Category: Technology

Coasting into Trouble

I learned that before you call the Helpdesk to report a laptop that suddenly shuts down, won’t boot up in the docking station and won’t boot up out of the docking station (note that this would be a Really Big Deal for someone working from home!), you should try just plugging the power cord directly into the laptop.  As I say, do this before you call the Helpdesk, not while you are on the phone,

Because it could be that the battery, even though it is brand new, is out of juice, and that something was preventing the docking station from delivering power directly.   Like maybe for example something causing the laptop to be docked at an odd angle.

I also learned not to accidentally leave a big thick stone coaster under your laptop, right by the docking station.

Bring It In Already Going

I have learned of two different situations in which is is VERY helpful to start something on your laptop BEFORE you go into a conference room to start a meeting, if you have no lead time in the room to set up:

  1. When you are hosting a WebEx and there will be many people remote.  You can start the meeting outside the room.  When you get inside (and dial the phone ASAP!) and go on fuss with projectors, etc., the connection will already be done.
  2. When you will be presenting something from your laptop or from the network, you can set it all up while you are in the hall.  Then the only delay is to get the projector going, not ALSO to boot up, log in, open files, etc.

I’d like at least one do-over with this lesson.  Learn it here and save yourself that trouble!

Free Summary for your FSA

I learned, through an email from Medco, which manages my company’s prescription plan, that you can get a summary of EVERY prescription you filled all year, no matter where you filled it in America.

If you hit the right settings, you can get this for every member of your family.

This is going to save me taping many receipts onto paper to document and get back my tax-free Flexible Spending Account money!  One report does it all!

I also learned that when a very popular feature such as this is announced in an email campaign, every Medco customer on earth tries it at the same time and brings their report server down.  Learn to stagger, dudes!

Unwanted Catalogs Be Gone! (5 trees saved)

I learned that the Catalog Choice website has really improved since I last checked it out.  This is a great way to reduce unwanted paper catalogs that arrive in the mail.

The user interface is much better and there is a global blocking feature for a $20 donation, one that should keep me from getting new catalogs.   It says that I have saved 5 full-grown trees!

Check it out: http://www.catalogchoice.org

Winter and Guitars Don’t Mix

I learned, from Steve, who learned from Andy, that you should always keep a guitar humidifier on duty once you turn the heat on in your house.  Otherwise, the bridge can dry out and warp and lead to serious guitar problems requiring expensive repairs and leaving you without something fun to play while it’s being fixed.

 

WebEx Delegation

I learned that there are two kinds of delegation in WebEx, and they work independently.

You can delegate someone to SCHEDULE your meetings.  It’s a setting on your own profile and applies to all your meetings from then on.   Then when they scheduling from the WebEx interface, they will be prompted to ask if they are doing it for themselves or for you.  This is perfect for any assistant.

You can also schedule someone to START and RUN your meetings.  You do this when you schedule the meeting, and it’s specific to that meeting.  Then, when they log into their WebEx account, they will have the option to Start, rather than Join, that meeting.

The best part about learning this is that I went to figure this out after hearing that someone else had “delegated” a WebEx meeting and I later learned that I had misunderstood and she didn’t know about this feature either!

UsTube

I learned how to post on YouTube and I posted a video from a Taiko workshop with many of the WomenSpiritSong drummers.   It was easy – I just followed the instructions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NZRN3fSQu8

The first half is people trying to decide where to stand, so if you want to see the drumming, forward through. 

Later I will learn how to edit videos!