So .. at work for the past several months we have been hearing random beeps from the consulting room computer. Everything keeps working as expected, but no one could determine the root cause of the beep. 

Finally, today I decided to do a deep dive and track down the problem. Step 1) unplug the computer, check for dust bunnies and potential overheating. Not very dusty, and while it was unplugged the beep rang out again (so not the computer).
Step 2) replace the old UPS with a surge protector instead.  Not much later, another beep (so not the UPS).
Step 3) check the monitor. Internet has reports of this model creating beeps in some cases. But again, the beeping beep rang out while it was unplugged. Hmm
Step 4) USB Printer? nope. Beep randomly happens while it was off.
Step 5) Turn everything off. Never thought of that before (as it used to be our server until recently and almost never was turned off). Surprise! another beep (so not the workstation at all. 

But where? Conclusion: Turns out there is a device in the attic directly above the workstation that was running off another UPS. It was THAT beeping computer all along. 

This beeping situation had prompted the recent replacement of the server, and then the addition of a newer UPS, and all because of poor directional hearing on everyone's part. 

Lesson learned.  

So, mostly to vent .. my sad story ensues below: 

Generally I have been happly using a monthly data plan with speakout7eleven.ca for the past several years. Since I have WIFI most everywhere I work from the need for data was limited to rare times I was travelling in my car away from work or home .. 

However, the other day I happened to have just prepaid $100 (because when you buy 100 they give you 25 more as a bonus)  for my next monthly bump .. That would normally last me another 3 months or more. BUT .. it was not meant to be.

Somehow I accidently turned off the local WIFI on my phone and burned past my data limit of 5G/mo by streaming videos all night. Long story short: rather than just cutting off the data at 5G it kept going till the prepaid cash on my account was finally decimated at .30 per MB price. Ouch. When I contacted the support line to find out where the money had disappeared to they just said "sorry, you used it all up". It reminded me of stories from the old days when some kid in the house accidently called China or thereabouts on the long distance plans and racked up $1000 phone bills.

My phone has a feature to monitor data usage and stop when it hits a preset limit. That was unfortunately (for me) also not set correctly nor turned on. My bad.

So, now you know. If you have cash on account, make SURE you don't go over your data limit - or you will wave good bye to your cash.

venting complete.
You may now return to your original programming.

Twitter before Musk vs Twitter apres 

I want to be able to post to a social media platform that does not censor it's own users. I want to be able to have my community to be able to find and see my comments without throttling.  Freedom of Speech in my mind 'trumps' protecting me or us from other persons mistaken (aka stupid or idiotic) ideas. We should be able to discuss and call out these  lost souls as we see fit and their random thoughts and beliefs without being branded as [insert random new bad thing here]. On the other hand, I do not want to be sworn at nor have pornography thrust upon me. Twitter needs to have a way for ME to determine what 'parental control' settings for general and specific issues.  Misinformation and disinformation are NOT reasons to become fascist social-ists toward all their potential clients. 

The real problem is that we common users are not the client - we are the product. Advertisers are the real twitter clients. They pay to serve up advertising to we commoners .. to us. ​Of course, the same can be said for Google's Search, Gmail, Youtube and Meta's  Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and now Threads. Personally I use Google products and absolutely boycott all of Meta. I do/did have a facebook page but I have refused to update anything on it since 2019 and leave it there only to provide a link back to my ssdirect.com website. Your only choice is in allowing them to make you 'the product', ie whether to use their 'services' or just not using them. You get to choose. I support Twitter with my own 'blue verified' checkmark on my account. 

Eligibility criteria for the blue checkmark 

• Only accounts actively subscribed to Twitter Blue are eligible to receive the blue checkmark. 
• Twitter uses an eligibility criteria on when the checkmark is given to ensure we maintain the integrity of the platform. Your account must meet the following criteria to receive or retain the blue checkmark:  
  • Complete: Your account must have a display name and profile photo 
  • Active use: Your account must be active in the past 30 days to subscribe to Twitter Blue 
  • Security: Your account must be older than 30 days upon subscription and have a confirmed phone number 
  • Non-Deceptive: 
    • Your account must have no recent changes to your profile photo, display name, or username (@handle) 
    • Your account must have no signs of being misleading or deceptive 
    • Your account must have no signs of engaging in platform manipulation and spam 
• All that and an annual fee. 

