Wednesday, November 2, 2011


Day of the Dead

Today in Brasil the Day of the Dead or Finados is celebrated. It would perhaps be thought of as a day to remember our relatives that have passed on similar to our Memorial Day. It is very quiet this morning and probably many stores and services are closed. Schools are out for sure as we have not heard the vehicles that usually come around early picking up students. We were planning to visit another town today for our annual cards of permission to remain here but being a holiday it will have to wait.


Using a Journaling Program

As Shirlyn will attest, new software has an allure that often entices me to change the way I use the computer. When an application seems to offer a way to make a chore more efficient and more usable it may find itself on my MacBook Pro. Since I have made many journal entries over the past couple of years using Pages, the program that came with the computer, some of my gripes about the process  of journalling seem to be alleviated with this new application called MacJournal that automatically sets the date (and time if you want it) for each new entry. I know, I’m a little bit lazy but this is a great time saver. You can put a title on each entry if it is appropriate. It also lets you start as many journals as you need for other projects that you might want to track in this format. You can find it here: http://www.marinersoftware.com/ and you might see some other applications they make, one of which is MacGourmet Deluxe, a recipe organizer that we may explore one day. Another neat feature of the journaling program is the ability to add tags to the entries which enables a quick search for any topic that was mentioned or “tagged” in other posts to the journal. Uploading to a blog is another feature that I intend to use with my blogs as I can control the draft more effectively before deciding to send it off into the blogosphere. The cost of the program was about $40. 
The problems that come with most great programs such as this one include the complications that present themselves when discovering the various options that may be used. The initial recommendation with this program is to just use the basics to get comfortable and as competence is gained, you can add different options and tools to make it better. Otherwise, it can become a burden more than a help. I have already seen this in practice and so will continue to grow in its use little by little.

2 comments:

  1. I'm not too stupid! Knowing my hubby as I do I KNOW he is always on the cutting edge of anything that comes along regarding so many topics. As for new computer programs I let him figure them out and see if he likes them and then I buy into his ideas only to have them shortly replaced as he's off on another adventure in cyber space. To prove my point I just, in the last few months, started using "Pages" which I've learned to love. Oh well, onward and upward, he's off to the races!

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  2. (From LaNell's email)
    So you like it more than pages? I wonder if it's available on the I touch. Have a great day ofthe dead ! Love you ! I saw someone who looked like you yesterday and realized how much I miss you!
    Love,
    Lanell :)

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