Mrs. Mecomber’s Scrapbook

Need new eyeglasses? It’s easy to buy them online! Check out zennioptical.com. We’ve ordered from them and have been pleased with their incredible low costs and great quality. There are a ton of frames to choose from, including the most popular styles available today.

Zenni Optical eliminates the middle man, so you save. You will need to know your prescription when ordering (get the stats from your optometrist’s office). You may need to adjust the glasses to fit your face when they arrive, too. My husband was able to do this easily with a set of jeweler’s screwdrivers (the tiny screwdrivers that you can find at any Dollar Store or department store). We’re impressed with Zenni Optical. We saved about $125 dollars by ordering from them!

Ya gotta love Wordpress plugins. They make things soooo easy. Here’s the latest treasure I found: a plugin that automatically inserts a Digg button in every post. It’s very customizable. There are option where you can choose to include or exclude the Digg button on your homepage, or individual posts, to put the button at the top or at the bottom, etc. A great plugin that I’ll be using for my other blogs. You can find the information and download link at the Wordpress plugin page here.

In case you didn’t know, I run over seven blogs. Yes, seven. I’m a pretty busy lady! I monetize five.. or is it six?.. now. This is my tech blog, but my “main” blog is my mommy blog and my travel blog. I tend to put a lot of effort into those. So that’s why I’m not always posting here.

Monetizing my blogs is becoming more lucrative as I work at them. I’d like to make much more, of course! I’m not worrying about submitting Atlanta resumes or anything like that, but I am looking for more avenues of business.

I just wanted to let you know that if you notice that I haven’t been around here too often, that’s why. When I find interesting tech or geeky news or information, I’ll be sure to post it here. But feel free to visit my other blogs if you wonder what I’m up to these days, hehehe!

I have a wonderful friend, Fida Abbott. She runs a really beautiful blog. I am overwhelmed by how sweet and precious this woman is. She came from Indonesia and moved to Pennsylvania with her husband– what a devoted wife! And she is beautiful, too. She has a very special place in my heart. When I am feeling a little low, up to my eyeballs with bills, leaky plumbing, and mulling over medicare advantage policies, Fida brightens my day.

And she’s also generous! She loaded me with two really cool blogger awards and I am amazed!!!! Check these out!

First, there is the Friendship Award. This one is very special.

Then there is the Excellence Award. This is a great honor. I will proudly display this badge in my sidebar. I love this award!

Fida, thank you SO MUCH for these awards. God bless you!!!!

In a recent post of mine, a visitor asked where she could get photos for her blog. The Internet is a freedom-loving place, so there are scads of photos everywhere, but if you are like me, I prefer the copyright-free photos, or photos with permissions. You don’t want to steal other people’s photos (and don’t download MP3 files for your MP3 players unless you have permission, too).

Here’s a terrific plugin for photos– it’s the Photo Dropper plugin (Wordpress only). You can use this plugin to search the Flickr photo database for copyright-free photos. The plugin automatically displays a link from where the photo is taken, so that the author of the photo gets credit. Read all about the Photo Dropper plugin here. I’ve tried it on one of my other blogs, and it works well.

Oh wow, I haven’t really been paying attention to this blog very much recently. Sorry! I used to post tutorials and other helpful stuff. I’ve been so busy now that the great gardening weather has arrived! And I’m busy working on some other blogs, currently. I promise I’ll have more great stuff here, soon! As always, if you have any questions, be sure to leave a comment and ask. I do try to answer promptly.

Wow, I saw this in the news and it looks amazing! I have a few Disney-maniacs who visit my blog. Disney fine art is highly collectible, as well as beautiful! I’m sure you’ll love it!

Sanders Art Studio.com in Ogden, Utah is pleased to announce “The Magic of Disney Fine Art Exhibition.” This exciting new exhibit features Artists Trevor Carlton, Tricia Buchanan-Bensen, James Coleman, Mike Kupka, Harrison Ellenshaw and Peter Ellenshaw, among others.

The exhibit showcases over 30 of your favorite Disney Classic Film moments such as Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Kermit the Frog, Peter Pan, Mickey Mouse, Pirates of the Caribbean, Mary Poppins and much more.

In addition to the exhibit, over 300 limited-edition Disney Fine Art Giclee’s on canvases are available for purchase on a new website and virtual gallery at Sanders Art Studio.com.

I’m a great admirer of art, especially cartoon art and animation. This looks like a wonderful event to attend! It’s a LIVE event, at Utah’s Hogle Zoo. It’ll be held September 20, 2008, so there’s plenty of time to prepare and plan. Trevor Carlton is an accomplished artist– it would be thrilling to meet him in person. He’ll be at the event! Call managing director KC Sanders (a longtime Disney associate) at the Sanders Art Studio.com (801) 393-9419 for more information.

My kids listen to classical music as they do their schoolwork. I’ve tired of buying CDs (at $10 a CD, it can get very expensive). Here’s a cool website that plays free classical music: Musopen. You can download the music, too! The collection isn’t very large, but it’s growing.