And now for some other sad news. I prefer to include a automated list of current tweets on my websites. The only authorized method is found at publish.twitter.com which generates the code to include in your website. Unfortunately, the profile feed, my preferred option, does not appear to be working lately.  All I get now is: Nothing to see here - yet

As a workaround I can create links to specific individual posts and show those on website, but it is a bit labor intensive. Before, the posts showed up automatically whenever I posted anything, Now I have to create a link directly. So sad. I hope they will address this and remedy it soon. However, it does leave control of this content directly up to me. I hope I am up to it!

​​I like to maintain my own website because I can post whatever I deem correct without big brother leaning in to oversee. I  can determine how long that information will exist on the internet. I can comment, update and clarify as more information becomes available. 

But that is just me. What say you? 

So .. it's been smokey all week here and I am allergic to something in the air. The CPAP machine has a tiny filter on it, but why not upgrade it to a standard size one? My thoughts exactly. Storage box was $10, top end filter $36, plus tape and a hot glue gun, and an hour or so ..  (<$60 CDN). I will let you know how it goes!

1. Step 1 - buy storage box and filter and silver duct tape .. already had the CPAP machine .. besides, it was 6am and nothing was open except Lowes ..
2. Step 2 - use hot glue gun and sharp knife to modify box a) cut/melt electric cord access hole b) cut/melt air hose access hole, c) cut out lid to attach filter to.
3. Step 3 - tape filter onto the modified lid. Make sure the air flow directional arrow is pointing the right way (toward the CPAP machine).
4. Step 4 - assemble and test. Looking good. Took about 1 hr travel and 1hr to assemble. Easy peasy.

Notes

• I could have taped and sealed the lid onto the box, but I think the filter will work fine without a 100% seal, much like your furnace setup. 
  
• In order to turn off the machine, I need to remove lid to access to the on/off button. Also to clean the hose, will have to remove the lid, disconnect the machine and  remove it all from box and then clean the hose/box together.  
  
• The filter claims to have a 3 month lifespan, but so little air is going to be pulled through it - basically just what you can breathe in each night -that I think it will last much longer.
  
• Night 1 went smoothly: 7 hours with no allergy symptoms noted. Yay

GnuCash is a standalone program that runs on your Windows or Linux or even Mac computer. I would have preferred a better more generic program name like 'Where-Did-All-My-Money-Go' but I guess all the good names get taken up early and some lawyer will be asked to sue you for using 'their' program name (can you even trademark the name 'Money'?). GNU is a nerdy recursive acronym used in the Linux world, but don't let that stop you. Cash is a name for that stuff you are trying to track.

• Getting Started: You download the version that works on your system from gnucash.org/download and run it. Setting up an appropriate accounting chart of accounts (ie the bank accounts you own and the expense and income categories you want to track and use) is a bit daunting at the outset, but you can use the default set and customize it over time. You could hire an accountant I suppose, or ask a grandchild to help you, but I prefer to just do it myself. Dive in! 
• Using the System: In theory, there is supposed to be a way to download transactions directly from your bank. I do not use this as the setup is arcane and I prefer to access my banking information directly online. I just enter transactions directly into the program as they happen. Actually, I use GnuCash as my backup system to my Google Sheets system and just copy and paste transactions between the two to keep them in sync. The interface is much like a checkbook register for each back account you set up with a date, num, description etc for each transaction. I create a saved report for Balance Sheet and  Profit Loss and use that to monitor account balances. 
• Pro's: Double entry system. Functions much like my favorite old Quicken program (now obsolete, from my old Windows days) used to e.g. using + or- in date field increments the date up and down. Categories are efficiently entered using Quicken shortcuts e.g. Income:Other is quickly entered using unique start for each section i.e. typing 'in' finds Income, pressing : and then 'o' yields Other for the desired category .. Reports are very customizable - click Options to select which accounts to include, what currency, which dates,  and how to display them. Reports can be saved and reopened as needed. User data changes are automatically saved and backed up.
• I like the fact that with GnuCash your data is locally stored and accessible even if the internet is down. And even if the internet is working, the website you need may go down itself, but with GnuCash .. happy days. That said, it is  somewhat rare now a days that the internet goes down or that sites stop working or go down for maintenance (but it can and does happen). On the other hand, your trusty old computer could also go poof, so IF you don't have a backup from elsewhere .. so sorry. I like to download my Google Sheets file from the cloud to my local computer as a backup, AND copy my synced GnuCash data file to backup server as well .. just in case.

More recently, I was also introduced to Wave, a free online invoicing and accounting program at waveapps.com.

