June - ICON Computer Users Group

THE ICON—Newsletter of the Interactive Computer Owners Network — JUNE 2011
WHAT’S INSIDE
Page 2
Program Schedules
for June and July
Page 3
Minutes of 5-28-11
Quote of the Month
Interesting Sites to
Visit on the Internet
Page 4 Free Utilities from
Google
Page 5 Computer Term
Equipment Roster
Request
Page 6-7 Windows Q & A
(PowerPoint)
Page 8 Little Word Annoyances
Page 9
Legends and Short
Stories on Flag Day
Page 10-11 Anchoring the
Heart
Page 12 –13 Family Tree
Maker (Part 3)
Page 14 Help Line Answers
Cards sent
Basic Computer
Classes
Page 15 ICON Membership
Applications
Articles Deadline
ICON Officers
New Members &
Renewals
Page 16 Announcements
Mission Statement
PREZ SEZ:
I’ve been thinking…about how much my life revolves
around the technology I use daily. I‘m writing this with my
laptop sitting on top of my lap (bad pun!) in a Holiday Inn in
Johnstown, PA. (For those not at the last meeting, I‘m here
helping my daughter and her sons move while her husband
is deployed ‗somewhere in the Middle East.‘) My laptop almost always travels with me and I use it to check email,
make slideshows of pictures while on vacation, surf the
internet (when there‘s a connection available) and so on.
I also take my new ‗smart phone‘ with me. ‗Smart Phone‘ is
really a misnomer. I think of it as my pocket computer that I
can use to make phone calls. I can use it to check email,
surf the internet, load pictures from my camera (thru my
computer, however) make slideshows, etc. Sound familiar?
But, when the technology doesn‘t work right, it‘s frustrating
and agonizing. For example, the ‗free‘ internet connection
at this Holiday Inn does not allow me to connect to the internet. Oh, I can connect to the inns network but am unable to
connect to the internet. And, I‘m too stubborn to call the
desk and ask for help (it‘s a guy thing, I guess). But, interestingly enough, I cannot connect my iPod Touch and neither can one of my tow grandson‘s connect his iPod Touch.
However, the other grandson can and my daughter can connect her laptop. Maybe 2 out of 5 is not bad but it‘s not
what I‘ve come to expect. And it drives me slightly nuts!
Mary Phillips has been nagging me (electronically by email
– which I can read on my pocket computer) to get this article
done and so I‘m going to try a new technology – at least
new to me. As I said, I‘m writing this on my laptop. I‘m using MS Word 2010 as my word processor. Once done, a
few more sentences from now, I‘m going to save it and then,
trying to use the Bluetooth service on the laptop, connect
my ‗pocket computer‘ and move the document to the ―Quick
Office‖ Android application folder and then send it to Mary
via email from my phone, ...er, pocket computer. If you are
reading this in the newsletter, it worked.
I‘m looking forward to seeing you at a future ICON meeting.
We‘ve got some exciting things planned for this year so
watch the newsletter and the website for more information.
…Art Irish
THE ICON
JUNE 2011
PAGE 2
Program Preparations for June 2011
Dates, Times, & Topics
Saturday, June 11, The Library Station (Frisco Room)
10:00 a.m. Digital Imaging SIG
Understanding Digital Camera Controls
11:30 a.m. Brown Bag Lunch and 1-on-1 Help Desk
12:30 p.m. Mini-Seminar
Internet Explorer 9…The Best Features
2:15 p.m. Advanced Technology Forum — Open Group Discussion
4:00 p.m. Using the Linux Operating System
Saturday, June 18, The Library Center
3:00 p.m. Using the Linux Operating System (Harrison Room)
Tuesday, June 21 , The Library Center (Harrison Room)
10:00 a.m. To Be Announced
Saturday, June 25, Brentwood Library
10:00 a.m. Genealogy SIG — Genealogist’s Toolbox, Part 2
11:30 a.m. Brown Bag Lunch and 1-on-1 Help Desk
12:30 p.m. ICON Anniversary and Birthday Party
1:00 p.m. Monthly Meeting
Finding What You Want Wherever You are (Location Based Services)!
3:00 p.m. Windows SIG — How to Train Your Dragon — Voice Activated software
Program Preparations for July 2011
Dates, Times, & Topics
Saturday, July 9, The Library Station (Frisco Room)
10:00 a.m. Digital Imaging SIG
Revisiting Picasa and comparing it to Paint.net and the Gimp.
11:30 a.m. Brown Bag Lunch and 1-on-1 Help Desk
12:30 p.m. Mini-Seminar — Stretching Your Dollar
2:15 p.m. Advanced Technology Forum — Open Group Discussion
4:00 p.m. Using the Linux Operating System
Saturday, July 16, The Library Center
3:00 p.m. Using the Linux Operating System (Harrison Room)
Saturday, July 23, Brentwood Library
10:00 a.m. Genealogy SIG — Genealogist’s Toolbox, Part 3
11:30 a.m. Brown Bag Lunch and 1-on-1 Help Desk
1:00 p.m. Monthly Meeting — Using PowerPoint and Open Source Slide Show Applications
to Share Photos, Videos, and Audio
3:00 p.m. Windows SIG —
Windows Live Mail
Tuesday, July 26 , The Library Center (Harrison Room)
10:00 a.m Spreadsheets: Excel, Open Office, Libre Office, Google Calc -- Basics, plus a little.
