Recently my computer was running a little sluggish because I had forgotten to do the little housekeeping tasks to keep it running at optimum speed. A couple of friends asked me to help them with their computers, also, so I thought I would share the tips with anyone interested.
Remove the Junk
There are probably programs you have downloaded, or added, that you no longer use, or use rarely. Many of these programs take up much valuable space for the use they give, so dump 'em. Click on Start, Control Panel, then Add/Remove Programs. After the list is populated, scroll down through each one. You will be able to identify the last time you used the program, how often you use it, and how big the capacity is. When you identify ones you think you no longer need, just click Remove to delete it. There will be a prompt to alert you to shared components between programs. Select No on these because you may inadvertently remove components needed to run something else.
Do Clean Up
Click on Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, then select Disk Clean Up. Choose the drive you want to clean up (usually C) and click to complete. The pop up window will show you which files are on C, and how much space they are taking up. Delete downloaded program files, temporary internet files, and Recycle Bin Files. Click the files you want to delete and then click OK.
Organize
If you store photos on your hard drive, consolidate them using a photo organizing program. You can get a free one to download from Google. Better yet, transfer all your photos to a CD. To do this, display the photo images on your computer. Click the image you want to transfer to the CD, then click Copy this File. A box will come up prompting you to select the place you want to copy the image to. Click CD-RW Drive and Click Copy. A balloon will pop up at the bottom of the screen reminding you the "You have files waiting to be written to the CD". After you have chosen all the images you want to transfer, click on this balloon and you will be taken to the CD writing program on your computer. Click "Write these files to CD" and follow the prompts. After you CD is completed, you can delete the photo images from your computer hard drive, saving space and speeding up your operations.
I have done this many times with my computer, and the results are always good. Try it.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
More on Turning 60
As I previously told you, I turned the big 60 on January 5. Last Saturday I had a great thought: All the people I went to school with will be turning 60 this year also. I had a list of email addresses from our last reunion, and zipped off a short note wishing each of them a Happy 60th Birthday. The response I have received has been wonderful.
I heard from a girl I walked to school with for four years and who I have not seen since we graduated. She emailed 3 times that first night, and sent pictures of her family and let me know what she was doing. I heard from another guy who I haven't seen in years and he sent pictures. I heard from a friend who is now living in the Florida Keys teaching scuba diving (we're from Ohio, so that is a big leap). Everyone who emailed me back gave details of what they had been doing, and also asked about me, my family, and my mother and sisters, whom most also knew, since it was a very small town.
So if any of you are thinking about the good old days, contact your old friends. It made my weekend!
I heard from a girl I walked to school with for four years and who I have not seen since we graduated. She emailed 3 times that first night, and sent pictures of her family and let me know what she was doing. I heard from another guy who I haven't seen in years and he sent pictures. I heard from a friend who is now living in the Florida Keys teaching scuba diving (we're from Ohio, so that is a big leap). Everyone who emailed me back gave details of what they had been doing, and also asked about me, my family, and my mother and sisters, whom most also knew, since it was a very small town.
So if any of you are thinking about the good old days, contact your old friends. It made my weekend!
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Remodeling Your Basement to Add Value to Your Home
Remodeling your basement is an excellent way to add extra living space, plus extra value, to your home. By planning carefully before you begin you can maximize the space and get the most for your money. When planning, consider a bathroom and wet bar area if the plumbing is available. This will add extra value and make entertaining in this room easier and more enjoyable. A small refrigerator, a microwave, and a coffee maker are good to include. A full bath is a great value, but a half bath is good, too. If the plumbing is there, or you can add it, do so.
The first step is to make sure the basement is, and remains, dry. Water seepage will completely undo all your hard work, so it is very important you don't miss this first step. There are many products sold in your local hardware stores that you just paint on the walls to keep your basement dry and leak free. It's well worth the time and effort.
