Back in April 5, 2008 I took a photo of an overpass and its landscaping work in Onamia MN since a customer recommended me to take it because of the good landscaping example (erosion control). At the time, I was trying to take photos almost daily and pick out the best photo of the day and post it on Flickr.
Later on I found out it was used in propaganda by Senators Tom Coburn and John McCain without my permission. They used it on a report against bike trails. They did credit the photo, but not properly. It was an insult to my hometown, and a transportation option I and many others enjoy. It had misleading information including information about our representative in congress. Also At the same time I found out about an inline skater killed crossing a road while on a trail near me.
The whole situation bothered me quite a bit, but I am not getting a lawyer for it since I cannot afford one. I am glad for the Flickr user who pointed this out, I’m sure there are many others that have misused my photos but not to this extent. Later, I never renewed my Flickr pro account (there wasn’t much pro about it).
It has not stopped me from taking photos, but I have been slower to post them on the web.
Copyright Nathan Steffenson
1st if you get a call with caller id blocked or unfamiliar area code (especially if you mainly deal with people locally) you may want to ignore the phone call and let it go to voice mail.
If you get a phone call for advertising check:
- Have you heard of this company or used this product? If you haven’t then it is likely not good for your business.
- Do they force you to make a decision on the phone, or even automatically sign you up? Don’t trust them
- If you don’t trust them say no (or no thanks) and hang up. If they call again don’t answer.
Examples of advertising that does not usually work well:
- Print advertising that is self distributed or limited distribution(such as given away at businesses), These can be maps, magnets, directories, phone book covers, or fliers. If you haven’t seen the product in your hands before then it probably isn’t worth it.
- online advertising that you have not heard of(online only yellow pages). If you haven’t heard of them, or any one you know has heard of them then it probably isn’t worth it.
- very short radio or cable tv spots. Not very many people will remember a 10 second or less ad run twice.
Make sure if you are planning on advertising online you have seen the site if you are planning on advertising. My company offers online only advertising, and there are businesses that have seen successful results from it. If you are planning on advertising online you may even want to sign up online there are many now that are self serve. be sure that they have a good reputation.
Be weary of phone verifications after order is placed, they may try to sell you additional items. Sometimes it is necessary, or additional products may be necessary, but normally it isn’t. If the additional products were necessary they should have told you that on the web.
Be very weary of phone calls saying your credit card was declined in an order. They may be trying to increase the order amount or get your number to hold on to.
Be careful about giving your credit card number or account number out in a public place or written on paper.
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Bought a new computer?
Did you just buy a new computer?
Here are a few tips:
If your computer has Windows and didn’t come with any recovery discs, be sure to make them -whether on flash drives or DVDs.
Be sure to add your computer to your inventory list. This can be used for insurance, warranty and other purposes. Remember to put down the model and serial number and service code(if applicable).
If this isn’t your first you may have to transfer the data you need from your old computer to your new computer. You can do this with a USB flash drive/external drive, a cable connection, or network connection.
You may also have to learn the new features and differences with the new computer.
Enjoy your new Computer!
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Stolen web mail address
It is becoming more and more common for email addresses especially free web mail addresses to get stolen by another person. Those addresses are then used for spam or fraud such as phishing schemes.
Targeted accounts include hotmail.com, msn.com, live.com, yahoo.com and gmail.com. Sometimes if you are lucky you might be able to get your password back with the forgot my password option or by calling support. Other times you have to start fresh with a new address. Microsoft free accounts are hardest to get back, their paid accounts can be easier to get back.
The thefts sometimes send out spoof emails trying to get passwords and use spoof web sites to get your password. Sometimes they simply guess at your password or your forgot your password secret question.
To try to avoid getting your email stolen:
- Make you’re password hard to guess. Use special characters or punctuation, lower case and capital letters, and numbers.
- Avoid single word passwords
- Make sure your forgot your password option is something only you know and cannot be easily guessed.
- Use different passwords at different sites.
- Be careful where you enter your password.
- If you have your own computer, try to have both your email, and contacts backed up locally on your computer so you can be up and running if you need a new account.
- Check your email often to make sure it is working.
Be Careful and Good Luck!
Some Google employees made a site where you can send a form letter email with links to videos to help your parents or other family member learn how to use computers.
A lot of the stuff is pretty basic. Your parents may already know it. I think my grandparents know quite a bit of it. But, who knows? maybe you’ll learn something yourself.
Here is the link http://www.teachparentstech.org/
I learned about this watching Tekzilla
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E-waste link
Here is a link to an e-waste page at the Minnesota Polution Control Website: http://www.pca.state.mn.us/index.php/living-green/living-green-citizen/reduce-reuse-recycle/e-waste-electronic-trash.html
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Web Site About Fraud
I recently received a pamphlet about fraud from the US Postal Inspection Service in the mail. In case you may have missed it they have set up a web site http://www.deliveringtrust.com/ .
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Avoiding Dust with Computers
Dust can cause your computer to overheat, cause scratches on hard drives, and other problems that will stop your computer from working properly.
Here are some tips to avoid dust with computers.
- Keep your computer off the floor and as high as possible
- Make sure all expansion slots and drive bays are covered
- Avoid smoking by the computer
- If possible have in a room/area that is less dusty – well ventilated
- Use a dust cover when not in use
- Wipe outside with an antistatic wipe, also dust out the area around the computer.
- Keep it in an area away from pets.
- It’s a good idea to have your desktop computer opened up and cleaned out every 2-3 months – make sure power is off and unplugged. It can be blown out or vacuumed. A vacuum is probably best to avoid breathing in – although you need to be careful not to touch parts because of static. If you don’t know how to do this or are uncomfortable doing this, have a technician do it for you.
An additional fan may also help, but this is a last resort. (I don’t recommend an additional fan)
Warning: breathing in the dust from computers and electronics can be dangerous, especially with older models because of the fire retardant.
Always wash hands after dusting.
One other thing to keep your computer clean is to avoid eating or drinking around it.
See also http://www.ehow.com/how_5275211_keep-dust-out-computer.html
Update 12/13/2018: solid state drives or flash based storage can reduce noise, less heat, less movement to attract dust and are less prone to be wrecked by dust.