• Owned by H&R Block since 2019, headquartered in Canada, over 2 million users, offers "free-forever" features, unlimited credit card and bank accounts, plus online payment processing for a small fee (if you are in to that kind of thing). Bookkeeping services are also available for an additional fee.
• Using the System: Wave is web-based, so no installation is necessary. Can be accessed from pretty much any browser. Transactions can be downloaded directly from many banks. Again, I do not use this feature as I feel it introduces potential risk to my banking information (as implemented via an external program called PLAID.. but who ya gonna trust? web browsers)! I enter my transactions directly or upload  from my Google Sheet via the provided "Wave Connect" extension for Google Sheets. If you are any little bit paranoid about security you probably won't want all your information up and out there on the internet anyway. Meanwhile, I am more trusting and have been testing Wave as an additional backup accounting system. The interface is much like Quickbooks online, but free!
• Pro's: Invoicing is wonderful. Not everybody needs this, but for me it automates the entire process. Setup the template as you like, enter the information, and let it send out emails and track payments. Sweet! Business expense tracking is also appreciated, with ability to upload scanned copies of invoices and other free accounting tools. System is available to anyone you choose to grant access to (multi-user: presuming the internet is up and Wave is still running).  The interface speed will vary depending on how fast your internet connection is, but it will always be slower than a standalone program like GnuCash.
• Some Con's: Not sure how to make a real backup from the cloud. Yes, I know that THEY are doing backups of some sort up there, but what if (the company goes away or changes hands, or the internet is inaccessable for longer periods of time, or I decide to migrate to some other system). No backup except printed reports. Wave is still a learning place for me, but it does weird and wonderful things with my USD vs CAD accounts e.g. thinking $10.16 USD is somehow worth about $53.63 CAN in its reports. It also automatically dumps some of my business sales into it's generic Sales income account when I prefer the specific one I set up for each sub-category business.  Hmmm My workaround for each was to add in an 'in/out correcting transaction' (ie an accounting Journal Entry) to move the amounts from where it ended up to where I wanted it so it matched the way all my other accounting systems worked. This works, but requires extra entries and time. Also, since the system is web based, it takes much longer to enter each of these adjustments .. find the account, wait for page load,  click More > Add Journal Entry, wait for page load, enter information, click Save, wait for page load .. you get the idea. The speed of your internet connection and computer will determine your actual experience, but it is noticably more laggy than either of the other two systems I have been using.

Bottom line. I like parts of each application. I love my Google Sheets system for ability to quickly capture transaction details and provide basic updated Balance Sheet information. GnuCash can be synced fairly easily with the Google Sheet but has more professional reporting with drill down and reporting flexibility. Wave is great for Invoices, but takes more work to sync the transaction data and still has some quirks (for a new user like me .. and of course, is somewhat redundant with the other two applications also in use). Your choice. For a mid to small business, either GnuCash or Wave might be more appropriate. For personal finance or a smaller business, the Google Sheets may be all you need. What say you?

Other the past several years I have been using an online spreadsheet to manage my finances. It started with a monthly template which was added to, modified and refined into a yearly running check register that I find quite useful today. I have made a sample template to share with interested family and friends (that is you now)!

If you do a search for 'google sheets personal finance templates' you will discover 100's or even 1000's of free templates offered up. Many are more complicated. Some are more colorful. I don't know if my new offering will be of much interest, but it is what I use and I like it. Simple and effective. 

The link to this sample template is found at:  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets (view only)
where you can simply 'save as copy' and start customizing it to fit your needs.

Pros:

• Using it as a google sheet allows me to access and update from any computer/device/phone in the world, although a desktop computer is most convenient.
• Entering details as soon as possible allows me to remember and document the what and why .. not as much 'honey, what did we spend $xxx on three months ago?'. 
• Recurring transactions are easily copied and reused .. just insert new line, copy, paste, update dates and info.
• Split transactions are fairly simple .. just add one line for each part of the split. eg 20 of 100 to Grocery and 80 of 100 to Merchandise ..
• Completely customizable - if you want 1000 expense categories, you can. If you have 100 bank accounts, you can have those tracked as well.

