Paxo's blog

How Wasteful the Older Generation Was

2011-05-09T16:51:00.002+03:00

This was forwarded to me via email and I liked it so much, and it is so true, I thought I would share it here.

...... In the line at the store, the young cashier told the older woman that she should bring her own grocery bag because plastic bags weren’t good for the environment.

The woman apologised to him and explained, “We didn’t have the green thing back in my day.”

The assistant responded, "That's our problem today. The older generation did not care enough to save our environment."

He was right, that generation didn’t have the green thing in its day.

Back then, they returned their milk bottles, pop bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilised and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled.

But they didn’t have the green thing back in that customer's day.

In her day, they walked up stairs, because they didn’t have an escalator in every store and office building. They walked to the grocery store and didn’t climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time they had to go half a mile.

But she was right. They didn’t have the green thing in her day.

Back then, they washed the baby’s nappies because they didn’t have the disposable kind. They washed clothes by hand and dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts – wind and solar power really did dry the clothes. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing.

But that old lady is right, they didn’t have the green thing back in her day.

Back then, they had one TV, or radio, in the house – not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief, not a screen the size of the state of Montana. In the kitchen, they blended and stirred by hand because they didn’t have electric machines to do everything for you. When they packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, they used a wadded up old newspaper to cushion it, not styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap. Back then, they didn’t fire up an engine and burn petrol just to cut the lawn. They used a push mower that ran on human power. They exercised by working so they didn’t need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.

But she’s right, they didn’t have the green thing back then.

They drank from a fountain when they were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time they had a drink of water. They refilled their writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and they replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.

But they didn’t have the green thing back then.

Back then, people took the bus and kids rode their bikes to school or caught the school bus instead of turning their parents into a 24-hour taxi service. They had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And they didn’t need a computerised gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.

But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful the old folks were just because they didn't have the green thing back then?

New payment processor

2010-09-11T13:30:00.002+03:00

Hello,

There is a new payment processor coming next year called Paybox.

You can sign up now and have a look, they will give you $50 but for that they want you to give them something in return. That is your feedback and being active.

You will get an amount for logging in and while you are there you have to fill in one survey a week. if you get others to join they will give you $5 for every person that joins from your link.

Have a look and if you join you could have quite a good sum when they launch next year.

Go to Paybox.

One year old today.

2009-04-14T20:07:00.002+03:00

Today is Laxey's first birthday.

Here he is getting his birthday treat, a saucer of Danette. (This is a bit like custard but not quite.)

Go away !!

2009-02-22T22:26:00.005+02:00

Tonight I went to take Laxey's photo but as you see it seems that he did not want it taken.

Really I took his photo cos he looked so cute.

TURN THE LIGHTS OUT.....

2009-01-16T23:13:00.003+02:00

Tonight Laxey was lying beside me on the sofa asleep.

He stretched and ended up like in the picture.

I think he wanted the lights out !!!

Christmas Day

2008-12-25T15:20:00.006+02:00

Christmas day in the Paxton house hold and yes the animals got presents too.

Joy, Ian sister sent them both a present and here they are enjoying them.

Laxey, the cat, got a catnip bag in the shape of a mouse and tried to get into the wrapping before we could stop him. A picture here shows him playing with it.

Cubie got a rawhide Christmas card. As he was a year when we got him and he has always lived outside he was not used to getting presents. At first he just looked at it and did not think he was allowed to have it. A little while later and he realised just what it was for. Here is a picture of him making sure we knew it was his!

I took some video of Laxey chasing and playing with his catnip toy and I will upload some here when I get it out of the camera.

I hope you enjoy the photos.

Look I'm sitting up.

2008-11-12T22:31:00.004+02:00

Yesterday Laxey was sitting on my knee asleep.

He then got restless and ended up as you see him in this picture, he did not even move when Sue went for the camera. I think he was trying out sitting like a human.

Today we got Cubie our dog. We did not know how they would react to each other but Laxey stayed away at first but was curious like all cats are. Here I think he is asking himself "Is that a dog ??" Cubie did not know he was there until he got close and looked up, then got a shock.

Here is a picture of Cubie in a typical pose.

