Techy Mom's Blog

Keep Your Heart Healthy Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Alexandra, The Techy Mom) — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 03:23:00 +0000

This month I have had the pleasure of trying out two heart monitors thanks to a promotion I was asked to be a part of for American Heart Associations Heart Healthy month. I am also glad to post that I am going to give away two of the Reebok-Sportlinewatches below designed to keep track of your heart along with other vitals. The ultimate goal of these Reebok-Sportline watches is to raise awareness about the benefits you receive by exercising while using a heart rate monitor.

MSRP varies

Age, Gender and Heart Disease

- Many people mistakenly think of heart disease and stroke as conditions that only affect older adults. However, a large number of younger people suffer heart attacks and strokes. More than 150,000 heart disease and stroke deaths every year are among people younger than 65.
- Heart disease is the leading cause of death for American women, killing nearly 422,000 each year. Following a heart attack, approximately 1 in 4 women will die within the first year, compared to 1 in 5 men.
- More statistics can be found at the Million Hearts Website, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

The Reebok-Sportline Watches I Reviewed

The Reebok-Sportline CARDIO 660 is a watch that connects to a strap around your chest. The strap helps keep track of your heart rate and the watch records it. The watch also keeps track of your steps, distance, time and calculates your calories.

Reebook Heart Rate Monitor without a Chest Strap is a watch that has a metal ring around the time area. This metal ring takes your heart rate when you put your finger on the corner. You can take your heart rate at any time. The watch also keeps track of your steps, distance, time and calculates your calories and speed.

The Reebok-Sportline Heart Monitor Watch I Liked Best

I have really enjoyed using both watches since I have never used a heart rate monitor before in any of my training for triathlons. I can now be sure that I am pushing myself enough while training. This has been especially helpful since my next race is just four weeks away and the weather has been really lousy to get out and bike. So I do most of my training on a spin bike during a class or on my bike trainer.

I like both devices but the Reebook Heart Rate Monitor without a Chest Strap is my favorite since I do not have to strap it around my chest. It was a little tricky at first to get the hang of how to use this watch, since you have to put your finger on the metal part for it to read your heart rate. However, it is worth the little extra effort since I love how comfortable it is, especially, when I swim.

If you are interested in learning more about triathlons and learning how this out of shape mom became a triathlete you can visit my trisportsmom.blogspot.com.

If you are interested in winning a Reebok-Sportline watches please visit my trisportsmom twitter account and look out for the tweet that states: "The 2nd and 32nd person that retweets this post will get one of these two #hearthealthy watches." If you are the 3rd or 32nd person I will contact you via Twitter with more information if you win. ONLY ONE RETWEET PER ACCOUNT WILL COUNT.

Why Use Heart Rate Monitors

The American Heart Association says, "Your target heart rate helps you hit the bull’s eye. “We don’t want people to over-exercise, and the other extreme is not getting enough exercise,” says Gerald Fletcher, M.D., a cardiologist and professor in the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Jacksonville, Fla." Heart rate monitors help you see if you are in the right zone. The American Heart Association provides this chart to help you see if you are on target. "The table shows estimated target heart rates for different ages. In the age category closest to yours, read across to find your target heart rate. Your maximum heart rate is about 220 minus your age. The figures are averages, so use them as general guidelines."

Age	Target HR Zone 50-85%	Average Maximum Heart Rate, 100%
20 years	100-170 beats per minute	200 beats per minute
30 years	95-162 beats per minute	190 beats per minute
35 years	93-157 beats per minute	185 beats per minute
40 years	90-153 beats per minute	180 beats per minute
45 years	88-149 beats per minute	175 beats per minute
50 years	85-145 beats per minute	170 beats per minute
55 years	83-140 beats per minute	165 beats per minute
60 years	80-136 beats per minute	160 beats per minute
65 years	78-132 beats per minute	155 beats per minute
70 years	75-128 beats per minute	150 beats per minute

The American Heart Association also states: "If your target heart rate is too high, you’re straining. So slow down. If it’s too low, and the intensity feels “light” or “moderate/brisk,” push yourself to exercise a little harder. During the first few weeks of working out, aim for the lowest part of your target zone (50 percent). Then, gradually build up to the higher part (85 percent). After six months or more, you may be able to exercise comfortably at up to 85 percent of your maximum heart rate. If you have a heart condition or under cardiac rehab talk to a health care professional about what exercises you can engage in."

