Internet GEMS and computing

(c) 2016 Graphic Stock

I am not sure why I am calling this post “Internet Gems and computing”.  Perhaps when I learn them, they are a gem to me.  You have to realize something.  I am not a Millennial.  I was not born into a push button, selfie world.  Computers came into the home when I was a pre-teen/teen, something like that. I learned a language that went a little like this “10 Print Hello”.  I forgot what it was called.  I was learning how to type on a typewriter.  I played games on an Atari and Nintendo 64.  My first computer was a Radio Shack computer.  I saved things on a floppy disk, and the list goes on and on. 

So when I say things like, “I learned how to delete a blog on Blogger, it is like learning how to drive.  I am going over photos that were saved on CDs, determining what photos to keep, because I am getting a 5 TB (that’s Terabyte) external drive, with 1 TB solely dedicated to photos.  When you are a business, you think about things like this.  I already have 4 cloud storages, but I am decluttering, and I need the space.

Sprinkled throughout the “Interwebs”, as a person Awesomely Luvvie coins the internet, are my comments on how much I love learning Photoshop.  Illustrator and InDesign are next on my list, and should be starting soon.  I am learning how to create a website without coding.  How is that possible?  My bestie friend Renae Christine from Rich Mom University is showing me how.   Yes, I could have paid hundreds of dollars for someone to make my website, but I am a hands-on type of person.  It is no fun to hand your precious “baby” over to someone, and when they try to explain to you what they did, the language goes over your head.  No fun at all. This way I know what I want, what I to put on my website/blog, and if something goes wrong, I can fix it, instead of waiting until the next morning.  I do not have time for that, and neither do my customers.

So these are my GEMs.  No acronym.  In case you are wondering which blog I deleted, it was my Disney blog.  I have something better than the sad, pitiful, neglected blog I was posting. The other two (Simply Organized Crafts and P. Lynne Designs) blogs are being reformatted to a self-hosted WordPress (I am working on that), and as soon as I do that, I am merging this blog (still a separate blog) into P. Lynne Designs.  The last blog (Tricia’s Baskets) will be part of Simply Organized Crafts, but again a separate blog.  This will give me the privilege to delete my Blogger account (I think), but overall Google will not have their paws on them.

So you are wondering why I wrote this… That is the big thousand-dollar question.  Stay tuned.

I’m done, move it along people

(Warning:  Affiliate links ahead)

(c) 2016 GraphicStock

I was cruising along, minding my own business (OK, I was being nosey), when I came across this news feed on Facebook (my version of Fox News): “Jada Pinkett Smith responds to Chris Rocks’ Jokes at the Oscars.” Let me fill you in… she has moved on.  Time to come out and play.

I am done.  All this hype of about boycotting the Oscars, which I was going to boycott anyway.  My reasons were different from Jada’s reason.  I think that the Oscars have been a little bit over the top in recent years, and to me, I will always have my favorites, and no little statue can tell me any different.  I am going to see my favorite actor no matter what they are in (except anything that is against my values), even if I am the only one in the theater or wait until that movie comes on Netflix, Amazon Prime, or On Demand.  It does not matter if the actor is black, white, blue, or green though I tend to have a little more favoritism towards the black actors.

I have read the comments on how Will Smith is not that good of an actor to deserve a nod on the carpet for Concussion or any movie that he has done in the past.  That is a matter of opinion.  Some say that he, Jada, and the kids are weird.  Come to think of it, most people in Hollywood (or Hollyweird) are strange.  You have to be strange and open to new things and people, in order to play someone or something different from your personality. 

To that, I say I blame the writers and producers in the industry.  They are out of touch and have no concept of the make-up of people in this country or this world.  They go by what sells. 

Take Zoe Saldana.  She was recently picked to play Nina Simone in an up and coming movie.  I have no doubt that she is a good actress.  She can play a wide range of movie role based on her looks alone.  Nina Simone, who was a dark-skinned poet and Jazz singer, is best known for her song, “To be Young, Gifted, and Black”, and the subject of my last post (as well as my pastor’s sermon last week), is being played by Saldana, who is light-skinned and mixed.  Now, I have a slight problem only to ask the question, “were there no dark-skinned actresses who were talented enough to play Ms. Simone?” My other question is, “Why are we playing the race card again within our own race?”  For years, as far as I remember hearing about, there has always been a fight among ourselves, “light-skinned V. dark-skinned”.  It was even during the time of slavery.  Please stop this once for all.  I never had a problem because I am in the middle.  I was born, what I like to call, “milk-chocolate”, a combo of a dark-skinned father and a light-skinned mother and having a severe case of eczema as a child.  If it wasn’t for eczema, I could actually go either way on the issue.  This skin condition darkens the skin.

