The Help Centers

I wrote a bit ago about unblocking websites when you are behind a firewall.  I had said that for the most part that you should probably just quit trying as there is a reason the people who run your network are blocking you.  Not a good one or one you may agree with but one none the less.  Now are there GOOD reasons to get around blocks such as this?  Yes.  Are they always effective? No. But the concepts are pretty sound.  While not a discussion of how to break the systems will show the strengths and weaknesses of each.  This should help a few parents and sys admins on securing their Internet access a little better.

Continue Reading Unblocking websites

Since it’s Halloween I wondered if the razor blades, needles and poison in candy stories and warnings were true. So I fired up my browser and headed off on the internet. What I found was a bit SPOOOOOKY!

Continue Reading Trick or Treating Safety

Remember the old piggy banks that you had use a butter knife and jiggle or SMASH in order to get out the money? How you would try and remember how much is in there? I’ve tried to use the jar to hold my spare pocket change but with kids my jar usually remains empty even AFTER a week of putting my change in. I have an inexpensive and secure way of saving without ‘breaking the bank’. Continue Reading Forced Saving

With ecommerce sites like Amazon, eBay and others boasting thousands if not millions of products. Would you shop at a store that only carried ONE random product and when the sold out they closed for the day? Where there are no preorders or backorders? One site on the internet is doing JUST this and is amazingly successful. Plus it’s kinda fun to shop at! Continue Reading Yes we have no bananas…

My eldest daughter is in Sixth grade and has a LOT of trouble taking notes. Namely the school hasn’t taught her how. Granted I shouldn’t rely on the school to do all the work, so I’m trying a few different techniques and ideas. First I’m emphasizing the importance of taking notes. For some reason the teachers (at her school) do not lecture as much as I remember mine did and give comprehensive study guides for each test. I think this is due to the fact that the teachers are pressured into getting the kids to do well on the standardized tests to maintain funding. So note taking is not emphasized. Continue Reading Note taking - a lost art…

Yesterday I had a rather large scare. My youngest daughter (six years old almost seven) was home sick and was playing with Magentix. For those who don’t know, Magnetix is a toy building kit for ages 6 and up what consists of small tubes with disc magnets at each end and half-inch ball bearings. They stick together and you can build stuff with them. She went to cough and covered her mouth and accidentally swallowed a piece. Specifically one of the balls. Fortunately she said something to us after a few minutes of worrying that she’d get in trouble for loosing a piece. Since it was round I wasn’t worried about much but just for fun I looked up if this had happened to anyone else and if there were any real dangers. I was surprised at what I found. Continue Reading Magnetix Swallowing Dangers