Heart Healthy Resources

Heart Attack Risk Calculator - Discover your 10-year risk of heart attack or dying from coronary heart disease and what you can do about it.

The heart healthiness of “real” physical fitness
Be One in a Million Hearts

Remembering Steve Jobs

noreply@blogger.com (Alexandra, The Techy Mom) — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 02:01:00 +0000

In 1993 I was hired by a school to work and teach in a lab full of MAC LC's with no hard drives. My server was a MAC SE. I actually had two. I have to tell you that because the rest of my story needs you not to worry about one of my SE servers.

At 21, and with not much else to do, I decided I needed to learn the ins and outs of this MAC SE and the best way to do that was to crash one. Yes, I said crashing one and on purpose. Remember I had one that worked and ran my network so the other one was just a back up. I also have to mentioned I was armed with great forces, the APPLE help desk guys. I had them at hello. Yes, I called them at all times of the day to pick their brains dry of everything they knew about the MAC SE. You see back then the guys at the APPLE helpdesk would do that for you...they would sit with you for hours and help you for as long as you needed. Now remember I said this was 1993 and I couldn't just sign up for a class to learn how to uncrash a purposefully crashed MAC SE. This faithful little MAC SE became my classroom. It opened doors to a whole new way of looking at computers. Sure I had been playing with UNIX, experimenting on the web... as the birth of the WWW was occuring, programming old languages but nothing intreged me as much as learning how to use this little SE. Thanks to it's easy to rebuild system I became obsessed with learning all about it. I learned it so well that by the time I rebuilt it I could have told you by memory every file in the systems folder. Now my thoughts might still be controversial, to WINDOWS fans that is, but I recognized then that this little SE had a superior system. The style, ease of use, how easy I could crash it and fix it again it was proof enough for me. I had fallen in love with my little MAC SE. I wished everyone would see what I saw in my little SE. I tried to convince everyone but only a few listened. Until one day, about 20 years later, they brought out the iPhones. People finally seemed to see how wonderful Apple products were but isn't it to bad it had taken 20 years?

I'll never forget my little MAC SE it will always hold a special spot in my heart. It was the birth of something wonderful for me. Now here I am 20 years later and I am still teaching computers. I have Steve Jobs and the founding developers of APPLE who provided me with a wonderful little machine that made sense. A machine that was easy enough to crash and rebuild because it was so intuative. I am thankful for the developers and Steve Jobs for being so innovative in their creations. Today I remember Steve Jobs with this video, it pretty much sums it all up for me too. Rest in peace Steve Jobs. The world and I have so much to thank you for.

I Gotta Share!

noreply@blogger.com (Alexandra, The Techy Mom) — Thu, 26 May 2011 22:49:00 +0000

"At the onstage introduction of Twirlr, a new social-sharing platform, someone forgets to silence their cell phone. And then ... this happens.... " Read the full article on TED.

Every Mother Counts - Happy Mother's Day

noreply@blogger.com (Alexandra, The Techy Mom) — Sun, 08 May 2011 15:36:00 +0000

To all the wonderful mothers out there HAPPY MOTHER's Day! The world would not be the same without you.

I am posting a very sweet video with a very good cause this Mother's Day. Below I have re-posted what the Jubilee Project is and I hope that you will help contribute to their cause by passing along this post or re-posting it on your blogs. Every view helps a mom.

The Jubilee Project made this video to honor moms around the world because we were inspired by the love and care we received from our own moms.

Moms mean a lot to all of us. Yet, every year 7 million women are injured and 350,000 women die from complications due to childbirth. These deaths, however, are preventable by providing basic maternal health care.

For every view that we get on this video, Jubilee Project sponsors will donate a penny to Every Mother Counts, an organization dedicated to improving maternal health in developing countries. Together, let's help build a world where children won't have to live without moms.