Now Cubie has decided it is fun to have a cat around and he wants to play with Laxey. The main trouble is Laxey has only known dogs to chase him and see him as a meal, so while he will get close he does not want to trust the dog. Poor Cubie now barks and tries to get Laxey to play but Laxey is having nothing of it. They need to sort out their differences and decide who is boss.

Another new addition to the family !!

2008-10-17T17:06:00.004+03:00

I have been building a new house. As well as refurbishing our house I have built one for our newest member of the family called Cubie.

We have had him ready for us to pick him up for about a year now. He will actually be a year old this month. Because we were living in a flat we could not take him and because we were going to the UK and have been away for so many weekends we have left him with his mother and grandmother.

The picture of the kennel shows it not yet complete but I have finished it and soon he will come and live with us.

I will have a picture of him on here soon so keep coming back.

Been away

2008-08-28T13:44:00.009+03:00

Sorry about the long gap between posts and yes you have guessed, Laxey has grown quite a lot.

We have been back to the UK for around five weeks and before that we helped with a children's camp and then when we got back a postponed camp because of major flooding in the area was then put on so we helped with that one too. We have also moved house and did not have the Internet for a while.

Below I will show pictures of Laxey. The first is before we went away and is dated 18th of June.

The next photo is the evening we got him back. I snapped this as he was peering out from behind the chair.

He was a bit timid when he first got back.

He was nearly all black when we first got him but he has earned his stripes and now his kitten fluff has gone and he is a grey tabby.

The next two photos show him stretched out. The second one looks like he is balancing on his ears but it is only the position of the camera. I hope you enjoy the update and the photos.

He is learning !!

2008-05-18T17:16:00.005+03:00

As the days go by Laxey is learning as he grows. He now knows to use his litter tray without being put into it, he is washing himself cat like and is also going to sleep in cat like positions.

As you can see from the photo, he is also getting into technology, looking at gadgets and working out how to use them.

One thing he is ignoring so far is drinking milk from a dish. We put his lips near the milk but so far will not lap. Hopefully he will do this soon.

The second picture shows him looking through Sue's legs. He is always curious and if he finds a gap he wants to get into it. He got into this position by pushing his way under one of Sue's legs.

Is it a cat or is it a parrot....

2008-05-13T21:26:00.003+03:00

No its Laxey exploring.

He has been growing and not surprising the amount of milk he is drinking.

Tonight though we wondered if he was really a parrot after he crawled up Sue's arm and sat on her shoulder.

He stayed there for quite a while before getting down into her arms and going to sleep.

Keep coming back for more episodes in the life of Laxey the kitten.

Kitten update

2008-05-08T23:28:00.006+03:00

Hello to you all, another update of Laxey.

He is growing and gaining stripes. He is also getting his character and walking better. His feet are more co-ordinated.

The first picture shows him feeding from his bottle with Sue. When Sue feeds him he always, at the beginning, raises his front paws in the air as if he is praising God for another feed. He never does this when I feed him. Maybe he is praising God that Sue is feeding him and not me ??!!

The second photo shows him finding his bottle and wondering how to get more milk from it!

It looks like a good picture for a caption contest? Anyone with any ideas can leave them in the comments here.

Sue came up with "I wonder if I could spit it all back in?"

Kitten update

2008-05-04T15:22:00.002+03:00

Hello to all my readers.

I have been asked to put more pictures up here of our new kitten.

He has grown in the few days we have had him so here is a picture taken on the 3rd of May. This is the only decent, recent picture I have of him but as you will see he has grown since the 29th of April when I first took hi picture.

We have decided to call him Laxey from a tradition. We had a ginger cat years ago called Ramsey. We named him Ramsey as he was born on Tuesday, 2nd June which was Ramsey Sprint day during TT week on the Isle of Man. My sister later got a cat and called him Douglas keeping an Isle of Man theme and so this little fella is to be named Laxey from a small town between Douglas and Ramsey on the East coast.

I will take more pictures and put them up as he grows. Maybe I will get more readers because of him.

A surprise addition to the family

2008-04-29T17:25:00.007+03:00

Hi,

I have not posted here for a while as I have been busy working on the house. Updates can still be found at www.paxo.me.uk.

Yesterday, 28th April, my wife Sue went to take the rubbish out. She came back a bit excited and said "there is a kitten next to the bins on a piece of straw and if we don't take it in it will die".

I knew there was no way that I could say no, she had made her mind up that we were to look after it so I just told her to go and get it.