I’ll admit it, when personal computers first came out, and then the Internet, I believed it was all a fad. Similar to something like pet rocks or transistor radios, lol. But the computerization of our culture and the cultures around the world has absolutely exploded, so much so that people are building entire careers around it! That is amazing to me. And even more amazing, is that careers in computing– particularly IT professions– is extremely lucrative. I have a brother-in-law who is an IT guy, and he makes really good money. Of course, if a person is serious about a career in computers and computer “language” as I call it, you should definitely look into Cisco certification.

The Cisco Learning Network is one of the most professional and comprehensive websites for learning everything there is to know, connecting with others and participating in a vast network of knowledge, opinions, and news, and continuing an education within the network. Get the lowdown on the latest news and articles, stay on top of the ever-changing IT career opportunities, and best of all, participate in Cisco’s certification programs.

I don’t know if I would ever choose a career like this (I think I may be too old now, lol), but I certainly encourage you young people to check this out. If anything, Cisco’s certification program would make a great “backup” career should a primary career falter or slow down. The economy and job opportunities are going through a great change, but I think computers and computer experts are here to stay. Time has proven that the IT world is not a fad! If anything, I think that a career in IT has yet to peak. Network security is hot hot hot, and people who know the ropes are going to be in very high demand.

Here’s a terrific tutorial I found for using drop caps for your blog posts. I have been wanting to do this on one of my blogs for quite a while! It’s for Blogger blogs, but saavy bloggers could figure out how to do this with Wordpress. I am going to tinker with it! Drop Caps look so classy.

I think I have seen it all! Well.. come to think of it, maybe I haven’t. But this is something pretty close! Ever heard of it? It’s the “B Membrane” computer.

It looks really funky, like something in one of those retro vegas hotels! I have to wonder if something like this will really catch on. I like the monitor system (like a projector) but the keyboard is extremely awkward. However, there’s no worry about spilling coffee in the keys!

How about you? Would you buy something like this?

Need a user guide or manual? I don’t know what it is about me, but I am ALWAYS losing those durn things! Thank God for the Internet. Here’s a website where you can find a huge variety of user manuals: SafeManuals.com. Remember, it’s a “free” site, so ALWAYS use caution when downloading files and be sure to scan them with your anti-virus first. I haven’t had any problems, but it pays to be careful about everything these days.

Shall I ever stop being surprised what is available online? I love using the Internet to shop, and I’ve discovered all sorts of remarkable things to buy. This is cool– Tactical assault gear, just like law enforcement guys wear! My young sons love stuff like this. The clothing and footwear look extremely durable. Actually, we are impressed with the boots, the “Advance Coyote Brown” boot, because it looks incredibly comfortable, durable, and very affordable! I don’t think my local shoe store has anything like this, for such a low price!

Flashlights, hats, bags, holsters, gun and ammo cases– this place has got it all. Everything looks so durable and well-made. Selections from this site would make the perfect gifts for the outdoorsman in your life. Isn’t it amazing, all the cool stuff to be discovered online, now? Whereas once we were limited to getting our guys a tie or a baseball hat at the local department store, now we can get them high-quality tactical gear delivered right to our doors! I just love the Internet!

I’m very impressed! After hearing about Hulu for several weeks, I decided to give it a try. It/s a website that offers free streaming television programs. It actually worked! I have “medium speed” broadband, and the show worked pretty well. i didn’t browse around a great deal, bui their selection looks quite large.

The shows are free; however you watch a brief advertisement in the beginning, and there is a small banner ad in the Hulu browser. Every once in a while, a corporate logo (I saw the McDonald’s Dollar Menu ad) pops up in the eight-hand side of the screen. The ads are not obtrusive and are easily ignored.

I was extremely impressed because they have a good collection of PBS and NOVA documentaries (I am not a TV show watcher, but I love documentaries). Even when I enlarged the video player to full screen, the video ran smoothly and the picture was still relatively clear. (It’s not like YouTube, where the picture is blocky and cube-looking when you go full screen). Hulu is an excellent tool for home educators. I give it my thumbs up.

I’m a simple lady. I like things.. well, simple! No bells, no whistles, no fancy packaging. It is really difficult to find a cell phone these days– there are far too many and there are too many choices! Right now I have a meager Tracfone. I’m not crazy about the service, and am looking for a replacement. I just don’t want a billion little buttons and additions to service. I prefer the KISS method.*

It would be obvious that I need something like a “cell phone” checker, or a cell phone comparing website. I have too many other things going on around here to know all that there is to know about everything concerning cell phones! Well, guess what? I found one! It’s bestincellphones.com. They have a complete listing of all the cell phone companies and their services, including but not limited to:

AT&T
T-Mobile
Sprint
Verizon Wireless
Sprint Instinct

You can shop by brand (all the major companies are there), service (family plans, etc), features (Including Bluetooth, camera phones, flip phones), and more. I also saw a great offer for a free cell phone with bonus Bluetooth Headsets while supplies last. The site is pretty cool. It’s organized extremely well and I’ve been finding it easy to figure out my choices. The deals are great with all their numerous offers for free phones, free RAZR deals, headsets, and free ringtones. Check them out!

And remember, always read the small print when entering a contract. Also, be sure to check out a company’s website and contact information, and make sure you are dealing with a reputable company. You don’t save any money by being careless!

* if you have never heard of it, the KISS method is Keep It Simple, Silly. LOL!