THE ICON
JUNE 2011
Minutes of the May 28, 2011
ICON General Meeting
Terry Roberts called the meeting to order, welcoming everyone and referencing the upcoming
programs.
Then followed the installation of new officers
elected on April 23, 2011: President—Art Irish,
Vice President—John Somers, Secretary—Mary
Phillips, Treasurer—June Moore (absent), Program Chair— Terry Roberts, Membership
Chair—Barbara Wilkinson, Newsletter Chair,—
Mary Stewart, Webmaster—Sarah Marshall
Roberts.
Terry Roberts turned the meeting over to Art Irish,
and Art described to us a bit of his personal background. He then asked for the Minutes to be read.
With the absence of the Treasurer there was no
financial report today.
Discussion followed about how we might attract
some younger people to our meetings. Toni Somers suggested that we might ask some younger
people to be presenters. Terry will contact some
of the OTC instructors who possibly will give class
credit for attending meetings or making presentations.
John Somers will be sending meeting announcements to the Week-end section of the Springfield
News-Leader and also to community calendars of
the TV and radio stations.
Darin Kasterke, who has worked in radio for a
number of years, was asked by Art to be on
John‘s Communication committee.
Jamie Dopp is the contact for Community Calendar at KY-3.com.
The meeting was adjourned to the program presented by Col Bud Burke on Linux? What’s in it
for Me?
QUOTE OF THE MONTH:
The difference between insanity and genius
Is success. —-Jonathan Pryce
PAGE 3
INTERESTING SITES TO VISIT
ON THE INTERNET
Nancy Preffitt
HOW TO DO STRANGE THINGS!
This site is fascinating, but more of a time waster
than a ―how to‖ in my opinion. If you have ever
wanted to make a rubber hose chair, make wallpaper out of money, or do strange electronic
things that I don‘t what they are, spend some time
here. There are things to make in almost any
category you can imagine and a lot you can‘t! It‘s
fun, though. http://www.instructables.com/
PHOTO CORRECTIONS
This is a remarkable program for small corrections. You simply paint over what you want to go.
The program tries to figure out what would be behind that object. It does this by pulling information
from neighboring pixels. You can remove bars or
a chain link fence. You could take out graffiti on a
wall. It won't work for everything. And if you look
closely you can make out the edit. But the results
are surprisingly good. Just draw over something
and it disappears. www.hanovsolutions.com
TEST YOUR BRAIN AGE
With these fun little games, the magician at the
site can allegedly tell you how old your brain is!
There are a series of games, which are timed,
and your replies are analyzed and brain age supposedly calculated. (Can you tell how I did on
this?) Even with not- so-good results, it‘s interesting. http://www.freebrainagegames.com
ALARM CLOCK
If your alarm goes on the fritz late one evening, or
you need a timer so you won‘t burn dinner or be
late for an ICON meeting, try Kuku Klok. It's a
very simple free online alarm clock. Just set the
time you want . Note that it is in military time. You
can choose your sound from rooster, military bugle, electronic beeps, crazy guitar and an oldfashioned clock. www.kukuklok.com
GOLF
This is a fun little game of miniature golf. It‘s a full
eighteen holes but it‘s easy to play. You‘ll enjoy it
when you have some time to spare. http://
www.ibogleif.dk/spil/flashspil/minigolf/
minigolf.swf
THE ICON
JUNE 2011
More Free Utilities from Google
by Ira Wilsker
WEBSITES:
http://www.google.com/talk
http://www.google.com/chrome
http://desktop.google.com
http://www.google.com/earth
http://www.panoramio.com
http://pack.google.com
http://www.google.com/intl/en/options/
Sometime ago, I wrote about several free
utilities available from Google. Google has continued to update and enhance its offerings in its
attempt to maintain its dominant position on the
internet by offering dozens of free utilities for
PCs, MACs, and Linux computers. The comprehensive listing of Google offerings is online at
www.google.com/intl/en/options.
Many people like to chat while online, and
while old classics like AIM, Yahoo Messenger,
IRC, and ICQ were partially responsible for the
explosive growth of internet chat, Google has
joined the fray with Google Talk. Available as a
free download from www.google.com/talk, this
utility provides both text chat and voice chat with
others who also have Google Talk. As with the
other popular chat utilities, Google Talk is an instant message utility for Windows PCs only that
allows users to type-chat in real time, view the
status of "friends", and directly transfer files between friends. Google Talk also offers voice
chat which is basically a free PC to PC long distance call to anywhere in the world, provided
that both parties have the free Google Talk application. Google Talk also integrates with
Google's email service, Gmail, allowing for voice
chat while in Gmail. For those with Gmail accounts, Google offers a video and voice plug-in
for Gmail which allows Windows and MAC users
to chat within Gmail directly from a web browser.
In addition to Gmail, this video and voice plug-in
works with iGoogle and Orkut.