You can help moms in a few ways:

1. Share this video with your friends and of course your mom to let her know how much she means to you.

2. Become a sponsor of the video and pledge to donate a penny per view to Every Mother Counts. Email project.jubilee@gmail.com to sign up.

3. Visit Every Mother Counts to learn more about this issue and see how you can get involved: http://www.everymothercounts.org

*This video was awarded "Best Video" for Acumen Fund's Search for the Obvious "Moms Matter" Challenge. To see other submissions and learn more about maternal health, go to http://searchfortheobvious.com/savemoms

MUSIC CREDITS
"Untitled 7" by Fly Upright Kite
myspace.com/flyuprightkite

"Stars Falling Down" by Kina Grannis
kinagrannis.com/

***
The Jubilee Project makes videos for a good cause. See more of our videos and follow us!
http://www.youtube.com/jubileeproject
http://www.jubileeproject.org
http://www.facebook.com/jubileeproject
http://www.twitter.com/jubileeproject

50 Year Anniversary of Space Flight

noreply@blogger.com (Alexandra, The Techy Mom) — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 02:08:00 +0000

Today is Yuri Gagarin's anniversary of his first flight in space. This video takes you on Yuri Gagarin's journey and shows you video of what Yuri saw on his first orbit in space 50 years ago. Watching the video made me think of how fast space exploration has evolved. Especially since my kids and I watched one of the last flights of the space shuttle Endeavour and night flight of the Discovery. We were told at the NASA space museum, after the launch, that the next space shuttles will be run by private companies. Since private companies will own them they said people like me and you will soon be able to pay to fly into space in them. It is just amazing how far we have come in just 50 years since Yuri's first flight into space.

The video was also a wonderful history lesson for my boys. They loved listening to Yuri speak Russian while we took turns reading the subtitles. The boys also enjoyed the first video of the earth from space taken through his small spaceship window. His remarks and breathtaking views moved us all. We all commented how we could feel his excitement as he talked us through what he was seeing for the first time in human history. I hope you enjoy the video of Yuri's incredible space journey, as much as we did.

You can read more about Yuri Gagarin's mission on Fox News' article on his flight.

Repurpose An Old Phone With Android OS

noreply@blogger.com (Alexandra, The Techy Mom) — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 00:43:00 +0000

This video by one of my favorite techy how to video makers, Tinkernut's, gives you step by step instructions on how to repurpose and old HTC phone by adding Android OS with just a few steps. After you have added the Android OS it also allows you to dual boot both the Windows operating system and Android.
Tinkernut's also provides a few helpful links:

NOTE- If your phone isn’t listed, just google your phone adding “android” after it.
HTC Touch – http://sourceforge.net/apps/trac/androidhtc/
iPhone – http://www.redmondpie.com/install-android-on-iphone-3g-2g-with-iphodroid
Samsung i900, i910, i780, i907- http://andromnia.net/wiki/home

Fully Functional Angry Birds Birthday Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Alexandra, The Techy Mom) — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 04:15:00 +0000

How many birthday boys, girls and maybe a few adults have ever wished to play with their cake? Well, thanks to this very clever dad you can now have your cake and play with it too. This video will show you how to make a fully functional Angry Birds birthday cake. Now the only catch will be to keep from eating the cute yummy birds before you launch them on the catapult.

Those of you who do not know Angry Birds is a new popular game app for mobile, PC and other gaming devices. In the game you launch angry birds into block structures to get to the green pigs who stole the Bird's eggs. Gosh that sounds violent! Most agree that it is a lot more fun to play with than it sounds but you can download it and see for yourself. There is a free app version and a paid one so be sure to look for the free one first. It has plenty of levels for beginners or those who are just curious to see how truly Angry the Birds are.

The six year old's dad who made the cake writes, "It's become a family tradition that I make increasingly ridiculous birthday cakes for my kids each year. So with my little boy Ben turning 6-years-old over the weekend, and appreciating his love of Angry Birds, I thought I'd have a shot a making him a playable Angry Birds birthday cake with working catapult and iced birds as ammunition."