It is about two weeks old and should really still be with it's mother. It can not lap and we have to feed it with a bottle. It needs to be fed about every two hours so last night we were woken up to feed it.

Have a look at the pictures to see how it is. I will post more pictures as it grows.

Looking to try Linux.......Read on.

2008-02-12T22:41:00.000+02:00

Have you ever wanted to try Linux but have never ventured into the Linux world?

Are you fed up of people like me going on about Linux but thought about trying it?

Don't know which distro, (Linux talk for distribution or version) to try?

Today I received my monthly copy of Linux Format. I do get it a bit later as I am an international subscriber but it came out in the UK around the 7th February. So what I hear you cry. Well, this month they have included a double sided DVD with the magazine and there are TEN distros on the DVD. This means that if you had a spare PC lying around you could try out ten different copies of Linux one after another and you don't have to wait for them all to download. There is also a bit of help in the magazine about installing them. Some even come as "live versions", which means that you can set your computer to boot from your DVD and it will load up the version of Linux you want from the DVD and you can try it out without installing it. Of course this runs slower from the DVD than from a hard disc but at least you can see what it looks like and how it works.

I use Ubuntu on my second computer and as a dual boot on my laptop so I can recommend
this as it works for me.
Don't worry I am not getting paid for this blog post but I just thought I would share a very good opportunity out there with you all.

Any questions, just get in touch.

Firefox versus Internet Explorer and Operating systems.

2008-02-04T00:00:00.002+02:00

In the past few months I have installed Google Analytics on my site and today I had a closer look.

It seems that what we really knew was right, Microsoft has the greater share in the operating system department.

The first graphic shows the list of operating systems that people who have logged onto my site are using. The various versions of Windows is winning hands down with the Mac next and Linux brining up the rear.

The second graphic shows the various flavours of Windows being used. As it shows XP is used most. Vista hardly has a show, not the success Microsoft really wanted. I do think people are not upgrading their OS as often as they used to. Why mend something that is not yet broken? I also think people are thinking of the alternatives to Microsoft. Linux in it's various flavours are much more user friendly nowadays.

With Linux being a free OS and getting better all the time, people are turning that way. As a basic desktop alternative to be used in an office or at home Linux can do everything Windows can. I use Ubuntu on my second computer and have it dual booted on my laptop.

BUT it is a very different story when it comes to web browsers. Firefox has the greater share in that department. The third graphic shows the web browsers and the operating systems side by side. Firefox is ahead on all three operating systems.

I have been a fan of Firefox for a number of years now and have found it secure and up to the job of any web site I have come across. To read of a time when Firefox actually helped me, go to this page, I could not believe the difference it made over I.E.

Click on the graphics to make them larger.

The stats on the graphics here relate to when I started using Google's Analytics on my site, which was from 8th January till yesterday 2nd February.

I have been using Trafficera to get more people to see my site, see previous blog post. It is a traffic exchange but I have found that it works. They do pay you if you get others to sign up too.

Trafficera: Get in early for "First Mover" benefits

2008-01-27T22:48:00.000+02:00

Traffic Exchange Meets
Social Marketing: Trafficera

The fastest growing social marketing site on the
Internet at the moment is the newly launched
Traffic Exchange - Trafficera which I have just joined.

It is free to join as a silver member and costs a bit to upgrade but there are more benefits for upgraders.

Trafficera combines a
traffic exchange with a social network. The new program
has numerous features including the ability to promote
your website(s) to thousands of people worldwide, create
valuable contacts with others from around the world,
maintain your own blog space, search for other members
that share similar interests to yourself, create and/or
participate in discussion groups and create your own
splash pages.

Trafficera is being offered by the owner of TS25, TrafficPods
and HitPulse - so they know what they are doing.

Get in early for "First Mover" benefits:
http://www.trafficera.com/?ref=paxo

Terracotta stove for sale - Vand soba teracota

2008-01-14T16:50:00.000+02:00

Hello to you all,

As an update on the house I have started to work on it. I am going to put central heating in as the first job to do. In doing this I have dismantled the terracotta wood burning stove in what was to be the dining room. This is now sat in the annexe waiting for buyer.

I am going to move the wall that divides the kitchen and dining room at present. This will make the kitchen bigger by two metres and make a dining/kitchen. The resulting smaller room will house the new wood burning stove and boiler etc. for the central heating and hot water system.