The browser wars have been heating up with
the almost concurrent releases of Internet Explorer 9 and Firefox 4. At about the same time,
Google released version 11 of its open source
Chrome browser, which has been rapidly increasing in popularity, due to its speed, security,
simplicity, and the availability of many apps, extensions, and themes for Chrome. Chrome can
be downloaded from Google at:
PAGE 4
www.google.com/chrome, and will mutually coexist with other installed browsers (such as IE and
Firefox) without interference. Chrome is used for
Windows PCs running on Windows 7, Vista, or
XP. Several published comparisons have rated
Chrome as the fastest browser to load, and
among the fastest to display web pages. Many
users like the clean and uncluttered browser window when opened, but the simple interface should
not fool users, as Chrome is a very powerful full
featured browser. Chrome is also compatible with
almost all widely used web apps, making it the
browser of choice for millions of users.
Google is best known as the ubiquitous search
engine of choice for many users, with the trade
name often used in common vernacular as a verb,
as in "Google it". While it is one of the premier
internet search engines, Google also offers a free
desktop search utility, that allows a user to search
his own computer as easily as he can search the
internet. Google Desktop (desktop.google.com)
is available for MAC, Linux, and Windows
(Windows 7, Vista, and XP), and offers the users
the ability to find and directly launch applications,
as well as locate any data or other files on the
computer. There is also an option to install
"Google Gadgets" on the desktop, allowing the
user to select any of hundreds of gadgets to display news, weather, sports, games, stock quotes,
clocks, calendars, and other gadgets directly on
the desktop, without the need to open a browser
or other utility.
One of my personal favorite Google utilities is the
free version of Google Earth (www.google.com/
earth). Google Earth integrates Google maps with
other enhancements, and lets the user virtually fly
anywhere on the surface of the earth, to the
depths of the oceans, to outer space. Interactive
imagery can be displayed as satellite imagery,
maps, terrain, buildings and land features in 3D,
Street View, and several other ways. In addition to
relatively current maps and images, Google Earth
can also display historical images and maps, such
as ancient Rome. Google Earth can also integrate
with several models of GPS, allowing tracks and
other information to be displayed or shared with
others. There are many third party applications
that integrate with Google Earth, including real
time hurricane tracking and predictions, real time
flight tracking, business intelligence, voter demographics, and countless other uses.
Continued on page5
THE ICON
JUNE 2011
Continued from page 4 More Free Utilities
Google recently released an intriguing new utility, Panoramio (www.panoramio.com) which can
integrate personally uploaded photographs with
Google Maps or Google Earth. Panoramio provides an interactive and searchable map that
combines the standard map images with the millions of photos that have been uploaded, allowing
anyone to view much more than a typical map or
satellite image can display. For example, zooming
in on downtown Beaumont using Panoramio displayed dozens of small icons representing photographs taken at those locations; clicking on the
icons displays the photos. I noticed a photo icon
at a familiar location in downtown Beaumont,
clicked on it, and displayed a small photo of the
Examiner building! Clicking directly on the small
photo opened another window showing a larger
image along with a map for reference, and thumbnail images of other photos taken nearby. Many of
these photos can be clicked again to display the
original format of the photo, often a large image.
Many users like the idea of a single download
that can install multiple free utilities, and Google
obliges by providing its Google Pack for Windows
7 (pack.google.com). This utility allows the user
to choose which programs he wants from a
checklist, and download a single installer that will
install the selected programs on the computer.
Included in Google Pack are a variety of utilities
from Google including Chrome, Gmail, Calendar,
Apps, Desktop, Google Earth, Picasa (image editor), Talk, and toolbars for Internet Explorer and
Firefox. Several security utilities included in
Google pack include avast! Free Antivirus, Spyware Doctor with Anti-Virus, and Immunet Protect
Antivirus. Miscellaneous utilities included in the
pack are Adobe Reader, Skype phone service,
RealPlayer, and the WebM for IE9 video player.
Google has developed a reputation for good
quality software and utilities, most of which are
available for free. Any or all of the utilities above
may contribute to the user's enjoyment of the
internet by allowing him to do things that he may
have been unaware of. Thanks Google!
Computer Terminology
Term for the month of June
Dusty Deck
(Find the definition elsewhere in this issue)
PAGE 5
Equipment Roster Request
As the new officers take over ICON roles,
we realized that as in any long running group,
things happen and there is no record other than
memory as to what has been purchased, gotten
etc. So—we realized that we need a record on
paper or electronically to pass along in the future of what equipment the group has purchased including software, hardware, CD‘s and
DVD‘s, materials from TechSoup, books etc,
and who has it. We don‘t want to duplicate
things we already have and not have equipment
we should have. We also need to know who has
what so people with needs can know who to go
to.
So, if you have anything the group has acquired, computers, projectors, software etc,
please email me and I will work at putting the
inventory together. I will need model number,
serial numbers, and date acquired if you have it.
You can reach me at one of the meetings or
at jesomersmail@gmail.com .
Thank you for your help,
John Somers
FLAG Day is Tuesday, June 14.
Let’s fly our colors proudly.
THE ICON
JUNE 2011
Windows Q & A – June 2011
By Mary Phillips
Q1. What is PowerPoint? What can I do with
it?
