Computer Crash Alert! Service Pack 3 Update!

I learned today that the new service pack 3 for Windows XP which was released yesterday (Wednesday) is crashing some computers.

It appears to be just HP computers with an AMD processor.


Read here and here and here.

To see whether or not you have an HP with AMD Processor, right click on "My Computer" and choose properties.

Please remember that the service packs are installed with automatic updates, so your computer may automatically install this without your guidance. A suggestion would be to change your automatic updates so that they download, but not install without your permission.

To change the automatic update settings, click on "start", then "control panel," and then "automatic updates" to bring up the popup box. Choose either to have them not be installed automatically at all (which means you will have to get other updates manually from the website) or the second option to "download updates for me, but let me choose when to install them."

Snipping Tool in Vista

The Snipping Tool in Vista is awesome! It takes screen shots so quickly. I find the images to also be very clear.

It is a priceless tool for any blogger to quickly add an image to a post. Images always make posts seem more attractive.

It is also a great way to get quick shots for teaching and tutorials. I see the ladies in my forum grabbing screen shots all the time to help each other and it always makes me smile when I see them go to that effort to get a shot, upload it to a host, and share it.

Here is a video that shares how the Snipping Tool in Vista works.

Simon Cowell said "hummdinger!"

Okay, well, I may be strange for getting excited, but did you hear it? Did you hear it? I may be the only one excited, but won't you be excited with me?

Simon Cowell said "hummdinger!" Okay, so, statements by Paula, Randy, and Ryan of what a "hummdinger" is followed, but I didn't care. I think Simon must know I like David Cook. Don't you think? Whoooo Hoooo! Not!

So, it's going to be the Cookie and Archie show! Anyone going to be watching with me? I've become a reall Cookie fan! Of course, I rooted for him because he was a Missourian, but as the weeks went on, I became excited because he IS really talented!

So, who is wondering why I'm excited about this?

Here's a video I took of my t.v. I just had to save it for excitement's sake. Wouldn't you have?

What is it about dirt?

After work today, I got on my bike to test it out for the long ride I'm due to take this weekend. We decided to take the bikes to the bike shop to ensure they are in good working order. Putting them in my vehicle was not an easy task.

I then worked on planting all those flowers I've been working on all week. I made a lot of progress, but I still have some left and only one more evening to work on them before I head out for camping and biking.

I had to push myself to get outside and work in the garden. The day is overcast and dull and semi-cold. However, once I got out there, I was glad I went.

What is it about having my hands in dirt that just plain 'ol feels good? I can never find the words to describe how it feels.

The birds were chirping, the air was fresh, and I was engulfed in nature.

Goodbye "Hello," Hello Yahoo IM

Many digital scrapbookers preferred using Hello because it had a capability of sending screenshots. Hello is shutting down and there is big discussions as to what to use now.

Thanks to Maria (Ferg Designs) for figuring out that you CAN do screenshots easily in Yahoo!

When you are in an IM with someone, click on the PHOTOS button to begin photo sharing, then CTRL+Printscreen will take a snapshot of your screen. You will then select the option to share the photos from your CLIPBOARD!!

In addition, ALT+Printscreen will take a snapshot of the active window (without the extra stuff in the background).

On laptops, you may need to hold down the "Fn" button before hitting the print screen button.

In addition, you can put your IM name in your profile in forums.

Here is a video to show you how it works.

Check out the Yahoo IM Beta versions! The new Beta version will share YouTube. I love the Vista version too. Although it is scaled down version during testing, it does some really cool things.



In addition, I understand that with a tweak, Yahoo IM can be set to view conversations in tabs. See this page.

My Yahoo IM is "hummdingertub"....feel free to find me if you have questions or want to play with the IM!

May Flowers

I promised some photos of my flowers. Goodness, it is keeping me busy this week!


Here is a photo of some phlox that is blooming right now. Um....don't look at the weeds there! They got pulled last night.