For making a super cake the techy mom sends this clever dad a you're the boss, cake boss that is. ; )

Super Bowl XLV Commercials - Get Some Sneak Peaks

noreply@blogger.com (Alexandra, The Techy Mom) — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 03:36:00 +0000

Shhh! Don't tell anyone but one of the main reasons we love the Super Bowl is because of the great commercials. Okay, we love the Steelers too but we just can't wait to watch the commercials every year. Last year we even entered the Crash The Super Bowl Doritos commecial contest with my then 6 year old son and some high school students. After watching this year's Dorito commercials all my son had to say was, "Next year watch out we will be back with the revenge of the Dachshund!" Our new puppy is a Dachshund and we can always count on him to use his dog mightiness like the pug in the new Doritos commercial to conquer all of his obstacles. This year my family and I are all cheering for the "Pug Attack" to win the million dollars from Crash The Super Bowl Doritos contest on Sunday.

As of right now (2 days before the Super Bowl) here are my top three Super Bowl XLV commercials...

#1 Volkswagen® Commercial: The Force
This video is spreading like wildfire it had over 7 million views on 2-4-11 @ 10:00 PM

#2 DORITOS® - Pug Attack -- Crash the Super Bowl 2011 Finalist
This video had 131,917 views on 2-4-11 @ 9:38PM

#3 DORITOS® - Best Part -- Crash the Super Bowl 2011 Finalist
This video had 69,164 views on 2-4-11 @ 9:20PM

Read more about the sneak peaks of Superbowl XLV commercials on CNN.

I also had to include the videos of babies in the hospitals of Green Bay and Pittsburg. The things we do for football!

Newborns Wrapped in Terrible Towels in Pittsburg, PA

Newborns with tiny Cheeseheads in Green Bay, WI

Do you have a favorite Super Bowl commercial?

Restaurant.com is Dishing it Out Again (Coupon Codes)!

noreply@blogger.com (Alexandra, The Techy Mom) — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 02:35:00 +0000

Most $25 Restaurant.com Gift Certificates are only $3.00. Use code FORK at checkout now through 3/8/11

What is Restaurant.com?

Restaurant.com allows you to find deals at select neighborhood restaurants all over the United States and internationally. According to the Restaurant.com website, they, "... serve as the community matchmaker, introducing great restaurants to great people. From appetizers to dessert, from wine to dinner."

How does their service work?

You can go to their website Restaurant.com and watch a quick one minute overview video on how their service works.

Easy 3 Step Process

Usually one of the many deals you can get from Restaurant.com is buying a $25 certificate for $10 through an easy 3 step process. But use the above coupon code and save even more!

Step 1 - Find a Restaurant

Step 2 - Purchase certificate

Step 3 - Print Certificate

Step 4 - Visit the restaurant and turn in your gift certificate when you pay. They will deduct the amount of your gift certificate off the bill. Hard to believe, but we have used restaurant.com dining certificates for years and when you use it in a fine dinning restaurant it is so worth it.

Looking for a GREAT restaurant in South Atlanta?

We recently went to Andre's Off the Square in Newnan, Georgia and loved it!

The restrictions to Andre's off the Square were as follows:

Spend a minimum $50 in food including 2 entrees
Excludes alcohol
18% gratuity added before discount
Dinner only
Limit 1 Restaurant.com certificate per table

Andre's Off the Square is very nice and fancy. The chef/owner comes out and greets you. I recommend the fish if you ever make it to Andre's Off the Square. The chef did an outstanding job with the Tilapia I ordered.

Google's Tech Support Care Package

noreply@blogger.com (Alexandra, The Techy Mom) — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 19:33:00 +0000

Dear Google Staff,

Your new Tech Support videos site is the most amazing of holiday gifts and just in time for everyone who is getting a new computer for Christmas. It truly is the gift that will keep on giving for years to come. Teach Parents Tech, is an incredible tool for those who want to learn or improve their computer skills. Best of all your Tech Support videos are clear and easy to follow so I have included links to them below. I also love the way you have setup the Teach Parents Tech site as a letter you can send to your parents, very clever. Plus, there is something for everyone like how to create a strong password, take a screenshot, make calls from your computer, convert currency, transfer files between computers and the handy use Google as a calculator.