A1. Power Point is a multimedia program that can
be used for many different things. Anything that
could be shown in slide show format can be done
with Power Point such as financial reports and
presentations, worship images and song lyrics,
inspirational messages often with music and/or
flash video, instructional slides, self-paced tutorials, family reunion photos, and vacation videos.
AND, it can also be used as a small desktop publishing program to design resumes, posters,
games, and classroom projects in a variety of
sizes. A scrapbook feature is so easy in Office
2007 or 2010. It‘s uses are limited only by one‘s
imagination.
Q2. How do I get PowerPoint?
A2. PowerPoint is included in every version of MS
Office including the Home and Student version.
There are also free presentation programs in the
Open Office Suite (http://www.openoffice.org/)
and Libre Office (http://www.libreoffice.org/).
Q3. How do I get started with a slide show?
A3. Assuming you have a version of MS Office
installed on your computer, click on Programs –
MS Office – PowerPoint.
When PowerPoint opens in 2007 it has a default
slide background theme called ―Office
Theme‖ (white with black letters in Calibre font),
and text boxes for a title and a subtitle. The slides
in this creation view are shown in the left column.
PAGE 6
Type in the Title of your slideshow and the subtitle can be your name. Click on the Office Button
(2007) in the upper left corner or File (2010) and
Save As: filename. Continue to Save As: same
filename after each slide.
To add the next slide, click on the down arrow
point beside New Slide (on the Home tab) or
press Ctrl M. You‘ll see different ones from which
to choose, but let‘s choose the Blank one to insert
our first picture.
Click on the Insert tab and click on Picture. Select the first picture by clicking on it, then click the
Insert button. Use the resizing handles to make it
the size you want and nudge the picture to the position you want by using the arrow keys on the
keyboard.
Perhaps you‘d like to add some descriptive text
to your picture. Still on the Insert tab, click on Text
Box. Draw the text box by holding down the left
mouse button and making a rectangle. Type in
your text and increase the font size as needed.
Suggested font size for good viewing is a minimum of 32. Clicking on Text Direction provides
options for the direction of the text and the rotate
handle on the text box will tilt or turn to the desired angle.
Continue to insert photos and text. If you decide
you want to change the order, click on the Slide
Sorter button in the lower right corner, and click
and drag the slides to the preferred positions.
When you want to see your slide show, click on
Slide Show view button (see above) or on the
Slide Show tab at the top of the screen.
Slides can be advanced manually by several
ways: 1) left mouse clicks, 2) keyboard arrow
keys, 3) a wireless presentation clicker or 4) automatically, on the Animation tab, click Advance
slide after desired amount of time.
The slide show can be interrupted at any time
by pressing the Esc key on the keyboard.
A really quick way to create a photo slide show
from a whole folder of pictures is to:
1. Open PowerPoint, click on the Insert tab, then
click on Photo Album (2007)
2. Under Album Content, Insert picture from, click
on the File/Disk button. Double click on the folder
containing your pictures to open it.
3. Either press Ctrl A (Select All) or click on the
first picture, press and hold the Shift key; navigate
Continued on page 7
THE ICON
JUNE 2011
Continued from page 6 PowerPoint
to the last picture and click it to select everything
in between. (If you want only some of the pictures,
select the first one, press and hold Ctrl, and click
on just the pictures you want.)
4. Press the Create button. The photos will all go
in maximized to fit the slides.
5. Name your slide show by clicking on the text
box. Save As your file.
6. Add desired text in the photos or add additional
slides by right clicking on a slide and selecting
New Slide. The new slide will be inserted following the one you clicked on. The same procedure
can be done in the Slide Sorter view to add slide.
Save your file.
Audio and video can be a part of your presentation as well as animation. (See http://
pptheaven.mvps.org/)
Q4. How do I use PowerPoint as a Word Processor/Publishing program?
A4. To use PowerPoint as a word processor/
publisher:
1. Open PowerPoint and press Ctrl A (Select All)
to select the two default text boxes. Press Delete.
Now you have a plain page.
2. Click on the Design tab, in Page Setup section
click Orientation and choose Landscape (the default) or Portrait.
3. Click Page Setup and Size slides for Letter Paper (8.5 x 11 in) by clicking on the down arrow
point.
4. Set margins (width & height minus margins)
5. Click OK.
The sample poster above contains two text boxes
in Calibri 36pt font and the inserted graphic. Note
the handle at the top of the picture that allows for
turning or tilting.
There is a beautiful resume designed by David
Seah using PowerPoint at http://
davidseah.com/2008/07/powerpoint-resumelayout-tips/. It does have a bunch of individual
text boxes.
The main advantage of PowerPoint over a word
processor is that text boxes can be placed anywhere on the page and formatted however you
choose. Graphics can also be placed anywhere at
any angle.
PAGE 7
Q5. How do I make an interactive game using
PowerPoint?
A5. Download a template and fill in the slides.
There are templates for games such as Jeopardy,
Wheel of Fortune, Pyramid, Password and others
at http://jc-schools.net/tutorials/PPT-games/.
On that same homepage, click on Game Resources. (http://its.leesummit.k12.mo.us/
gameresources.htm) a page that contains links
to other pages of templates and pre-made games.