There are certain elements in the basement that you can't move or change, so plan around them. Beams, support columns, furnace, water heater and any existing plumbing can be incorporated into your plan by building around them. Build a seperate room for the furnace and water heater. Box in beams and columns you want to cover and then drywall around them. Do the same with plumbing pipes, but remember to leave a way to access this plumbing in the future, either by adding a small hinged door, or a removable piece of drywall that can be latched in place.
The duct work for the heating system will be running through the floor joists. You can add a couple of heat ducts from the existing system to the new space to direct heat to where you want it in the room.
Frame the walls with 2 x 4's, with a header and footer, the studs being 16 inches on center. Attach these to the cement walls in the basement, and also to the floor.
Now it's time for the wiring. This is something that should definitely be done by a certified electrician. Electrical outlets should be plentiful, to allow free use of the space for whatever you choose later. Also, the wall switches should be the type that can be operated from two different locations. You don't want to come upstairs only to have forgotten to turn off one of the lights and have to go all the way back down to do it. We learned this the hard way when we did our basement, and changing out those switches is now at the top of my "To Do" list. This is also the time to install the wiring for telephone lines and surround sound speakers.
If you don't already have plenty of insulation, now is the time to put it in. It never hurts to have extra.
Hand and finish the drywall. This is a job that can be done by most do-it-yourselfers, with a little practice. Use drywall screws to attach the sheetrock to the 2 x 4's. You can use paneling if you prefer, but drywall makes it look more professional.
After the drywall is finished, it's time for the ceiling. Using a dropped ceiling is the choice of most people, for a couple of reasons. One is that hanging and finishing overhead drywall is a tough job. The main reason is that a dropped ceiling will allow easy access to those plumbing pipes and any wiring that will be running overhead. If there is a breakage or a leak, you can get to it easily, and also will not have to replace the entire ceiling, just the panels that may be damaged.
Put insulation between the floor joists before you hang the ceiling panels. This acts as a sound barrier to the overhead rooms, and is well worth it. We added extra insulation in the ceiling, and you can be down there with a crowd and the surround sound turned all the way up, and can't hear it from upstairs. It's great.
The flooring is the last step. Carpeting with good padding is a good choice. It makes the cold floor stay warmer and helps with insulation from the ground. Tile floors in the bathroom and wet bar area allow for quick clean up of any spills in those areas.
I hope this will encourage those of you who have been considering a basement remodel to go ahead and do it. It is a big job, but the rewards are even bigger. Enjoy!
The first step is to make sure the basement is, and remains, dry. Water seepage will completely undo all your hard work, so it is very important you don't miss this first step. There are many products sold in your local hardware stores that you just paint on the walls to keep your basement dry and leak free. It's well worth the time and effort.
There are certain elements in the basement that you can't move or change, so plan around them. Beams, support columns, furnace, water heater and any existing plumbing can be incorporated into your plan by building around them. Build a seperate room for the furnace and water heater. Box in beams and columns you want to cover and then drywall around them. Do the same with plumbing pipes, but remember to leave a way to access this plumbing in the future, either by adding a small hinged door, or a removable piece of drywall that can be latched in place.
The duct work for the heating system will be running through the floor joists. You can add a couple of heat ducts from the existing system to the new space to direct heat to where you want it in the room.
Frame the walls with 2 x 4's, with a header and footer, the studs being 16 inches on center. Attach these to the cement walls in the basement, and also to the floor.
Now it's time for the wiring. This is something that should definitely be done by a certified electrician. Electrical outlets should be plentiful, to allow free use of the space for whatever you choose later. Also, the wall switches should be the type that can be operated from two different locations. You don't want to come upstairs only to have forgotten to turn off one of the lights and have to go all the way back down to do it. We learned this the hard way when we did our basement, and changing out those switches is now at the top of my "To Do" list. This is also the time to install the wiring for telephone lines and surround sound speakers.
If you don't already have plenty of insulation, now is the time to put it in. It never hurts to have extra.
Hand and finish the drywall. This is a job that can be done by most do-it-yourselfers, with a little practice. Use drywall screws to attach the sheetrock to the 2 x 4's. You can use paneling if you prefer, but drywall makes it look more professional.