If anyone does want to buy the old stove they will have to collect it, Bearing in mind it is in North East Romania. I am not an expert but I would say it is in fair condition.

For more updates on the house project you can go to www.paxo.me.uk.

Sign up for a free bronze membership in MiAmigoServices.

2008-01-10T17:24:00.000+02:00

Hello to you all.

This is only open till Sunday. You can still get in free after this time but the membership level is classed as free and you will not get as many perks or bonuses. There are other options with different payments and I would only recommend these if you can get others to follow you in.

Follow the instructions below and then tell all your friends to sign up before Sunday.

Step 1: click on this link
Step 2: Fill out registration and click register at bottom
Step 3: Wait for a confirmation e-mail from admin with further instructions
Step 4: Click on the confirmation link and continue the signup process.
Step 5: Choose Bronze
Step 6: Choose offline payment
Step 7: submit and no other requirements are necessary at this time.

Till next time.

We have signed up.....

2008-01-03T14:18:00.000+02:00

Hello again and I wish you a happy new year.

With regards to the house situation, my last post on this was telling you we had decided not to go for the house in the small village attached to Radauţi and we were looking at another.

Well, there were no utilities like drainage and water with that house so we decided not to go ahead with it.

Showing some friends the pictures we had of the house in the village, we were wondering why we had not decided to buy it as it looked so good for the money. I have not said anything here for a while as I wanted to be sure it was right but today we have signed up and have bought the house.

It has stood empty for a few years and has no heating. We also want to put our mark on it and do some work that is needed so we are going to stay in the apartment we have as it is at present between -2 and -12 during the day. With no central heating it would be hard to live in at first and our apartment is so lovely and warm.

The pump for the water supply is broken so that is the first job I need to do so we will be able to use the facilities etc. (And make a cup of tea.)

To see more pictures and the work we want to do go to my site. This will also be updated as we go along with the renovations.

This has turned out not to be a house build but there is still plenty of work to do.

Thank you for reading.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

2007-12-20T18:06:00.000+02:00

I want to say Merry Christmas and a Happy new Year to my readers.

But I also want to ask you to remember what we are celebrating at this time of the year. Nowadays all we get from the media and the shops is how much money we should spend and how doing so makes us look good.

Christmas is a time of Joy as we celebrate the coming of Jesus, but most people celebrate the coming of presents. I am not against giving of presents, this was to symbolise God giving His son as a present to us, but now I think it has got out of hand.

Recently someone said to me we should celebrate Easter more than Christmas. Of course, without Christmas there would be no Easter to celebrate. What he was saying was that Easter was when Jesus died for our sins and that we should think on that more.

I know many people will disagree with me and say that I am a party pooper but I say that parties are great. Jesus did not come to condemn the world but came that we might have life, and have it to the full. Let us enjoy every day and be happy every day thanking God.

If you don't know God, you have never prayed and just want to know if God does exist then ask him to reveal himself to you personally. 'Praying', is just talking, so talk to God as if He was sitting next to you. You don't need to use fancy words, just say what you think, ask Him to reveal Himself. If you are sincere and mean what you say then He will show himself.

How I hear some say, how do I see God. Look around you, this web site (these are my photos) is a fantastic to see what God can do, and does for us, just for our pleasure. Why else do we need such beautiful sunsets and sunrises, such colourful birds and flowers, don't you think God made them look so good so we can enjoy them?

Any way I don't want to start to bore you by starting to preach. If you want to know God, ask Him to come into your life, He will if you mean it.

If you want to discuss this with me further then send me an email.

Have a wonderful Christmas and a very special New Year and keep showing us all your wonderful weather photos.

Paxo.

Real life recycling !!

2007-12-05T00:05:00.000+02:00

Hello,

Today we had double glazing fitted into our apartment. There were two windows, and the windows on the balcony.

The old windows were taken out and the new ones fitted.

Now for the recycling. The balcony was done first and the windows were made of steel frames. The were cut out after the glass was removed and most of the glass came out whole. I proceeded to take the glass and bits of frame down to the skips for the bin men to collect I did not put it into the skips as I thought someone else might be able to use it and so this meant they would not have to go into the skips to collect it. Within an hour the glass panes had been taken away.