An- other website with a wide variety of games is
http://projects.coe.uga.edu/lrieber/wwild/
search/PPT-search-results.asp.
Following are some websites where you‘ll find tutorials and instructions for other uses.
Create a Twitter background with directions from
Tomas Carrillo at http://
theclosetentrepreneur.com/create-a-twitterbackground-using-powerpoint.
http://www.suite101.com/content/powerpointfor-the-learning-a116320
http://www.suite101.com/content/powerpointlectures-a46045
http://ezinearticles.com/?PowerPointPresentation---Uses-andImportance&id=1105064
http://ezinearticles.com/?Creative-Uses-ForMicrosoft-PowerPoint&id=4055905
http://www.articlesbase.com/software-articles/
creative-uses-for-microsoft-powerpoint2103211.html
http://www.thinkoutsidetheslide.com/articles/
ten_secrets_for_using_powerpoint.htm
http://www.ehow.com/list_7317396_uses-mspowerpoint.html
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/
powerpoint_advanced.htm
http://www.slideshare.net/vviereck/many-usesof-powerpoint
Definition for Term of the Month
―Dusty Deck‖
An ancient, poorly understood computer program
that goes back to the days of punched cards:
something that is obsolete but has to be kept useable because someone needs it
THE ICON
JUNE 2011
7 Little Word Annoyances
and Their Easy Fixes
By Nancy DeMarte, Columnist, Office Talk, Sarasota PCUG, Inc., FL from the March, 2011 issue
Sarasota PC Monitor www.spcug.org
ndemarte@Verizon.net
Below is a collection of frustrating things that can
happen when using Microsoft Word. These annoyances can occur in any version of Word although most are geared to Word 2007 and 2010.
In Word 2003, the fix-it steps may be different.
Annoyance 1 -- You accidentally press the Caps
Lock key on your keyboard before typing a paragraph. When you finish, you find everything in
capital letters.
The Fix: Rather than retyping the whole paragraph, highlight the text, then click the "Change
Case" button (Aa), located on the Home tab in the
Font group. Click "Sentence case" to transform
your paragraph into normal sentences.
Annoyance 2 -- You create a party invitation with
a light blue background (Page Layout tab - Page
Color). But when you print it, the background is
white.
The Fix: Office has set Word to not print full page
background colors, probably to save users from
wasting ink. You can, however, make the colored
background print. Click the Office button, then
Word Options -- Display. Put a check mark next to
"Print background colors and images," then click
OK. Until you remove this checkmark, all colored
backgrounds will print.
Annoyance 3 -- You're working on a document
where you've set the text size to be a fairly small
10 points. But you find that the text is too small to
view comfortably while you're typing.
The Fix: Drag the Zoom slider located in the bottom right corner of the Word window to the right to
enlarge the screen view of the text. When printed,
the text will be 10 points no matter how big it appears on the screen.
Annoyance 4 -- You find that the spaces between
lines of text in your document are wider than you
want.
The Fix: If all the spaces are wider than expected, you can change the line spacing for the
whole document at once. On the Home tab, in the
Editing group, click Select -- All to highlight all the
text. Next click the Line Spacing button in the
PAGE 8
Paragraph group and select 1.0 for single-spacing
or one of the other choices.
Note: Word will not remove extra space after
paragraphs when you choose a line spacing size.
To remove extra space after a paragraph, select
the paragraph before the extra space, click the
Line Spacing button and choose "Remove Space
After Paragraph." A more permanent way to create no extra space between paragraphs is to open
the Paragraph group dialog box launcher (small
diagonal arrow) on the Home tab and put a checkmark in front of "Don't add space between paragraphs of the same style."
Annoyance 5 -- Every time you type an email or
web address into a document, it turns into a clickable hyperlink with underlined blue text, even if
that isn't your intention.
The Fix: The quickest fix is to right click the address and select "Remove Hyperlink." But this is
only a one time remedy. To remove this action
permanently, click the Windows button, then this
sequence: Word Options -- Proofing -- AutoCorrect Options -- AutoFormat As You Type. Remove the checkmark next to "Internet and Network paths with hyperlinks" and click OK.
Annoyance 6 -- You find that as you type, distracting wavy red and green lines show up under
words and phrases.
The Fix: Word is set to check spelling (red lines)
and grammar (green lines) as you type. This is
another Proofing option which comes enabled
from the factory. To turn off one or both of these
features, go to Word Options (Office button Word Options) and click Proofing. Remove the
checkmarks next to "Mark grammar errors as you
type" and "Check spelling as you type." You can
always check spelling and grammar after your
document is complete by clicking Spelling &
Grammar at the left end of the Review tab.
Several of these fixes involve the settings found in
the Options area of the Office 2007 menu (File
menu in 2010). Options are available for all the
Office programs (Word Options, Excel Options,
Access Options, etc.) These default settings were
determined by interviews with thousands of people who use Office regularly in the workplace. If
you find that the factory settings are causing you
more trouble than help, changing them is a simple
task. All Office users should take a personal tour
Continued on Page 9
THE ICON
JUNE 2011
Continued from page 8 Little Word Annoyances
of the Options menus, which resemble this Word
Options window with the AutoCorrect box open.
