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Monday, June 13, 2016

**RESOURCES** Hair, Bath & Beauty Brands (you might not have heard of)

While working on my book proof, I'm not posting much other than resources and lists.

Here's a list of haircare, bath and beauty brands that you might not have heard of. I know that some of them are new to my ears. Check them out and, if you do, please let me know what you think.

Image result for Black up cosmetic brand





















  • Becca Cosmetics. I've only heard about the brand. 
  • BlackUp "Makeup expert for women of color". (I like that Sephora carries the line. I do still hate Sephora's customer service, though.)

Image result for bh cosmetics foundationImage result for Qhemet Biologics







  • BH Cosmetics. I love their prices and foundations.
  • Mary Kay. You've heard of them, but the shade ranges might surprise you.
  • Fashion Fair. It's been a while since I've tried it, but I need to.

That's a good start. I will have to add to the list later. For now... back to writing.

Peace
--Free

Saturday, June 11, 2016

**RESOURCES** Apps, Videos and Tutorials

Reviews are slow while I wait for approval of more products. In the meantime, I'm taking breaks from my fiction writing to share resources that some of you might be able to use. I'll jump right on in.

Want a 2nd cell number for free?

Image result for cellphoneSideline is an interesting sounding app. I say that it sounds interesting because, so far, I've not actually used it. I'm waiting for numbers to become available in my area code.

If you are lucky enough to find numbers with your area code - or if you don't mind your second number being prefixed with an area code different than your current number - check it a cnet overview here. The features are listed here on Sideline's page. If you like it lots, you can get paid versions. Because I haven't read all the docs and you might want to, check out the FAQs and other support info.


Want some explanatory stuff/Explain it like I'm 5?

Thanks to Reddit, I ran across these YouTube channels that can be helpful"
SciShow and SciShow Kids. (As always, be sure to check the page for leads to more content. Also, if you like the channels, show your support.)

Some other useful (and interesting) channels are Science and Technology 4U and Discovery TV's (especially the Learn Something New playlist).

I've long used the How Stuff Works site as a resource for info when writing on different subjects. Make sure to check out the channels they have on YouTube also.

As the saying goes, you can learn almost anything with with YouTube and Pinterest. As far as videos go, there's even a YouTube channel for Google developers. (Seriously though, if you learn how to search it well, Pinterest has some great resources for writers, students and just about anyone else.)

Want to mix learning with some entertainment?

Personally, I love watching documentaries. It's a guilt-free way to watch some TV, but it's also a great way to help my brain generate story ideas. If nothing else, you don't usually feel like you've just spent wasted time in front of the tube. Here are some of my fave places to pick up on interesting doc films:
... free alternatives are out there, including
With documentaries, it's all about what you're looking for. If you want a video about something really specific, YouTube is still the best bet, IMO.

Anything specific for students?

If you're a student, definitely check out TryIt. Most definitely. It's an "opportunity and inspiration site" that helps connect students to learning and career interests. Something like that anywayCheck the FAQs for better info than I can give you.

Image result for online learningAny other good stuff?

Plenty and they are too good to leave out, but I was having trouble categorizing them so... you just have to go for it:
  •  OER Commons (Open Educational Resources) has lots of resources, including full university courses. Yep. No excuse for ignorance.
  • Khan Academy. I've linked to KA before. It seems heavily math focused, but there's other subjects covered & it's excellent for college prep work.
  • Wolfram Alpha. I don't even know how to describe the site. Good thing there's an About Us page!
Of course, I can't leave out Wikiversity

If I missed anything, here's a list I've just run across that could help you out with finding more video tutorial sources. Wish I'd found it at the start of this post.


Good luck, good learning, and
Peace
--Free

Thursday, June 09, 2016

**RESOURCES** For Writers (Microsoft Edge)

I wasn't sure if I should tag this as a "Review" or  "Resources". Either way, this will be of interest (again) to note-takers, writers, students, and businesspeople. Okay, it's pretty much for anybody.

Microsoft Edge is the browser you can write on whether or not you have a touchscreen PC.

Courtesy a nephew, I happen to have a nice touchscreen PC, but with the Edge, you can use the mouse to utilize the write-on feature. There are other features that can work for you, depending on your needs. I'll go through the ones I have used up to now. WARNING: There are going to be a lot of screenshots in this post...

This is the landing page that I got. It's a little confusing because you really can't do any alterations here. Instead, you have to "turn on" the interesting feature.

Keep reading. We're going to get to the good part.


First thing I figured out is that I can't "write" on the Start (or landing) page. Refer to the photo below. When on that Start page, the options I want (on far right hand side) are greyed out and not available.

So, get off that page by going to the Google tab. Or you can just open a new tab with the + sign.




I decided to use the Google home page to test this out. Notice that now I have those options on the far right top.




When you get to whichever page/site it is that you want to make notes on (in this case, Google, for me), then the main two buttons you want to deal with are...

1 - The one that gives the option to "make a web note" (see yellow arrow)



and

2 - The one that gives the option of what to do with the web note -share, save, etc. - (see orange arrow)



You can write on the screen - with stylus or finger if you have a touchscreen, and with the cursor/mouse if you don't have a touchscreen. You can use the Text Box function to type on the page. Also, you can Highlight things or use the Eraser to delete what you've added.

Notice that you can change the sizes and colors for the Pen and the Highlighter.




Now here is where I get to tell you what I had a problem with. Maybe "glitch" is the better term...

When I was using my finger to circle items on the screen, I must have touched outside the "allowed" (or the edge, heh heh) part of the screen because my markings were interrupted and had blank spots. Writing on the center of the web page/screen was okay except my onscreen writing is super sloppy. I preferred to use the Text Box function.

The one thing I don't like is that, of course, searching from Edge defaults you to the Bing search engine. I really, really hate Bing.

Another irritation is that once you Save what you've done, the Eraser no longer works on your notations. In other words, if you make a hand note then hit Save, you can only erase what you do after that last save.

Overall, though, this is all pretty cool. For me, I like being able to use the features while researching stuff for my writing. I think that's something that just about anyone can find a use for.

Best of all is the ability to share what you've done. It's fast and easy. As you can see from the screenshot below, the most popular share spots are there. If you don't see one you're looking for, you can look for one in the Windows Store.



Last of all, if you do use Edge (even only when you want to use the features I mentioned), be sure to check out the Settings. I was able to change everything I wanted (except having Bing as the default search...).

I won't be using this constantly, but I am going to take advantage of what I need from it. I haven't yet done a lot with the Cortana (the "personal assistant" built into Win10)  feature. From what I understand, there's a way to link Cortana to Edge to enhance the experience. ~shrug~ The link I just provided explains more, but I'm not there yet.

Peace
--Free

P.S.: If I made any errors in this overview, you'll just have to remember that I'm an Edge newbie.