Next the wooden frames of the old windows and the frames that made the opening windows were taken out and I put these down near the skips. The frames themselves had had to be broken up to be taken out but I thought if nothing else someone could use the old wood as fuel. The openers were complete with frames and glass panes.

As I was taking the openers down a man approached me and asked if he could have the openers as he could use them at his brothers house. As I was really only throwing them away I said of course he could have them. The large metal frames from the balcony were taken down last and by the time the evening had come everything had been taken away by someone who could use what I had thrown away.

This is very good recycling as there were no carbon emissions used to actually recycle the materials, they were just re used.

Get Camtasia Studio for £0.00

2007-11-25T20:13:00.000+02:00

I just want to make sure you know about a special that
Camtasia Studios is running right now.

I'm not sure how long this is going to last, but right now
you can get a fully functional version of Camtasia Studio 3
for a whopping price of $0.00.

They are giving it away in the hopes that you will upgrade
to their latest version 5, but you can easily use the
version 3 software for just about all your needs and not
pay anything.

If you don't know what Camtasia Studio is, it allows you
to create videos of the actions on your computer screen and
share them with others. It comes in very useful if you
ever need to show people how to use a piece of software
online.

Even if you don't think you need this right now, GRAB IT
anyway. Your marketing may not be at a place where you
need it yet, but eventually you very well could need this
software. It would be a shame to let this go now and end
up having to pay $299 or more later.

By the way, I am in no way affiliated with Camtasia. This
is just information that I received that I am passing along
to you.

*********************************************
Here is how you can get the software:

1. Download Camtasia 3 from this
link:

2. Go here to request an activation key
here

3. Install it right away and enter the activation key
**********************************************

Just thought I would pass this on to you all.

Non working Goodmans GNav10 Satelite Navigation

2007-11-21T15:49:00.000+02:00

Click on image for larger view.

For those of you who have found this blog looking for ways to fix your non working Goodmans Gnav10 SAT NAV unit, you may have found the right place.

I was recently buying on Ebay and decided to look at someone's other auctions and came across an auction for the above SAT NAV unit priced at £11.00 plus £5.00 postage with the words "will not start" in the description and "sold as seen".

I thought about this and decided to bid the £11.00 and see if I could get it working.

My main thoughts were that it must have a rechargeable battery inside and maybe it has not been charged for a long time and it might be replaceable. Not ever having a SAT NAV unit in the past I did not know anything about them but would give it a go.

Time was up and yes I won the auction. I paid up and the unit arrived.

I tried to get it to go but no matter how I tried nothing would turn on. Plugging it into the mains I did not even get a charging LED to light up.

I have always been someone who like to know how things work, even as a child I used to take things to bits and my Dad would give me old radios etc. just so I did not dismantle his good ones.

So.... it was off to find a small enough screwdriver to fit the tiny screws on the SAT NAV unit. Having taken the back off and had a look inside I could see a rechargeable battery. So another screw or two later to get at the battery I had it in my hand wondering where I could buy such a unit locally. At the time I was back in the UK, (I live in Romania at present) and staying with my sister. I knew my sister's boyfriend was into electronics so I asked him.

Next thing I knew he was taking the whole unit with him to test things out saying that there is often a bit of circuitry that cuts off the battery as the type that was in the unit could sometimes blow up ??

Two days later he brought it back switched on. (Never really asked exactly how he got it working?) The battery had half a charge in it according to him. Now it was working that was fine BUT......... it was not an easy matter to turn it on and this is the bit I think you are all looking for......... To turn it on I have now to go through the following procedure:

There are two on/off switches, a main switch and a button. Both these need to be in the off position, and I need to either plug it into the mains or the 12v car charger to give it power. The charger light comes on showing red, before this goes out I need to turn the main switch to the on position AND press the on button to start it up. Once it is turned on I can use it as a SAT NAV unit and did so. I found it working perfectly.

Now because I did not have much faith in myself I ordered one from China, via Ebay, new. On this one too I noticed two on/off switches. A main switch and a button to turn it on. I think the main switch it to protect the battery from discharging itself totally. So if you are not going to use your SAT NAV system very often I would advise you to switch the main switch off as well as just switching it off at the button.

I never did find a replacement battery but that was because I got mine working. Maybe someone somewhere does sell one, if so this may be another way of getting a dead unit back to life. To replace the battery is quite easy. Once you undo the four very small screws that hold the back on there is a battery holder held in with similar screws, (two I think) to stop the battery floating about and once this is undone it is just a matter of unplugging the battery and plugging in a new one and reversing the above procedure.