Best Regards,
Alex, The Techy Mom

PS: I'm sending my Tech Support Care Package to my mom immediately, including your video below, on how to take a screen shot, since screenshots help me see the area she is stuck on.

Basics:

World Wide Web

Communications

Media

Finding Information

My Hip Merry Christmas Facebook Profile Hack

noreply@blogger.com (Alexandra, The Techy Mom) — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 21:09:00 +0000

I finally did it! It took me a minute to figure it out but it looks super! I made my profile on Facebook just like the other hip new profiles I posted about yesterday. I scratched the idea of doing one that represented all my passions and instead did a Merry Christmas themed one.

I found a cool tool called FB Crop to help make the images exactly the size you need. The program will even upload them for you. I don't like using third party software on my personal FB account but this one was worth the risk. Kudos to the developers of the program especially for putting it together so quickly. After all the new release of Facebook's Profile was barely two weeks ago.

This is a video tutorial on how to do it by hand but honestly if you have a ton of profile pictures like I do it is much easier to do it with the FB Crop. You will have to prioritize your profile pictures so they come out on top of the other pictures you have posted of you on FB.

Enjoy and Happy Holidays!

Facebook's Hip New Profiles

noreply@blogger.com (Alexandra, The Techy Mom) — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 18:42:00 +0000

I found out through Mashable and Reface that there is a new trend on Facebook's profiles. Looks like people are getting very creative with the new look Facebook has provided. So I've been gathering ideas to come up with one for my Facebook Profile. I would like it to represent all my blogs and passions: technology & being a mom, food, gardening, and running triathlons. I've got my thinking and creative cap on but it's quite the challenge. Reface states that to add this effect to your Facebook profile your picture dimensions need to be, "Photostream pictures: 97 by 68 pixels. Profile Picture: 180 by (max) 540 pixels."

In the meantime I thought I would share a few of my favorite ones.

More cool looks on Facebook's Awesome Profile Hacks. For help editing each section of your Facebook profile, click here.

Facebook's New Facelift

noreply@blogger.com (Alexandra, The Techy Mom) — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 04:43:00 +0000

Today, Dec. 5, 2010, Mark Zuckerberg announced that as of Monday, Dec. 6, the company will start rolling out a new layout for Facebook site on every user's profile page. Who is Mark Zuckerberg you ask? He is the twenty-something entrepreneur who co-founded the Facebook with his Harvard classmates while in college. He is also 24% shareholder of Facebook. So Facebook will begin unveiling a new look and these are three of the features you can expect to see.

Your Story As Your Wall

The first thing people will see when they you visit your FB account is a new look on your wall. Your biography will be right up top with the details you choose to put on there. The idea is that you will have your story as your wall and when someone visits your wall they will get to know who you are. You will also have pictures of you right under your biography.

Along with this new feature you can expect to see a new area on the left that will list all the important people in your life like your family and closest friends.

Another new feature is called “the friendship page.” The idea is that FB will show you everything you and your friend have in common on Facebook have. In a 60 Minutes interview, Zuckerberg states that, "You can see all the things that you have in common with that person. And it gives you this amazing connection with that person in a way that the current version of the profile that we have today just doesn't do."

For more on Facebook's facelift watch the 60 minutes CBS interview with Mark Zuckerberg where he announces all the new nips and tucks. I personally do not like when they change FB's layout but it is here, like it or not. How do you feel about these Facebook "enhancements"?

Printing From Your iPhone, Droid or Cell Phone

noreply@blogger.com (Alexandra, The Techy Mom) — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 18:21:00 +0000

I learned from this video tutorial made by Tinkernuts that getting your mobile device to print is not an easy task. When I first watched this video my husband laughed because my reaction was, "Okay then?!" But my techy mind likes a puzzle so I couldn't stop thinking about it and I am giving it a try. However, it also has me thinking that printing from a mobile device has to get better. Anyone making an APP for printing on an iPhone or Droid anytime soon?

