) 

Don't Get Scam

 

Scammers are getting cleverer these days, the best thing to do, of course, if you do not know the number personally don't answer it.

 On my landline answering machine I got a call from South Carolina, I don't know anyone in South Carolina, I heard the message "May, I talk to Stanley?", then it was" hello  hello" to me if someone does not leave a message ,of what they want, I don't consider it as important, and do not answer.

 The scam number was/is  *843-628-0176 . I Googled it, and they could not find any documents for that number, so I knew it had to be a scam. A real business would have documents of who they are.

Social Security, Medicate, Medicare, Mircosoft and IRS will never call, unless you call them first; They only communicate by sending letters.

 Even on television you see advertisements of Medicare Part C, I would be wary of that, mostly because most say "Don't wait, call now" What's the hurry?  Don't paid attention of such advertisements, most have crawls with fine prints with special conditions and saying they're not really part of the government.

Yes, phone numbers can be "spoof" to make sure if they did call;  call them and ask them if they did indeed call. not the number displayed, but the one in the original phone book. if you do not know the number, don't answer it especially if they do not leave a message on your answering machine.

One day I got a call saying the caller was a policeman and he was going to arrest me, I told him  "Good it will give me time to make my escape". Dumb idiot.

*843-628-0176 is a robot call, when I find scams  I tell other people about it across all my medias. See scam videos below the phone numbers are displayed because they're scam numbers anyway, these 5 short videos may be good for a few laughs :) -end.

The Dog Gone Phenomenon

                               The Dog Gone Phenomenon, boy what a mouth full! 

Last week I dreamt that I was in my old parent's house , inside the house was my friends' dog name of Peppi who was in a cage, it barks a couple of times then I woke up. The next day I got the news that my friends' dog Peppi had died of natural causes. Now don't feel too sad, the dog was 15+ years old. 15 years is the usual life span for a dog.

In the 1980's I dreamt my neighbor's kids was playing with rocks, and in this dream the kids pick up a boulder and was going to drop it on my dog's head before seeing the dared deed I woke up. Sure enough, three days later, I had had seen my neighbor's kids playing with rocks and was about to pick up a boulder, I told them to stay out of my yard from now on, and then told them, to play in the park, which was in the same general area. My female dog's name was Buddy, who lived for an unusual 19 years.

Again, in the 1980's when I had bronchitis, I tried to heal myself, until I got a dream of two men saying to me "Hey, buddy go see a doctor in which I did.

In 2003, I usually visit my dad on Wednesdays and Sundays, at the nursing home, but on February 10 Sunday at dinner, I saw my dad's eyes had tears in them. At that time, I thought he was thinking of our late mom. On February 12th, the nursing home called me and said my dad is dying. I guess two days ago someone told him he was going to die. My dad Homer was buried on Valentine's Day.

In the early 1960's yes, a dream again, I dreamt of a beautiful girl that I have never seen or met, and yet two weeks later there were people moving in next door, and yes one of their daughters was the beautiful girl that  was in my dream. Her name was Gloria and she and the neighbors became good friends to us, my family and me.

Now these warnings of predictions don't always have to be dreams; Did you ever light a match for a cigarette or cigar and suddenly the match goes out, then you try again and again the match goes out, you look around and find out the wind is calm and nothing blowing. What's going on? Maybe it's your body trying to tell you something, maybe it's your body saying, "I don't want that crap in my body!"

Maybe you have dreamt that your heart has stop beating, it may mean nothing, after all it is just a dream, but still it won't hurt to have it checked out.

Oh yes, sometimes a person might dream of what lottery numbers to play, I did, but the those dream numbers were never called, but it could have, who knows?

Cutting The Cord

 

As you know tv-cable is getting too expensive, so some people decide to cancel their cable and simply put up a digital antenna, but don't be fooled, when it says HD and picks up stations 200 miles away, the thing is because the earth is curved, it will only pick up stations that are only less than 75 miles away regardless of what it says on the box.

Another thing, an old antenna from the 50's and 60's era will work, as well picking up digital signals;  Like the Radio Shack's Channel Master antenna. Just connect the antenna to your digital tv, set your selector switch (cable/air) to 'air' or 'antenna' and simply scan for channels.

Of course, if you have cable internet, you may not need to put up an outside antenna, simply get a  2-way splitter and connect the cable to the input in, then output the other two cables, one to your router and the other to your digital TV, but this time set your (cable/air) selector switch to' cable' and scan for channels, You WILL NOT  get any basic cable stations, just broadcast stations which is free, to the public anyway, so it is  not illegal.Try it to see if  it works.

Another way is getting a Roku unit*, then search for the major 'broadcast' networks, you probably won't be able to watch your programs, on the day they run; But the next day, you can still watch your favorite show On Demand.

 On the Pluto station on Roku, you can watch the old Mission Impossible series, or even Hawaii 5-0 There is even Tubi and similar sites that is like Netflix with commercials. Plus loads of free movies if you're willing to sit through the commercials. The Roku unit even has YouTube, which is free, and if you have Netflix a paid service, that is on there as well;  As well as other paid services, It's your choice. :) (end)

*NOTE; If you have both tv cable and cable internet and want to cancel your cable, the company may increase your internet payment, in this case, it is cheaper to keep both.If you can afford both then you can use your antenna and/or Roku as back-up.