After the drywall is finished, it's time for the ceiling. Using a dropped ceiling is the choice of most people, for a couple of reasons. One is that hanging and finishing overhead drywall is a tough job. The main reason is that a dropped ceiling will allow easy access to those plumbing pipes and any wiring that will be running overhead. If there is a breakage or a leak, you can get to it easily, and also will not have to replace the entire ceiling, just the panels that may be damaged.
Put insulation between the floor joists before you hang the ceiling panels. This acts as a sound barrier to the overhead rooms, and is well worth it. We added extra insulation in the ceiling, and you can be down there with a crowd and the surround sound turned all the way up, and can't hear it from upstairs. It's great.
The flooring is the last step. Carpeting with good padding is a good choice. It makes the cold floor stay warmer and helps with insulation from the ground. Tile floors in the bathroom and wet bar area allow for quick clean up of any spills in those areas.
I hope this will encourage those of you who have been considering a basement remodel to go ahead and do it. It is a big job, but the rewards are even bigger. Enjoy!
New News
I know I've been out of touch for quite a while, but with the holidays, the new year, and new hobbies and interest, I've been very busy. Plus, I had my 60th birthday on January 5.
I used to think of 60 as being ancient ( didn't we all??), but, you know what, I don't feel much different now than I did 10 years ago. Actually, I feel better. In December of 1997, I had a hysterectomy 10 days before Christmas. As anyone who has experienced this knows, it is not an easy recovery, though I had support and help from everyone around. But I still wasn't feeling so good for my birthday. My husband, in his excuberance, decided I needed a big party to celebrate my 50th, and planned a surprise. Thank goodness my best friend clued me in ahead of time. It actually turned out well, considering I was still taking pain pills from the operation. So this year, I told him absolutely NO PARTY, period. Case closed. This time he paid attention, and we spent a quiet evening with the above mentioned best friends, and with the family the next day. It was great.
I have also found a great website that you may want to visit. It's called Helium, and is a site for writers and those of us who aspire to be writers. You pick something you would like to write about from the many lists available, do the research, and write your best article. Each article is then rated, by other writers on the site, against the articles posted for the subject. Not only does it allow you to learn much about many different topics, you can earn money based on your articles. So far my earnings have been very minimal, but I have learned a lot, and also learned that I really do like to write. Like all of us, I assume, there has always been a novel lurking in the background of my mind. And now I can explore that, and more. Check it out.
I will also share some of my writings here for you to check out. I've found them so enlightening that I think maybe you would like them also. Keep checking back. The subjects are varied, informative and interesting. Thanks for reading.
I used to think of 60 as being ancient ( didn't we all??), but, you know what, I don't feel much different now than I did 10 years ago. Actually, I feel better. In December of 1997, I had a hysterectomy 10 days before Christmas. As anyone who has experienced this knows, it is not an easy recovery, though I had support and help from everyone around. But I still wasn't feeling so good for my birthday. My husband, in his excuberance, decided I needed a big party to celebrate my 50th, and planned a surprise. Thank goodness my best friend clued me in ahead of time. It actually turned out well, considering I was still taking pain pills from the operation. So this year, I told him absolutely NO PARTY, period. Case closed. This time he paid attention, and we spent a quiet evening with the above mentioned best friends, and with the family the next day. It was great.
I have also found a great website that you may want to visit. It's called Helium, and is a site for writers and those of us who aspire to be writers. You pick something you would like to write about from the many lists available, do the research, and write your best article. Each article is then rated, by other writers on the site, against the articles posted for the subject. Not only does it allow you to learn much about many different topics, you can earn money based on your articles. So far my earnings have been very minimal, but I have learned a lot, and also learned that I really do like to write. Like all of us, I assume, there has always been a novel lurking in the background of my mind. And now I can explore that, and more. Check it out.
I will also share some of my writings here for you to check out. I've found them so enlightening that I think maybe you would like them also. Keep checking back. The subjects are varied, informative and interesting. Thanks for reading.
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