Keep up-to-date ...

Several people have asked me recently how I keep up-to-date with all that is going on. Here is my secret: Alltop ... their slogan is: "We've got all the top stories covered all the time." Give it a try.

Emergency Preparedness ... Natural Disasters ...

I am planning a series of posts in the coming weeks on a variety of Emergency Preparedness topics that I hope will be useful to everyone. For starters, the following list shows the number of reported world-wide natural disasters in each decade since 1900:

• 1900-1909 ... 6
• 1910-1919 ... 18
• 1920-1929 ... 11
• 1930-1939 ... 17
• 1940-1949 ... 20
• 1950-1959 ... 23
• 1960-1969 ... 43
• 1970-1979 ... 85
• 1980-1989 ... 148
• 1990-1999 ... 232
• 2000-2007 ... 540

I will let you draw your own conclusions! As for me, I am taking the advice of a wise person who said "If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear."

Digital Photo Organization ...

If you do not have the luxury of owning an iMac to do your photo and video work, don't overlook all that you can do with Picasa. Picasa is a Google product and is free. It is a great way to quickly find and organize all of the photos on your PC. Plus, you can upload your photos to the web. And, don't forget, if you have a Gmail account you already have a Picasa account ... your Gmail account gets you access to all of the Google products. Pretty nifty!

Calendar Item ... Emily's Graduation from USU ...

Great News! Emily is walking Saturday, May 3, at 2:00 pm in Logan. If you are able to attend, give her a call for more details. For those attending in person, we will gather somewhere afterwards for a party (fun and merriment).

ScrapBlog ...

Here is a way to add some creativity to your Blog ... make a ScrapBlog. This is an amazing free application that will get you hooked. You can publish your ScrapBlogs to the public or make them private. You can even embed them in your own Blog. Take a look and let your creative juices run free!

Quick Photo Edits ...

Ever want to "fix" some aspect of a photo fast and you don't have Photoshop or an equivalent photo editing program? There are a number of very good online photo editors now available for free! Here are two of the best (IMO):

• Picnik
• Photoshop Express

Give these a try and I think you will be surprised at the results. Photoshop Express is new and even gives you 2GB of free online storage. Let me know which application you prefer. Or better yet, how about sharing some before and after examples of your handiwork.

I Think This World is Perfect ...

When you have an extra minute, take a look at this Blog: I Think This World is Perfect. This is an example of how I hope my Blog grows and develops!