My clematis is blooming beautifully right now too. I just love the duo color of pink and white together, don't you? Some day I need to scrap the story behind this plant that refuses to die!















This interesting flower is blooming again. I took better photos of it last year and I believe somewhere in the comments here on my blog I was told what it is. I'm too lazy to go look for that info right now.










Saturday I went shopping in anticipation of having all my men helping me plant my flowers on Mother's Day, only to have the weather be windy and cold and mess up all my plans. So this week I'm rushing every evening to get them planted myself before they die. Some of them are already taking a toll.

I got one bed planted Monday night and Logan helped me plant some of the ones that needed a big shovel last night. The rain this week is making it hard to get out there. We did get a little wet, but had to push on. I hope the weather cooperates after work today so I can get more planted. Of course, I will show you the beds on my blog later. I do so love my flower gardening!

I bought a lot of perennials this year. I am getting tired of spending money every year, so I am trying to fill the beds with perennials to save money in the future.

Since I am going camping this weekend and also have to test my bike which I am taking along, I feel the pressure to get these planted. I won't be able to work on them this weekend, so I only have two more evenings to get it done! Oh my! Stress!


Every year I hit the sales at the hobby store and pick up little things for my garden. It seems that they never last and I have to throw them out and get new decorations. Many of the decorations cost only $1 to $2.50, so it's a nice way to bring some points of interest to the flower walk down the garden.

Here is a little butterfly that hangs from a flower basket. I'm sure it will look better if I can get the flowers planted in the basket!




My flag which hangs from a pole finally got so bad that I had to throw it away. I got this little butterfly mobile to hang from the pole. It bounces up and down and is kind of cute!

















I have a lot of stone walls with great space to place things upon the walls. However, every year, especially during the winds, the items do not withstand the weather.

I found some wrought iron statutes and am hopeful they will last longer. They are quite heavy and did not cost much. This bird is cute, but I think I need to find some time to paint it. I do not feel confident to paint it well enough though.



This wrought iron frog prince reminded me of the silly bits of humor hubby comes up with about being my frog prince. I wish I could remember the humor to share with you now, but it is so unique its hard for me to remember.











This little pail was only a few dollars, so I bought a few flowers to add to it. I am hopeful that the metal will not rust and it will be resilient to be tossed about by the wind.










Here is another wrought iron item which is new. The basket is heavy enough to resist the wind and I think the flowers look cute in it.












I had a glass ball a few summers ago that lasted only a matter of weeks. It was one of the kinds that you can see yourself in.

This time I got a wrought iron stand to hold the ball, so it should be more stable. In addition, I put it in a low box where Abbie Rae generally does not seem to traverse when chasing rabbits and squirrels. I like seeing the sunlight catching in the pieces on the ball.





This ball is rather small, but it sure does add some color to the garden. I can spot it first off from my bedroom window.

In general, I do not like a lot of gaudy things about my garden. I try to choose the items carefully to enhance the garden just right without making it look odd.

Of course, I'll be do a video tour of my gardens again this year, so you can let me know then what you think of these types of things in my garden.

Who is linking to you?

There are several ways to find out who is linking to your blog.
I like to know who is linking to me so that I can post a comment and give warm fuzzies back!

How do you find out who is linking to you?

Here are two ways.

First, in Google search engine, simply type in "link:" followed by the site and it will bring up a list of people linking to that site. How easy is that?

In the first image, my blog does not have a "www," so I wanted to share with you this sample to my direct site so that you could see that you can either use the "http" or not to get the results needed.


Another way to find out who is linking to your blog (it does not work for other types of sites) is Technorati. After you get it set up, you can view your "blog reactions" section. I can click on the link and go straight to their blog post to find and share warm fuzzies with them.

At the bottom of every post here on my blog, you can click on the button to save one of my posts to your Technorati favorites.

You can also just do a search at Technorati. A search for my name comes up with 72 recent blog posts.

I am aware of some other ways, but maybe that is another blog post. Do share the ways you know of with us in the comments.