In the meantime for those of you who are not intimidated by the complicated techy lesson in this video this is how you can print from your iPhone, Droid or mobile device. Thanks Tinkernuts, you never seize to amaze me with your cool techy finds.

Free Wi-Fi on Delta, Virgin Atlantic and Air Tran for the Holidays

noreply@blogger.com (Alexandra, The Techy Mom) — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 03:32:00 +0000

I was just reading over at eWeek (the 11/11/2010 edition) that Google is teaming up with Delta, Virgin Atlantic and Air Tran to give free in-flight Wi-Fi during the holidays on every domestic flight. This is just in time for the big travel week that is starting next week during Thanksgiving. This deal will start on November 20, 2010 and go through to January 2, 2011. If you are flying Delta, Virgin Atlantic or Air Tran airlines and want to hop on to the free wi-fi, just search for the Gogo Inflight Network to connect your Wi-Fi enabled laptop or mobile device during your flight.

Passengers enjoy free Wi-Fi for the holidays

Cheap Flight Ticket sale on Flightnetwork.com Search Today

All About Peanut Butter, YUM!

noreply@blogger.com (Alexandra, The Techy Mom) — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 01:29:00 +0000

Growing up in Central America I had never tasted peanut butter until we came to United States. This is ironic because according to the infographic below, peanut butter originated in Central America. Go figure it would become a favorite for me and my boys. This infographic has some really interesting information about this delectable little legume, aka as a peanut.

I was especially happy to read all these interesting facts about how peanut butter helps your body by providing it with:

"Vitamin B3 helps the body convert food into fuel and metabolizes fats and protein." Which means it also helps reduce the risk of weight gain.
"Vitamin B9 helps to synthesize and repair DNA." Since it helps repair DNA it also helps boost your immune system and that's a big WOO HOO because it helps keep my kids from getting sick.

In the meantime, I am going to continue making PB & J's (jelly) or PB & H's (honey) for them two three times a week for their school lunches. We recently tried Peanut Butter & Co. Peanut Butter, The Bee's Knees and loved it! YUMMY! It quickly became a favorite in my house.

The Peanut Butter & Co. Cookbook: Recipes from the World's Nuttiest Sandwich Shop

Oh, but maybe now I'll try one of their delicious ideas like PB & tomatoes or PB & bacon. I think I'll skip the mayo one, but how do the other ones sound? I would love to hear how you eat your peanut butter sandwiches.

Infographic by Culinary Schools.org

UPS Special Halloween Delivery

noreply@blogger.com (Alexandra, The Techy Mom) — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 03:46:00 +0000

My seven year old decided he wanted to be a UPS delivery box as his costume for Halloween this year. For days before Halloween he created prototypes out of paper bags and sketches on little note cards. To help him with his idea we decided to visit our local UPS store. We ask for stickers to decorate his box. They kindly gave us a bunch for free and helped us pick out a box that was 18x18x18. It was so nice because they let us measure a few to see which one would fit him best. Once we had the box he came home and started to decorate it. These are the steps he used to create his Halloween costume delivery box:

1st: He drew big UPS letters on the box.

2nd: He asked me to help him carve out holes for his hands and the dots on the UPS letters for his eyes.

3rd: He asked me to cut off the bottom flaps of the box so he could scoot down to make it look like he was just a box being delivered.

4th. For his candy bag we ducted taped a plastic bag inside.

5th: He addressed the box to the Mr. & Mrs. Trick or Treat, Halloween Lane, Ghostown, GA 30111.

Once he had his box all figured out he requested his brother be the UPS delivery guy. He wanted him to deliver him to each trick or treat door. For his brother's outfit we got a brown jacket and pants. We printed a few UPS logos on our color printer, ducted taped them onto a hat, his jacket and we had an authentic looking UPS delivery man. The best part of all is the two outfits cost us a total of $4. Oh and we also decorated our golf cart with big UPS letters. As we drove down the street we really looked like we were delivering a UPS package.