PAGE 9
Using a computer should be fun as well as useful.
Take a few minutes to think what your personal
computer annoyances are and try to find fixes for
them. Customizing your programs makes using
the computer much more enjoyable and efficient.
Legends and Short Stories to Share on Flag
Day — Betsy Ross and the Flag
By Harry Pringle Ford (Adapted)
Annoyance 7 -- You often save documents to the
same folder which is buried within other folders in
My Documents. It takes several clicks to find this
folder each time you want to open or save a document to it.
Fix 1: You can find almost any folder on your
Windows Vista or 7 computer by typing its name
into the Start Menu search box just above the
Start button. Often it takes only a letter or two before the folder appears in the search results. On
the downside, you have to do this each time you
want to open the folder.
Fix 2: A way to make any folder immediately
available is to add it to the Favorites section of the
navigation pane. This pane appears on the left
side of any explorer window where you are viewing, opening or saving files and folders. To make
a folder a Favorite, start by creating or opening a
file, like a document, and click Save As, which
opens the Save As dialog box. This reveals the
navigation pane on the left, showing a list of possible places to save the file. Navigate to the folder
you want to make a favorite so that it is the last
item in the history bar across the top. Then right
click the word Favorites in the left pane. From the
drop down menu, click "Add current location to
Favorites." Your special folder will now appear in
the Favorites list. It will also appear in the Favorites list of the other MS Office programs on your
computer, such as Excel and PowerPoint. To remove a folder from Favorites, right click the folder
and select Remove.
On the 14th day of June, 1777, the
Continental Congress passed the
following resolution:
"RESOLVED, That the flag of the thirteen United
States be thirteen stripes alternate red and white that the Union be thirteen stars, white in a blue
field, representing a new constellation."
We are told that previous to this, in 1776, a committee was appointed, and together with General
Washington they called at the house of Betsy
Ross, 239 Arch Street, Philadelphia.
Betsy Ross was a young widow of twenty-four heroically supporting herself by continuing the upholstery business of her late husband, young John
Ross, a patriot who had died in the service of his
country. Betsy was noted for her exquisite needlework, and was engaged in the flag-making business.
The committee asked her if she thought she could
make a flag from a design, a rough drawing of
which General Washington showed her. She replied, with diffidence, that she did not know
whether she could or not, but would try. She noticed, however, that the star as drawn had six
points, and informed the committee that the correct star had but five. They answered that as a
great number of stars would be required, the more
regular form with six points could be more easily
made than one with five.
She responded in a practical way by deftly folding
a scrap of paper - then with a single clip of her
scissors she displayed a true, symmetrical, fivepointed star.
This decided the committee in her favor. A rough
design was left for her use, but she was permitted
to make a sample flag according to her own ideas
of the arrangement of the stars and the proportions of the stripes and the general form.
Sometime after its completion it was presented to
Congress, and the committee had the pleasure of
informing Betsy Ross that her flag was accepted
as the Nation's standard. June 14 is FLAG DAY.
THE ICON
JUNE 2011
Anchoring the Heart
E.M.Hazell
When son Alva, attempted to locate his place
of birth his effort ended in disaster.
―I‘ll tell you; it‘s not there anymore. All I could
find was a place where people dump trash.‖
Daughter Barb and I decided to take a trip to
the past to the beginning of my American experience.
I thought it would be relatively easy. From the
house to Oak Grove Lane, turn north and take
Oak Grove to Grand, follow Grand to Grant and
turn north to reach College. Once on College we‘d
just head west and wind up on historical Route 66
highway. About five miles out of town we‘d reach
the place where the Sunset Outdoor movie theater was. From there it would be just a few blocks
heading north and west on little roads and we‘d
be there. The place would be easy to recognize
by the pine tree in the front yard and the tulip tree
behind the house.
We ran out of College Street before we
reached historic Route 66 and wound up lost as
usual. Barb was not a person to give up. A few
more turns and we found ourselves at a small
complex where auctions were held. We entered
the restaurant in the complex. We figured we‘d
ask for direction there. A friendly, slightly bearded
gent, waiting for his food, was accommodating.
We left with new directions but it wasn‘t long before we were lost again. Then Barb heard a train
and I remembered; Nichols Junction was a train
junction. We followed the sound. The landscape
looked familiar. We weren‘t far from our destination. We checked out the railroad track and met
up with a man collecting tin cans .We asked for
direction once more. He smiled and pointed toward a distant sign that said NICHOLS. The
house we were looking for, he explained, burned
years ago in a fire caused by a train wreck and so
did the lone pine in the front yard. The large tulip
tree behind the house had been struck by lightning and cut up for firewood. We were just a short
distance from the place.
Nichol‘s Junction had changed but not much.
We parked the car. Camera in hand we started
walking. Sunset Theater was now a trailer park.
Things may have changed in appearance, but
they looked and felt familiar. We were no longer
walking the road; the road was walking us.
