Pandora Music

A wonderful way of listening to your favorite music is to tune into Pandora.  This can be done anywhere you have an internet connection and speakers.  this means, your telephone (if you have internet on your phone), your blackberry or your computer.  Imagine:  You connect your laptop up to nice small speakers to host a party.  These days,  great speakers come in small size which is nice for being portable.  Going on vacation or to your office doesn't mean, you can't take your stereo with you!!

1. Go to the internet,  then to http://www.pandora.com/.  Register for an account - don't be afraid, just do it.
2. Once you choose your favorite type of music,  Pandora starts playing songs that are by your favorite artist or by similar artists of your favorite.  You have the option of saying it's not your favorite and Pandora will find another song to play.  This process creates a "saved radio station" for you.  With this saved station,  next time you sign into Pandora,  you just choose your station and all your saved songs are there, plus Pandora starts adding more. 

You can create several types of "radio stations".  I have stations called: "The Beatles", "Women's Music", "Easy Listening", "Blues", "Jazz", "Classical".  Which one I play depends on my mood.

Yesterday as I was painting,  I started out with "The Beatles".  The first song was "Hey Jude".  The songs morphed into a mix of Beatles, Rolling Stones,  Simon and Garfunkle and more from that era,  It was a wonderful nostalgic time for me and motivated my painting experience.

Have fun,  Pandora is free,  it may time out after an hour or so if you don't click "I'm still listening" when the message comes up.

Please let me know by leaving a comment if you liked this post.  If you saw the movie Julia and Julia you know that bloggers never know if anyone is reading unless they get comments.  I sure do appreciate any readers out there and would love to hear back from you once in awhile.  You don't have to register to comment, just be annoymous!

My Favorite keboard shortcuts

• Ctrl + F4: Closes currrent Window (you may be asked to save changes)

• With mutliple windows open, hold your CTRL key and click on each, you will noticed that become highlighted or selected, then right click on one of the applications selected and “close group”.

• CTRL+C: Copy

• CTRL+X: Cut

• CTRL+V: Paste

• CTRL+Z: Undo

• CTRL+B: Bold

• CTRL+U: Underline

• CTRL+I: Italic

• Windows Key + M: Minimizes all windows

• Windows Key + Shift + M: Undo Minimize all Windows

• Windows Key + E: Windows Explorer

• Windows Key +F: Opens the Find Window

• Windows Key: Opens the Start Menu

Operation Able

I have been asked to return to Operation Able in Detroit Michigan to teach QuickBooks to people over the age of 45 (and in most cases 55). This agency is funded by the State of Michigan and provides back to work skills for the older worker. I found them because I went to their website looking for work for myself and noticed that they teach Microsoft Office and other computer skills along with job hunting skills. I emailed the director asking if they were interested in offering a QuickBooks class. She emailed back immediately and hired me in December for our first class.

The students are so much fun and so eager to learn. They come from all walks of life and many different career industries. It is unfortunate that it takes so many months for the agency to get their funding but I guess that's what happens when your state is operating at a deficit and unemployment exceeds 20% (not including the underemployed).

I look forward to going back next week to see my friends at Operation Able. Many of the people who work here are interns or volunteers. The most exciting thing about Operation Able to me is that the environment is healthy, thriving and a great place to learn and network. Check out their website when you have a minute: Operation Able

Vacation Time

I know about a secret vacation destination that all can afford!

A few of my family members are owners of a condo at Shanty Creek Resort in northern Michigan (not far from Traverse City). For only $120.00 per night ($130.00 on weekends) you have a three room unit with kitchen and fireplace (wood burning) that sleeps 10. You have access to skiing (down hill and cross country), snowboarding and sledding in the winter and golf and swimming in the summer. Spa facilities (massage - oh yes) and excellent meals in the lodge.

Within a short drive you are near the Leelanau Peninsula which is full of artsy shops and restaurants, Traverse City Cherry Festival in July, Mackinaw Island and so much more.

If you are interested in this rental (privately owned so don’t call Shanty Creek) email me and I’ll put you in touch with my sister!

Upgrading QuickBooks to Version 2010

Today, I received an email from a QuickBooks user who was having difficulty upgrading from Version 2005 to Version 2010.

Intuit, Inc. requires their customers to upgrade so that the customer keeps up with technology. QuickBooks products must continually stay on the cutting edge and Intuit, Inc. cannot keep old versions active forever (or provide staff to support old versions). Four years is normally the availability for upgrading to a current version of QuickBooks. If you have a version older than four years, you cannot upgrade to the current or newest version. For Version 2010 you must be on version 2007 or later.

Your option in this case is to upgrade to a newer version than you have, but may not be the most current version, then, you can upgrade to the new version (this is known as “leapfrogging”).

I recommend my clients upgrade every year or every two years, to keep up with the current features.

If you have this problem and need to “leapfrog” to get your data to an earlier version please call me, I have many versions available and can help.

Job Hunting

Thank you to Anonymous for requesting blog entries. I am like any other blogger, I run out of ideas and topics that I feel would interest others. Your suggestions will always be appreciated.

Many of you know that business is very slow right now for Success In-Formation LLC. As a result I have been looking for a position with a company that can benefit from my skills. Accounting, Project Management, Software Implementation, Sales, Training and Teaching, to name a few.

The job of looking for a job is grueling. When you have years of experience, it’s even worse I think. Recently I applied on a website (a recruitment agency) and the earliest year you could choose for completion of a college degree was 1980. Isn’t that discrimination?

Recently, I have been receiving emails with job leads. It comes from a friend, of a friend, of a friend. Once per week, an email comes with several leads. I think the only way to get a job right now is if I know someone or get a tip from someone. Let me know how the job market is working out for you.