Below is a video of our night. One neighbor even asked if there was a puppy in the box. When she reached down to see what was in her box my son popped up and she screamed. We were told over and over again it was the best costume all night. The boys had so much fun!

Funny Social Media News Report

noreply@blogger.com (Alexandra, The Techy Mom) — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 03:15:00 +0000

Not sure if this really aired on the news but it certainly made me laugh.

Blogger Buzz: Customize Your Blog’s Background With Your Own Ima...

noreply@blogger.com (Alexandra, The Techy Mom) — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 01:04:00 +0000

If you are blogger fan and user like I am this is a super post by Blogger Buzz.

Customize Your Blog’s Background With Your Own Image
Posted by Wongoo Lee, Software Engineer

We know that personalizing your blog is important. Although you can adjust templates, layouts, backgrounds and more with our Template Designer, you wanted more ways to make your blog completely unique.

Now you can use your own image as your blog background. Go to Design | Template Designer | Background, click on Background Image, and you’ll see the new “Upload image” option, which allows you to select and upload your image. There are a variety of options such as alignment, repeat, and scroll for how to display your new image.

If you need visuals on how to do this check out the how to images on the Blogger Buzz post.

Room to Read - International Literacy Day 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Alexandra, The Techy Mom) — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 00:44:00 +0000

Help Room to Read publish a new book for the children of South Africa

Did you know that 776 million people in the world can't celebrate September 8, International Literacy Day – because they can’t read or write? Room to Read wants to give every child reason to celebrate today and every day – and here’s how you can help:
Throughout the month of September, up to $25,000 in donations will be matched by the Aall Foundation, and the money raised will help Room to Read publish a wonderful new book for the children of South Africa.

What your investment will create

Room to Read’s Local Language Publishing team in South Africa is hard at work on a new book entitled “Unjani?” ("How are You?"). The book is written by Hillary Atkinson (originally in English and translated into Xhosa) and illustrated by select participants of an illustrators’ workshop in Cape Town sponsored by Room to Read and Learn to Earn, a skills training organization in economically challenged areas of South Africa.

"Unjani?" is aimed at emerging readers and teaches simple words which describe the different emotions expressed in pictures of children’s faces.

How you can help

”Unjani?” is almost complete but we need your help to print it and put it in the hands of children! Each dollar donated, up to $25,000, will be matched by the Aall Foundation. The total amount raised will fund the printing of 10,000 copies of the book, which will then find homes on the shelves of Room to Read libraries and inspire the imaginations of thousands of eager readers in South Africa.

The math is simple
$25 gift + $25 match = 10 copies of “Unjani”
$100 gift + $100 match = 40 copies of “Unjani”
$250 gift + $250 match = 100 copies of “Unjani”
$1000 gift + $1000 match = 400 copies of “Unjani” and MANY happy children

Thank you for your support and please help us spread the word throughout September via social media channels . “Unjani?” will be dedicated to you, our online followers and supporters, and we look forward to showing you what you produced and how it is benefiting the children of South Africa.

HELP FUND LITERACY MAKE A DONATION

More information at Room to Read - International Literacy Day 2010

New "Here You Have" Worm Delivers Unwanted Gift

noreply@blogger.com (Alexandra, The Techy Mom) — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 02:03:00 +0000

The McAfee Security Advice Center recently sent me this informarion and fortunately right before I opened an item just like it describes. Since then I have received various items like it. McAfee warns that it is a global mass mailing worm masquerading itself as a business message but links to malware.

McAfee Labs states that this new Internet worm dubbed "Here You Have" is streaming into worldwide inboxes, offering a dangerous payload. The worm, which travels via spam email with the subject line of "Here you have," or "Just for you," masquerades as an email with a link to a video or an attached document file. However, the email actually contains a link to a malicious program that can disable security software and send itself to all the contacts in the recipient's address book.

Corporations around the world were particularly affected by the worm on Thursday as it clogged up their email systems. Consumers could be affected as they go home and log onto their machines. For this reason, McAfee Labs has labeled the worm as a "medium" risk, and warns all computer users to delete any email with the "Here you have," or "Just for you," subject line.