Ok, I have now gotten to the point of rambling so I will end this post.  The conclusion to all of this and my further thoughts… who cares.  Jada has moved on, and so should we.  We all know how America thinks about Black America in the first place.  This should not be news, but we (including me) make a big deal out if a situation, which goes beyond a little statue that to me is a glorified door stopper.  In fact, some actors say after the first 2 or 3 statues they win, they do not know where to put them in their home, so they rent out storage. It is kind of that sports trophy you won as a child.  Yes, if you have that statue in your hand, producers and directors will consider you for more roles, and writers will want to write characters with you in mind.  The problem is that they think that black America has nothing to offer but violence. 

This is probably one of the reasons why Bill Cosby (haters, sorry I brought up his name) created The Cosby Show, which shows that the black family is like the average American family, BUT he does not define the family.  Besides that, I hate to say this, but Caucasian America, you have some crazy stuff going on in your families, too, which most back families would not touch with a 10-feet pole.  It is happening now in our families, only because we want to be like you, and we want this thing called equality.

So now we are back to the Will Smith family being weird.  They are only weird because they want to blend in, and black people are not used to that.  They do not want to see the movies and shows they are in because black America has felt segregated for a long time, and the closer we get to “getting ours”, the further white American pulls away. 

It would be nice if everyone had equal arrests (preferred no arrests), equal opportunities of employment, getting loans, housing in the same neighborhoods, friendships, marriages without judgement of the couple, but until that happens, there will always be that inequality among races, religious beliefs, and sexual orientation.   The best way to combat this is to turn towards God and love yourself, so you can learn to love others,

Are things tumultuous or calm right now in your life? Why do you think the energy is balanced this way?

Calm or tumultuous?
(c) 2015 p.Lynne Designs

I am not starting my March writings in the right way.  I wanted to welcome you in the only way I could, which is to have a big flashy sign that read, “Welcome to March”.  But instead, you go this writing prompt, LOL.

Ok, enough, I am in a silly mood. Welcome to March, and at BlogHer, my favorite place to find writing prompts when the mind is stuck.  This month’s theme is about “Energy”.  Tuesday’s topic has asked me if things in my life are “Tumultuous” or “Calm”?  The second part is why do I think it is that way.

At first, I had to think about that word, “tumultuous”, but it is a word that I personally do not use in my vocabulary (I need more big words in my life).  It simply means, “crazy”, “chaos”, or “screwy”.  I can say this my life is not calm.  I wish it was.  I wish my life right now is at a place where I am not up at 4:30 am writing posts because I cannot sleep.  My mind is racing, and thinking.  Here is the reason why I feel that way (that is the second part of this question)

I am have tossed myself in many directions in the past 4 years.  I have been questioning things like my faith, my life, my business, and my finances.  I have been questioning other things such as “How did I get to 50 so fast?”  “Why don’t I have a house by now?” “Why am I delaying adoption (now turned into foster care)?  “What up with my creativity lately?” “What am I afraid of when it comes to finding the right man in my life to date and marry?”  These are all the questions I have of myself.  I feel like people such as friends and family are passing me by.  I know what I want in life, but sometimes I am so confused.  I do want to succeed. 

I want to be that mom to a child whose birth mom abandoned.  Not necessary a pre-teen or a teen.  I know, I can hear people now asking me, “why not an older child?”  one of my aunts at Thanksgiving asked me that question.  I never got a chance to have a child in the formative years, and I just want to be able to teach this kid, not that I cannot teach an older child.  It is just that an older child has been trained to think a certain way, and any damage done to the child is hard to undo.  I have watched my foster sister go through that.  She was 6 when she came into my family’s lives, and I can say that she is a damaged person at 27 with 2 kids.  I try to help when I can. So do my parents, who she still calls mom and dad.