I hope this helps someone to get their unit back alive and if anyone ever finds someone selling replacement batteries for this make and model please let me know, I may buy a replacement.

JARS Christmas appeal

2007-11-18T16:27:00.000+02:00

Hello again,

I just thought I would let you all know that JARS, the UK registered charity I work for is having a Christmas appeal.

We are going to give out parcels for Christmas to various needy people in the area of Romania where we live through a Romanian registered charity here in Radauti.

If you go to JARS web site you can follow the links to the appeal page to find out more information and if you wish to give to the appeal.

The web site will be updated after Christmas with pictures etc. showing the parcels being given out.

Thank you in advance to anyone who gives to this appeal.

House update

2007-11-14T13:47:00.000+02:00

Hello again,

For those who have read the post earlier, we have decided not to go ahead with the house part built that I mentioned in the post. The main reason is that we found that because we would be having the bottom house the furthest away from the road we would be paying a lot of money to put in the utilities. Normally if other people had bought the top houses we would be only paying the amount from the last house. We would have had to pay between 5 and 10 thousand Euro just for the utilities to be put in.

We had seen another house in a village attached to our town of Radauti but it meant Sue, my wife was going to be stuck unless I took her as she won't drive and there was no public transport.

Just today we have sen another house that is not quite finished but has more items finished than the others we have looked at. This one is in the centre of Radauti and has all of the outside finished, (except the garden areas) electric installed and the windows and doors installed.

We are now wondering if this is the right house. We are at present a bit short money wise but know because we are here to do God's will He will supply all our needs and if this is the right house we will get the finance to finish it. We hope to use the house we get or His work so we continue to pray that He will show us where we are meant to live.

I will keep you all informed here as to our progress in the house hunting.

Ian.

How to make your computer more secure.

2007-10-07T16:47:00.000+03:00

The main way that viruses etc. come into a computer are through the Internet. One way to stop viruses and mallware is to use secure software. The way I have done this on my computers is to use non Microsoft software.

Only my main computer runs Windows as an operating system and I have stopped using anything higher than 2000. (I like the desktop and the way 2000 works anyway.) My other two computers run various flavours of Linux.

On the Windows 2000 box I have opted for Mozilla's Firefox and Thunderbird. One reason for this takes me back a few years. I had already started using this software on my computer and I was asked to supply and install a computer system in the church building I attended. I was to install all the computers, including servers, laptops and desktop machines.

This was done and the two servers were set up with SME server, a variation of Linux specifically for servers. One was set as a web server and the other as a file and print server. One ran for over a year without a restart and the other was only restarted after an add-on was added.

The desktops were set up with Windows 2000 and all went well for about a month. I was then asked to have a look at the setup as the Internet had slowed to a crawl. I logged in and had a browse of the Internet. All seemed well for me so I said everything was OK and left them to continue.

After only about another week or two I was told the Internet was still slow and could I have another look. This time when I logged on and everything was OK I asked what they meant by slow. One guy told me he clicked on a page, went downstairs and made everyone a cup of coffee and on his return found the page was still loading, very slowly.

I got out some anti virus and anti mallware software and found the bandwidth was taken up with many trojan horses and mallware serving up adverts for undesirable stuff, stuff no one had asked for.

After running the "anti" software and cleared off everything that should not be there I then installed Thunderbird and Firefox. Some people wanted to use Outlook so I had to compromise. At least that is marginally better than Outlook Express. I even set the icons that pointed to Internet Explorer to point to Firefox.

A few months later I asked how the Internet was getting on, to a response of "no problems since you sorted it".

That has shown me that this is the best road to go down to stop mallware and viruses. Of course you always need an anti virus programme installed to catch them.

Another little trick is to have images blocked as default in your email programme and if you need to look at them, you can load the images one at a time, and only from people you trust. If you don't know the person who has sent it, just delete it.

If you swap to Linux, then you get even less stuff coming through.

Our new house

2007-10-03T10:30:00.000+03:00

Hello and welcome to a new part of my blog.

In this section I am going to record the ups and downs of building a new house. This is new to me and I had never thought I would do anything like this.