PAGE 10
When husband, Alva, and I purchased our
first house there wasn‘t much money. The house
his brother Dwight found for us was a modest tarpaper shack. There was a kitchen and a small
space for a table and chairs and beyond that a
bedroom. Pa and Ma outdoor plumbing provided
bathroom facilities, a two-seater toilet. Water
came from a well in the backyard. We paid a hundred dollars down and agreed to pay twenty-five
dollars a month ‗til the place was paid off. For the
first time in my life I owned a house. We were out
of money and out of a job but we had faith. That
was in 1949 and now it was 2011.
The roads were still there and so was the
place where trains unloaded their cargo. There
were two small ancient homes that I could identify; but a short distance down the road we found
a familiar place. It once belonged to Ed and Dollie
Ollie those first friends we knew. Ed was a hauler
by profession. He had an old truck and with it he
earned a living. He hauled ice in the summer and
coal in the winter. In between times he hauled
whatever folks wanted to have hauled off. Part of
his backyard served as a containment area for the
stuff he hauled. There he sorted out what he
thought was worth keeping and the rest he hauled
to the city dump. His wife, Dollie, had a love for
animals. I never knew so many animals could exist in such a small place. The house was home to
dogs, toy breeds mostly, cats and kittens. There
were cages with delicate birds, rare finches, parakeets and canaries. Chickens and ducks and
geese roamed the backyard, next to Ed‘s shop.
Ed and Dollie have been gone a long time but
the house was still there. The elderly man who
lives there now introduced himself as Thom Stephenson. He invited us in and we recalled all the
treasure we used to find there. We knew it was
Ed‘s territory when the man showed us that unusual gadget sticking out of the tree. It served as
a device for hoisting motors. It is perhaps the only
one of its kind still in existence. Ed had intended
for that gadget to stay. The tree it was fastened
on to had grown around it. The man pointed toward a small, heart-shaped piece of iron resting
on a shelf next to the gate.
―It‘s an anchor,‖ Ed had explained so long
ago, and then added ―Everybody needs an anchor
for anchoring the heart.‖ After all he said, I had a
new country and a new house and a new family, it
was time to anchor the heart.
Continued on page 11
THE ICON
JUNE 2011
Continued from page 10 Anchoring the Heart
I didn‘t take him up on his offer. I was young
and what could I do with an anchor.
Ed loved my first born son. He referred to him
as ―The Little Dutchman‖.
Ed spoke an English all of his own. It consisted mostly of four-letter words, words we really
didn‘t want Wolf to learn. But Wolf learned them
anyhow. Wolf loved that gruff old man and the
salty language. He was particularly fascinated
with Ed‘s tobacco-chewing habit.
Ed used to take the child on his knees and
point at a fly circulating near by.
―See that #%#* fly?‖ he‘d say. He‘d chew a bit
harder on the tobacco and directly produced a brown spit
wad that found its mark. Wolf
thought that was great and always asked for more. Dollie
didn‘t appreciate cleaning up
second hand chewing tobacco.
Her language was a perfect
match to Ed‘s when she told
him, ―Take your @#%&*@ out
of the house.‖ Dollie was the
only Indian I knew. She did not
look like an Indian but Ed told
us that she was Cherokee. He
was proud of his wife‘s Native
American heritage.
We did not stay at Nichol‘s
Junction very long. Eventually Alva found a job. I
worked for a short time at a restaurant known as
The Seven Gables just a few blocks from our
house on Route 66. The owners were known as
the Hayden Family. They were country music performers.
I became a bona fide dishwasher washing
dishes at night. Alva worked during the day-time
hours at SMS.
Alva Junior was born at Nichols Junction. We
could not afford the hospital and there was no insurance. The doctor came out to the house and
delivered the child for $45.00 dollars paid before
the service was performed.
Now, standing there, lost in memories I often
wondered how we survived.
I looked at that anchor and returned to the
present.
PAGE 11
―It‘s a ship‘s anchor you know,‖ Mr. Stephenson explained. Yes I knew. Good old Ed had offered it to me once as a gift. I finally turned to the
present owner of the anchor and said, ‖I‘d like to
buy that.‖ I was willing to pay whatever price. But
the person standing there just smiled and said,
‖It‘s yours.‖
We left the gentleman and owner of Ed and
Dollie‘s place and walked down the road I had
walked so often in 1949. We found the place
where the old house used to stand and my son
will be surprised when he sees the pictures. There
is a garage three times the size of that little house
that stood there once. I was given permission to
take pictures. The place of business is a place
where old cars become new
again and in the process sport
bright and colorful designs. The
door to the office looked a lot like
a door we may have had for a
front entrance. Painted blue, it
sported an escutcheon, the proprietors‘ coat of arms, his name
Jim Catron, and the name of the
business FULL ARMOR CUSTOMS. It was, in a way a modern
Cinderella story; what entered as
old bits of metal, emerged as a
modern work of art, road-worthy
and pleasing to the eye. Mr.
Keith Henson whose antique car
was in the process of renewal,
proudly showed us his car presently a work of art
in progress. Mr. Henson also told us that he was
employed in an army facility on the other side of
the tracks known as AVCRAD, a place where helicopters were renovated. We parted with a handshake. Once more, we had learned a lot and once
again we had met a stranger and parted as
friends.