I want to be the best for God.  That means help others when I can and understanding what He wants from me, which is to obey what his word says in the bible.  He wants me to be happy.  He wants us all who believe to be happy.  I feel like sometimes I have overwhelmed myself, and that is when I have to step back a minute.  I have business, family, church, and my own person life to deal with, so my life is full, but not full enough.  I have room for other people (such as a baby and a mate) (Ohh, mate sound so Klingon-ish like). 

Yes, my life at the moment is not calm, and I doubt in the next 20 or so years it will be (especially if I am going to be 71 by the time this kid graduates).  And if any wants to know, yes I am asking for a child between 0-12 years of age.  I have my options since I am dealing with nephews and a niece ages 1,5, 7, 8, and 20.

Reflections on Black History

(c) 2016 image by Google

February will be ending at the stroke of midnight tomorrow night. A new month will emerge called March. I want to take the time to reflect on this month. The reason why I want to reflect on this month is because of recent events that have happened within the past 5 years.

Now I can see many of you mumbling under your breath “here we go again, she’s got another one.” No, it is not that kind of a post. I just want to reflect that’s all.

It has to do with a sermon I heard my minister say today. It is all about the phrase, “Young, Gifted, and Black.” In case you are wondering about that phrase, it was actually a poem by Nina Simone, who also turned it into a song called, “To be Young, Gifted, and Black.” This song was written in 1969, and it talks about how beautiful to be young, gifted, and black. What she talks about in the song is the whole world was waiting to see how talented billions of boys and girls are. To me, this song reflected on how I should be, even though I did not quite understand at 4 years old.

Today, as I listened to the lyrics of that song at 51 years old, I fully understood what those words meant, as my minister read them from the pulpit. Sometimes, you have to read between the lines in order to understand a song that was written so long ago. My understanding is that I should be proud of what I have accomplished so far in my life. But more importantly, I should be proud of what my race has accomplished before I was born, and after I was born. What I also understood and those lyrics is that we should never let someone, thing, or idea hold us back. This is both as individuals and as a race of people, who has felt like they were held back for a very long time.

Do not wait for permission. What I meant by waiting for permission is you do not need anyone’s permission to learn, to research, to think, and to do (within reason) good things, in order to make this world a better place to live in.

I never had a problem with the #blacklivesmatter movement. It is a worthy cause towards ending racism once and for all. I do not have a problem with protest, when it’s done right, but there have been several incidences in the past 3 years since the protest, where protesting did not work for the common good. Is it really necessary to burn down buildings, loot, beat, and call people a name that hurts and maybe scar a person for life? No, it really is not necessary to do those things, and much more that have been seeing on the television, and read online. I agree with some people who say that all lives matter. So to me, there should be a protest where all lives matter, no matter what.

“But, you are on their side.” No, I am not. I am on the side where Jesus says to accept everyone, no matter what they look like, act like, or economic situation. This also includes those who do not have the same lifestyle as you.

One last thing before I end this post. Do not honor black history in just the month of February. There are so many accomplishments that black people have contributed to in the past. It doesn’t even boil down to that. When you think of it, there are so many talented young people who have lots to contribute with their talents. It is up to us as older people, and I’m talking about adults over 26 years old and older, to steer them in the right direction. If you know of any resources where a young person can steer their talents at, such as community service, then show them. Don’t just show them, take them by the hand, and lead them in that direction. You never know how that person will turn, which I hope will be a valued member of society.

“Young, gifted, and black does not mean they are thugs, rappers, drug addicts, and dropouts”, as my preacher said today. It means that there is potential, great potential in that head of theirs, if they were guided in the right direction. Here’s to February.

The cuteness is Real

(c)2015 P.Lynne Designs - Please note: I did not get
permission to publish actual child's face, so I went with
This one.

Two little hands ready to grab anything.  Two little feet just learning how to walk.  All of that and a head full of big, fat curls, not worrying who loves him, who cares for him, and who he turns to in time of need, but he is just a baby.  All he wants is his paci (pacifier), his Ba (bottle), his giraffe, and his mommy and da-da (daddy).