Since our move to Romania in December 2006 we have been looking for a house. At present we live in a two room apartment which we have had for a few years and has been great to use on our many visits from the UK to Romania bringing aid and resources to a charity we have been working with. It is still a great place but if we want friends to visit and stay there is not much room for them. Also with my love of motorcycles I don't have anywhere to keep one other than on the street below.

We have seen a house half built and were interested in buying it but we did not like the position. We have decided to buy the bottom plot and have a similar house built on that plot. If you go to our web site there are some pictures of the house we first saw.

We are at the stage of drawing up contracts with the builder for the work he will do and to buy the land and house.

When the house is basically built, (foundations, walls, roof etc.) then I will take over putting in windows and finishing off the inside. Even though I am basically a practical person there will be some things I will not be able to do. One thing that springs to mind is the fact that every time I have tried to plaster large areas I get the plaster on and then it falls off.

I am sure there will be problems along the way but also there will be the satisfaction and knowledge that I have built the house.

I will post back at different stages along the way though I don't expect much will happen in the next month.

See you next time.

An unbiased and detailed review of the only traffic exchange system that caters exclusively to blogs.

2007-09-22T16:42:00.000+03:00

First, a little bit of ‘history’……..

Many blog owners have complained in the past, of being given an unfair deal when it comes to promoting their blogs on traffic exchange systems. The problem is, members of a traffic exchange have been ‘programmed’ to view websites only, as they surf for credits.

Because blogs were first regarded as online diaries meant merely for personal and social use, today, only a few truly realize its potential as a great marketing tool. So when most people surfing on a traffic exchange system come across a blog, they simply tend to ignore it.

One determined blog owner however, decided to do something about it. He loved using traffic exchange systems, and was convinced they were a great method for generating a steady stream of traffic. The million-dollar question then, was how to develop an effective way to promote his blog on a traffic exchange system.

That’s when it hit him! Why not build a traffic exchange system exclusively for blogs? That way, not only would there be less competition, (since it was going to be only for blog owners) but it would also offer a more targeted method to generate traffic. (blog owners are naturally interested in viewing similar blogs)

Nico De Baere was soon the proud webmaster of the first ever traffic exchange system on the Web that catered exclusively for blogs – free-blog-advertising.com. I’ve had the good fortune of reviewing it, and give below the low-down on all of its unique features and membership levels, for your benefit. Check it out!

The good, the bad and the ugly…….

First, the good: This is surely one traffic exchange system that really overdelivers on free membership alone. As for the paid versions, they’re simply mind-blowing! Here are some of the benefits you gain as a free member of free-blog-advertising.com:-

• 100 credits per month added automatically to your account. (unbelievable!)

• An amazing 4:3 auto surf ratio and a 2:1 manual surf ratio

• Link banners to your blog displays for greater impact (a totally awesome feature!)

**** Use their toolbar-ads exchange

I strongly feel this is the most outstanding feature of free-blog-advertising.com. In fact, it is so unique, you can’t find it being offered by any other traffic exchange system out there, that’s for sure. Members are encouraged to download their adware-free toolbar, and earn credits each time they open a new browser. The ads are displayed in the toolbar and refresh each time a new browser opens. A dropdown menu in the toolbar contains all the important FBA links for easier and faster navigation.

Now here’s what you stand to benefit when you upgrade as a Pro member:

• An amazing 3:2 auto surf ratio and a 1:1 manual surf ratio

• Email downline once a week

• Max 1 Waystation

And as a Gold member……

• 500 credits sign up bonus

• An awesome 2:1 auto surf ratio and a 1:1 manual surf ratio

• Email downline every 4 days

Nico De Baere also offers you an Elite FBA Membership where you get even more fabulous benefits:

• 750 credits sign up bonus

• Autosurf timer: 20 secs

• Email downline every 2 days

• And a lot more...

Special mention must also be made of the bonuses De Baere is offering, when you upgrade to the Elite membership package. It’s definitely not the run-of-the-mill bonus packs you find every webmaster offering these days for upgrading!

**** Plus, you’re given the option of grabbing a free blog that you can add to your existing blog network.

Now for the downside: Well, what can I say….I haven’t found any yet ! Really!

And the ugly: NONE (for now at least…!)

Well, there you have it ! An honest, in-depth review of the hottest and most sought-after traffic exchange system on the planet right now –

free-blog-advertising