Category: Useful Things

Stop, Hey What’s That Sound?

I learned how to download and re-install SoundMax, the audio driver that recently mysteriously disappeared from my laptop.

HP.com > support and drivers > enter device and operating system > audio drivers

That kept bombing out until I realized the secret: Do NOT do this from Google Chrome!  Worked like a charm with my antique browser: IE 6!

Get a Good Deal the First Time (be sure to get a smile)

Sally taught me that when you sign a contract for a TV show you need to read the fine print and get in on the residuals!  Mary Ann did it, but the other castaways got nothing.

This is from IMDb trivia http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057751/trivia

“It has long been stated that the entire cast of Gilligan’s Island never received residuals beyond the first four reruns of each episode. This was true for the entire cast except Dawn Wells. When the show was picked up by CBS and Dawn was cast to replace Nancy McCarthy, she was married to her agent at the time. In her original contract she was to be paid $1200 per week plus the residual contract the 6 other castaways received. Her husband/agent said that should the show become successful Dawn would not benefit from receiving such a limited residual option. Believing the show would flop, the CBS executives humored Dawn and her husband and put a clause in her contract giving her long-term residuals should the show ever syndicate. As a result from that clause Dawn has made literally millions of dollars as the years have gone by from syndication of Gilligan’s Island. This was never public knowledge. Dawn and series creator Sherwood Schwartz are the only individuals to profit long-term from the series.”

“Image Acquisition is the Problem”

That’s a quote from a tactful co-worker, when I was trying to figure out why sometimes I can copy/paste a photo from a web page into an email and sometimes not.  It turns out that sometimes the thing I’m clicking on represents a link, not a photo (such as a .jpg file), so I have to make that distinction before I pick it up.

Brain of a Boy

From Gina R:

I learned a long time ago that if I let my son (who is now 17 and a high school senior) do homework his way (meaning he does homework while he’s plugged into his iPod, watches tv and IMs his friends), he will get A’s (including scoring 100 on both his Latin and Biology finals one year). This week I went to an amazing talk called “Connecting Boys with Books” by author Michael Sullivan, who confirmed that the average boy is wired differently than a girl … not only does his brain fail to reach adult size until he is about 14 1/2 (compared to 11 1/2 for a girl), a boy’s brain often fires hot on one side while the other side is quiet. In order to stimulate the other side of their brain, the average boy needs stimulation to learn, which they instinctively know. Studies show that boys learn best in a room with bright colors, some noise, and while fidgeting. This is hard for most adults to understand, since many of us need quiet to focus, but if you have a “busy” boy who can’t settle down long enough to finish their homework or read, try handing them one of this squishy stress balls and/or putting on some music in the background.

Fish or Frogs. But Not Both.

From Lava:

I learned that if your kids go to the fair and win two goldfish and you put them in your frog pond, two years later you will end up with hundreds of little goldfish and then you have to decide if you want to let your frog pond turn into a fish pond. It’s one or the other because the fish eat all the frog eggs.