All I know is he is my nephew, a 1-year-old, who I just met, named Kirer, Ki-Ki for short, and he is the cutest little boy I have ever seen.  Yes, as his aunt, I have seen lots of cute little ones, and the ones that came before him (meaning his cousins, father, and grandfather) were all cute as babies, but he is my present cute baby boy. I cannot believe that I am a great-aunt.

Yes, you heard it right, great-aunt.  My nephew is the father, my brother is the grandfather, and my parents are great-grandparents.  Now, I know what you are thinking if you have been following this blog for a while.  Yes, I am single, and still looking in the love department and in the baby department. 

So, I talk was trying to find the actual story that I wanted to reference to on being single, but I found this one instead, and I could not help but to reference to my then great-nephew-to-be in the last paragraph because his uncle was 2 at the time.

Back to whatever I was talking about.

It is days like this that make a person wonder why they were chosen to be in a baby’s life, especially if you are adopting.  I often think why now.  Sure, I want children, and I want to be that person that a child can come to.  I am a young great-aunt, a young aunt, but I will be an older parent.  I just published a post on this blog about being in a nesting mode, and I love it.  For those who are in a rush to do anything in life, do not rush it, for it will come, IF it was meant for you.  I was hoping to share this moment with a special man in my life, but you take what you can get.  I am looking forward to mother, and hopefully we (child) can manage rather a man comes into our lives or not.

In the meantime, this aunt is enjoying the cuteness in all of her nephews and niece.  I just you as my readers to do one small favor.  Pray for us and Disney World, because 13 people will be going there and the cruise line in December.  8 adults and 5 kids.  I have a feeling that Disney Word will never be the same again, but it will be fun. 

The Dark side of Writing: PLRs and Plagiarism 2

(c) 2015 P. Lynne Designs

There is a dark side to the world of writing and if you are a new writer, I thought I should warn you about this very nasty beast.  As I sit here munching on a cookie (and very tempted to grab another one, along with some milk or coffee), I was thinking about how this would be addressed.  After all, this blog has had its share of freedom articles and the like.  It is time for me to return back to why I started the second phase of My Ambiance Life in the first place.

I started to title this post, Trying to Avoid This 2: PLRs, but I did not because for one, I did not want anyone to think that I am writing yet another “Look what Beyoncé/Jay-Z/Black Panthers/police brutality” type post again.  Take note writers: when you get tired of a subject, it shows.  Second, 95% of you do not know what a PLR is, and what it has to do with plagiarism in the first place.  Well, now you are going to learn, so get ready to take notes (if you desire).

PLRs is abbreviated for Private Label Rights.  You pay a person to write you a basic article or post, and they sell you the rights to make changes and claim the article as your own piece.  This is difference from ghost writing, which is perfectly legal (more on that in a moment). 

You can have PLRs for anything.  Think about your Royal-free photos if you are into photography or Royal-free music if you are a musician.  It is the same thing, only this is for writing.  Let me give you an example:

You have just started a blog.  Your subject is about cars, classic cars.  You love talking about these cars, but you do not know a thing about them at all.  you first few posts turn out well, but you are a little concern about how long can you keep up the hype.  How long before people start noticing that you are no expert on classic cars?  (here is a tip:  make sure you are well-versed on your subject before attempting a blog, or you will run out of subject to post about).  You start researching for the answer to your little problem (when you should be learning about classic cars), and you stumble on an ad from a person who writes PLRs on any subject that you desire. Great, so you check out their website.  The “R” in PLR gives you the right to make changes in the document you now own (for a price).  The original writer cannot come to you and claim copyright infringement and order a cease and desist letter to you, because it is now your blog post to do whatever you want to do.

Problems with PLRs

As explained, you have the right to make changes to a post once you pay the person $5 or more to pen your post to your blog.  Now it is perfectly legal to have someone write for you, and you pay them, as in ghost writer or a guest writer on your blog.  The only thing you have to do as the blog owner is to just post it or give that person credit where credit is due.  The problems associated with PLRs are:

·         Plagiarism.  Didn’t your parents and teachers teach you anything about this subject?  PLRs is just another form of it.  Many sites use a program called Copyscape to check to validity of the article, and to make sure you are not spinning a post that has the same wording as the one you have written.  If there is any hint of a post, that can choose to reject it.