Although the dangerous link has been taken down, neutralizing the threat, it can still spread through remote machines, mapped drives and removable media, Labs warns.

If you have an up-to-date and properly configured McAfee security software product then you are protected against this threat.

The Hook: You receive a spam email with the subject line "Here you have," or "Just for you," and a link or attachment that looks like it leads to a video or document file. It may appear that the email comes from someone you know.

The Methods: The email invites you to click on the link, and once you do it prompts you to download a file. This file is actually malware that disables the security software on your machine and sends itself to everyone listed as a contact in your address book.

The Dangers: Once you are infected, your computer has diminished security protection. Your machine is also being used to spam your friends and contacts. If you are on a corporate network, the network could be clogged as the worm works its way through address books.

Bottom Line: Do not click on the link in any email with the subject header "Here you have," or "Just for you," even if it appears to be from someone you know.

Tips to Avoid Becoming a Victim:

Never click on a link in a spam email or IM from someone you don't know. Be suspicious of strange emails from family or friends: their accounts may have been compromised.

Use comprehensive security software, like McAfee Internet Security software, to protect you from viruses, spam, and other Internet threats, and keep the software up-to-date. Save on McAfee Internet Security.

Set your operating system and browser to automatically apply updates

Ever Wonder How They Make An Operating System?

noreply@blogger.com (Alexandra, The Techy Mom) — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 02:32:00 +0000

This video is a bit techy but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to share. Especially since I am teaching how to build a computer and set up the operating system to my students this up coming week. Super interesting! The post states: "In this episode, gigafide shows you how to create our own operating system using the Assembly programming language."

Thanks Tinkernut!

Who's Watching You?

noreply@blogger.com (Alexandra, The Techy Mom) — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 04:06:00 +0000

Earlier this week I posted a tweet on how a hacker had managed to break into 171 million Facebook entries. The article states:

"Bowes created a torrent containing over 171 million entries with links to profiles that provide access to the names, addresses and phone numbers of 100 million users, one fifth of Facebook. Bowes accessed Facebook’s directory, which has the default dictum “Anyone can opt out of appearing here by changing their Search privacy settings.” Yeah, but should they have to?"

Today I came accross this great graphic that sums it all up. Take a look at how Facebook's security or lack of security has evolved in the last 5 years. The graphic states, "Unless you've changed your privacy security settings the whole world knows your business." The other bits of data in the graphic are also alarming.

Infographic byWordStream Internet Marketing

If you don't have your privacy settings for Facebook setup follow the steps below.

1. After login into your Facebook account go to Account on the far left side of your screen

2. Then go to Privacy Settings

3. Lastly set everything to Friends Only or a custom version of this setting depending on what you want others to see or not see.

Lastly, I don't know about you but maybe we all need to go back and read or watch 1984. I posted it below incase you need a refresher. Do you think using Facebook is worth it?

Did You Subscribe To Your BFF's Facebook Magazine Yet?

noreply@blogger.com (Alexandra, The Techy Mom) — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 17:06:00 +0000

What do you consider relaxing time as a parent?

Well, how does a comfy chair, a cup of your favorite tea, the remote control all to yourself, kids in bed, and flipping through your favorite Facebook friend's wall using your iPad, like a magazine sound? Now that's relaxing! Okay, maybe not for everyone but remember you are visiting the Techy Mom's Blog.

The Flipboard App, that everyone is going crazy over, allows you to read your favorite sites like a magazine on your iPad. It makes reading all your regularly visited sites like you are hanging out reading your favorite book. No longer do you have to struggle or strain your back while you are catching up on your social media sites on a big clunky computer. I think I'll try it while I am relaxing on my hammock next.

Get yourself ready for some "ME TIME" and download the iPad Flipboard App today! Just be sure to bookmark where you left off when you finally decide to get up. Below is a video that will show you how the Flipboard App works. You can also read more about it or find another compatible App at the MACWorld App Guide site. Enjoy!