Cons:

• Completely customizable - if you mess up .. oops. However, Google Sheets does have a nice undo/history feature that can help you un-mess-up ..
• No auto offsite backup .. although Google Cloud is backed up .. if you ever lose your Google account or credentials you may be in trouble. I like to download an offsite copy to use as a local spreadsheet backup just in case. Easy! Click File > Download > OpenDocument or Excel and save the .ods or .xlsx file to your local computer
• Not a double entry system .. so as a workaround I just use the Transfer category and TWO offsetting entries for bill payments and the like eg "100 expense for Bill Payment in Checking" and "100 income for Bill Payment in Credit Card 1" with same dates .. it seems to work.
• You MAY have to learn how to use or just get around a spreadsheet - ouch
• You MIGHT get addicted to knowing just where your money is going and how much you have left!

fyi *repost* originally posted at rogerdavies.net

So, you have an older Windows flavor laptop or desktop computer that is starting to feel laggy unresponsive. It was  sleek and powerful but a year or so ago, but now Mr Microsoft is suggesting your computer is incapable of an upgrade to any of the latest Windows 11 offerings. Mr Microsoft says it will no longer update or support versions before Windows 10.  What to do? Toss it and buy new? I suppose that is one way to go, but No! what a waste of a potentially perfectly good functioning device ..

Linux, my friend, is your answer.  I can install Zorin Linux on that device for you  prior Windows users. Pet peeve: Windows forces you to buy a Windows with ANY new hardware even if you don't want to use it on that hardware. For anyone just needing to check your email, balance your bank transactions and access all those online resources, I can install MX Linux (my personal favorite) on many even older devices and bring them back to life. Yay for Linux - free to use,  open source, very stable, extensively configurable. 

Don't worry! I can set the system up for you for a lot less than you buying a entirely new system (often for $150-200 or so vs $1000-2000 for a new system .. depending on how many passwords you have forgotten to write down). You retain access to all your old pictures and documents but now get to use shiny new open source programs, known for their stability, security and speed, that automatically update online. Zorin is customized to work, look and feel much like your old Windows computer but better. You get to choose for yourself how it works and looks and feels.

Call me for more information and options. You can easily give Linux a try. Many linux distributions are available online free of charge so all you pay for is my hand holding / system setup time. We can boot sample systems directly off a USB stick to see what suits you best .. and then you get your poor old system back to use: renewed and reinvigorate​d!

March 2023: Square Space has bought up the once beautiful Weebly editor and is now attempting to make everyone previously on the free Weebly plans now purchase a paid plan just to use the previously free custom domain routing function. So sad (for me). In plainer language: we used to be able to point a domain like ssdirect.com directly to the weebly page in the free offering. From here on out the only free option is to redirect my ssdirect.com domain to their generic weebly page name i.e. ssdirect.weebly.com .. not pretty but it works. Here is the email they sent ..

I do not understand. Firstly, I feel it is unfair to change the rules on me, but hey, that's your business. Secondly, the email is vague and incomplete. It makes no mention of the specific site affected (I have several with Weebly for many of my clients in addition to my own websites). It also provides inaccurate information on how to switch to the new free version (ie there is no 'edit' nor domain settings page in Weebly as implied in the email. It provides no way to contact anyone for clarification .. unless [email protected] gets back to me soon. And that will be that.

 MX Linux has been my distribution of choice for the past couple of years now. I happened upon it after noticing it was listed as it's #1 downloaded distro on distrowatch.com and I now use it on most of my home/work machines and it has been a dream to work with. As MX Linux on mxlinux.org itself describes on it's main page: "It is a midweight desktop environment that aims to be fast and low-resource, while still being attractive and user-friendly." The Open Source Post website fosspost.org has now named it "The Best Linux Distribution Of 2021" in summary: "Combining hardware support, low resources consumption and huge number of utility apps and deep functionality options… It all creates a wonderful Linux distribution for the average user. MX Linux 21 is one of the best Linux distributions out there to try, and we recommend any new user thinking of switching to Linux from Windows to test it out." 

I like MX Linux because it is so easy to install and use on even somewhat older hardware (like that I tend to have floating around my office these days), looks and works great and fulfills 99.9% of my computing needs [once had to open an proprietary fillable PDF on an old Windows 10 laptop before saving it as a "real" opensource PDF document - curses to those inflexible Alberta Government vogons who foist these silly unreadable files upon us]. I have MX Linux installed here it on laptops, desktops, servers, and stand alone media devices and it is a joy to work with.

IF you are wondering what to do with your aging Windows 7-10 systems as Microsoft moves to stop supporting you, I recommend you consider trying it out. The MX Live USB installs temporarily for you to test out and when you are ready use that to install itself for you.

The latest version is available at https://mxlinux.org/download-links/

So .. just don't do facebook anymore, myself, but this was funny. My daughter is working in the library here. She would like this. source:  ​https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=428336232410252&set=pcb.428336835743525