·         As the saying goes, make sure you check your sources.  Some writers are in it for the money.  They write stuff, do not check their facts, and next thing you know, you have a post with the wrong information on it.  For example:  If I know about the subject of glues and adhesives for scrapbooking, and I told you that you can use a specific type of glue for paper, but it causes a hazard later on.  You later find out from a friend that the type of glue used in the project was not made for paper project.  You could blame me, and I could blame the person who sold me the information.

·         Search engines frown on it, especially Google.  Enough said.

·         Scams.  You can spin the information in so many different directions once you get it, after all, it is now yours.  Again, most sites use Copyscape and the post you buy could be stole from a writer who worked for hours to get their message across.

Over all, do not get involve with PLRs, in both writing them and receiving them. Do not take the lazy way of writing a blog post or reposting them. You are better than that and your writing deserves better too.  There are better ways of earning money for writing blog post, articles, and publishing a book.  Prepare to be amazed at what your writing career can do for you and you never know where it can take you. Do not sell yourself short.  You can do this.

Am I nesting?

(c) 2015 P. Lynne Designs

Ok, this is sort of personal, so if you do not feel like getting a big dose of Patricia 101, you can skip this post, and I do not mind.

So, I am part organizer, part lazy person.  I hope you understand where I am coming from.  There are some days where I can look at my condo, my little humble abode, and work my business.  I do nothing but the bare essentials to the house and feel like the world could go suck on something if one person says anything about the house.  I mean it is my house, my life, I am a grown woman, single, and there is nothing you can do about it.  Trust me, I can leave a dish in the sink for a week if I wanted to.

Lately, I have had this burst of energy, and everything in my house has annoyed me.  What has me annoyed?  It is not organized, and I have been starting to toss things, planning for new things (for organizing), wanting to change the furniture, wanting new blinds, bed linens, Towels.  I want a new craft room, planning to redo the kitchen, you name it.  Oh, did I mention that I am preparing to have someone to look at my house?

I will have people looking in my house for two reasons:  the first is I am preparing for a baby/child.  In order for a social worker to deem you fit to welcome a child into

your home, it has to be a safe environment.  This means inspection.  Did I mention that the room that the baby will be sleeping in currently looks like a disaster zone?  It is supposed to be my craft room, and I have basically dedicated that task to my office downstairs, so I am now in the process of making it look like the bedroom it is supposed to be.

The second reason is when I find a new home, this one is going up for sale, which may happen before or after the baby gets here.  Once I move out, my father has to sell the condo and according to new association rules as of October 2015, an owner must live in the condo or sell it.  Well, my parents are perfectly happy in their home, and this home was bought with me in mind.  I no longer want to live here, and they could have my nephew move in, but there have been too many idiots making too many mistakes (like not paying the association fees).  So the condo association decided the “no more tenants” rule needs to be in effect for this condo complex.

So, like the title says, am I nesting?  In case you are wondering, nesting is what a woman in her third trimester does to prepare for birth.  She has a burst of energy to clean, do DIY projects around the house, decorate, and basically change things around.  In my case, I am not pregnant (or preggers as sometimes call it).  I cannot get pregnant.  I am adopting a baby, a child, who may be “in vitro” (womb) right now, newborn, toddler, preschooler, or school-age (up to age 12).  I have no idea until I see her (yes it is defiantly a girl).  I want to make sure that when this kid comes, rather it is in this house or my new one, that she is comfortable and happy. 

So is it wrong for me to prepare right now?  I know I have classes to take for this, make sure that I am financially stable, and that I am not going to go cra-cra on her if she defies me.  I want to make sure she is loved and I know that it is not going to be easy to be a parent.  Heck, it is not easy being an aunt, so why would I expect anything less as a mommy?  It is hard enough when you are raising someone you waited for 9 months to see, it is even harder when that child in not your biological child.  I am up for the challenge.

So, am I nesting?  You bet.  Adoptive mothers to be can nest too.  I may not be in my third trimester, but I have all the signs of a woman, who must prepare for a baby and move in one unfailing swoop.  “Lord, help my finances during this time because they need it.”  I am only in phase one, the “decluttering phase”.  Phase 2 is around the corner.  Happy  Nesting Everyone!!!