It was almost as if that little junction was
somehow impervious to the ugliness of road-rage,
greed and abusive speech. I was grateful that we
found Nichol‘s Junction again. The people we met
were kind and gentle, reassuring and generous.
They were an affirmation that there was still goodness to be found among the human race. As one
of them said:
―Yes, this is Nichol‘s Junction and we‘re proud
to be here.‖
THE ICON
JUNE 2011
PAGE 12
There are two tabs in the Media Workspace: Collection and Details. Below is the Collection tab.
The images shown and the Smart Story are located in the Documents Library in a folder called
FTM 2011 in a folder called Jones3 Media —
(Documents\FTM 2011\Jones 3 Media).
Clicking on an image opens it in the Edit panel on
the right where information is entered for:
Caption: Name for picture
Date: date the picture was taken
Categories: Choices — Audio, Cemetery, Census, Documents, Other, Photo, Video, Vital Records, Wedding are set up by FTM but you can
create your own and more than one category can
be selected.
Description: Can be information about the picture or information included in a document or census.
The filename and location are listed at the lower
right corner and the size of the thumbnails can be
adjusted with the slider at the bottom of the middle section.
Other items that can be added to illustrate a family tree are personal items that can be scanned
such as a lace shirt collar (in the possession of a
cousin) that belonged to my grandfather Jones
and a picture I took of an antique press (used for
storing linens and now in the possession of a
niece) made by hand for Elzarado as a wedding
gift from a neighbor. Several years ago, we attended a family reunion in Texas and toured an
old Jones homestead that has been restored to
1800‘s or early 1900‘s; as an example for young
people today, I have photos of the old corncrib,
the tool shed, the house, etc. that I will include in
Continued on page 13
Family Tree Maker 2011 (Part 3)
Review by Mary Phillips
Tab 4 Media — The Media Workspace serves as
a storage space where all the photos, family
documents, records, and audio recordings, etc (or
copies) can be kept so that it‘s easy to back up.
However, the media doesn‘t HAVE to be in a Media folder. Media can be added into the folder or
linked from other places on the hard drive.
THE ICON
JUNE 2011
Continued from page 12 FTM Media
my tree. Sound clips of favorite songs and storytelling are also things that can be included. One of
my father‘s favorite songs was My Blue Heaven; I
can find a sound clip on the web, and I have a
tape of my older sister telling what it was like
when she was growing up in Texas. (She was
seventeen shortly after I was born in Arkansas.)
Audio files/sound tracks have to be in either MP3
or .wma format.
Media can be added to Individuals in the People
Workspace on the Person tab. In the lower left
corner, click the Media tab then the down arrow
beside New. Select: Add New Media (Navigate to
where it is on the hard drive and choose to either
1) Copy this file to the media folder for this tree
and link to it there, or 2) Link to this file where it is
without copying it.), Link to Existing Media (in
the Media folder), Create New Smart Story
(Choose either Auto-Populate with facts from the
tree or Blank Page), or Scan Media (Scans directly from the scanner into FTM Media folder and
into individual‘s media.) See image at upper right.
Create a slide show by clicking Media on the
Menu Bar of the Media tab. Click Create Slide
Show and change the slide show options as
needed. Choose number of seconds between images. Add music by clicking the Browse button
PAGE 13
and navigating to the audio file. Click Next, Next,
Finish. Save file to the media folder. Click OK.
To Assign a Portrait to an Individual, right-click on
the silhouette and
either Add New
Picture or Link to Existing Picture.
For the Details tab, one has options to change
picture orientation, add details (If more description room is needed, click on Notes in the lower
left corner and continue writing.), scroll through
all the items in the Media folder, or Fit an image (percentage or Zoom in or out).
Media can be attached to Facts or Sources. Notes
can be attached to media in the Collection tab by
double-clicking the media item you want to add
the note to, then click the Notes tab at the bottom
of the Details window.
50 years in September!!!
THE ICON
JUNE 2011
PAGE 14
For help, you can also log onto ICON‘s Forum at www.iconusersgroup.org and post your
questions. Free registration is required in order to post questions and then you need to wait a day
or so for an email confirmation to complete the registration. However, while you‘re there, click on
Search and enter the topic about which you‘d like information and see if someone has already
started a ‗thread‘ — a series of question and responses. All questions and responses can be
read without having to register.
BASIC COMPUTER CLASSES
Basic computer classes are taught at St
John‘s Whiteside Clinic lab by ICON members
Mary Phillips and Art Irish with ICON helpers
for five sessions each month plus three sessions on Internet & email. Sign up by calling St
John‘s Seniors 841-0333. Need a refresher
course or want to be a helper, now‘s your
chance. We guarantee you‘ll learn something
you didn‘t know!
PLEASE!
Please Notify us of Change of Address. Each time the
newsletter goes to the WRONG ADDRESS, the Post
Office charges ICON a fee to notify ICON of a change
of address. So when you move or go out of town,
e-mail: sarah@iconusersgroup.org
THE CONTENTS AND OPINIONS OF THE ARTICLES IN THIS
NEWSLETTER ARE THE OPINIONS OF THE AUTHORS .
NOT THOSE OF THE ICON USERS GROUP