Friday, November 14, 2008

Random Act of Kindness -

This is a awesome story…

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Oct 05, 2008
The Norwegian newspaper VG has reported a truly amazing story about a newly-wed trying to get to Norway to be with her husband, and the stranger who helped pay an unexpected luggage surcharge. The blog 'Leisha's Random Thoughts' has translated the story.
It was 1988, and Mary Andersen was at the Miami airport checking in for a long flight to Norway to be with her husband when the airline representative informed her that she wouldn't be able to check her luggage without paying a 100 dollars surcharge:


When it was finally Mary's turn, she got the message that would crush her bubbling feeling of happiness.
-You'll have to pay a 103 dollar surcharge if you want to bring both those suitcases to Norway, the man behind the counter said.


Mary had no money. Her new husband had travelled ahead of her to Norway, and she had no one else to call.
-I was completely desperate and tried to think which of my things I could manage without. But I had already made such a careful selection of my most prized possessions, says Mary.


As tears streamed down her face, she heard a 'gentle and friendly voice' behind her saying, 'That's okay, I'll pay for her.'


Mary turned around to see a tall man whom she had never seen before.


-He had a gentle and kind voice that was still firm and decisive. The first thing I thought was, Who is this man?
Although this happened 20 years ago, Mary still remembers the authority that radiated from the man.
-He was nicely dressed, fashionably dressed with brown leather shoes, a cotton shirt open at the throat and khaki pants, says Mary.


She was thrilled to be able to bring both her suitcases to Norway and assured the stranger that he would get his money back. The man wrote his name and address on a piece of paper that he gave to Mary. She thanked him repeatedly. When she finally walked off towards the security checkpoint, he waved goodbye to her.
Who was the man?


Barack Obama.


Twenty years later, she is thrilled that the friendly stranger at the airport may be the next President and has voted for him already and donated 100 dollars to his campaign:


-He was my knight in shining armor, says Mary, smiling.
She paid the 103 dollars back to Obama the day after she arrived in Norway. At that time he had just finished his job as a poorly paid community worker* in Chicago, and had started his law studies at prestigious Harvard university.


Mary even convinced her parents to vote for him:
In the spring of 2006 Mary's parents had heard that Obama was considering a run for president, but that he had still not decided. They chose to write a letter in which they told him that he would receive their votes. At the same time, they thanked Obama for helping their daughter 18 years earlier.


And Obama replied:
In a letter to Mary's parents dated May 4th, 2006 and stamped 'United States Senate,

      Washington DC', Barack Obama writes:

'I want to thank you for the lovely things you wrote about me and for reminding me

of what happened at Miami airport. I'm happy I could help back then, and I'm delighted

to hear that your daughter is happy in Norway. Please send her my best wishes.

      Sincerely, Barack Obama, United States Senator'.

     The parents sent the letter on to Mary.
Mary says that when her friends and associates talk about the election, especially when race relations is the heated subject, she relates the story of the kind man who helped out a stranger-in-need over twenty years ago, years before he had even thought about running for high office.


Truly a wonderful story, and something that needs to be passed along.

 

Happy Friday!

 

nan@brainybetty

Obama's Random Act of Kindness - Urban Legends

Monday, November 10, 2008

3 stubborn PC problems you can fix

This is a useful article to help you step by step when

a. you keep getting a "Your system is running low on virtual memory" message.

b. Your taskbar has disappeared or

c. Your windows slide off the desktop.

3 stubborn PC problems you can fix

 

Well, the election is finally over and its back to work and business. I, for one, am looking forward to a changed government and a changed country in the coming years.

 

logo Our new company Intellipodcast got incorporated in the last couple of months and we are so excited to see how people are using that site to create audio and video shows free online.

 

One technology teacher is using it at a high school to create video broadcasts with his students about daily announcements at the school. A real estate broker is using it to showcase homes and even video directions to his office. A composer is creating web broadcasts for his fans. Others are using private audio to create affirmations and download them to their mp3 players or burn onto CD. A movie producer is using the site to share video footage that was not used in a released movie.

 

We think that small businesses and organizations can create shows to communicate with and inform their audience and engage visitors on their own websites and blogs.

 

We invite you to check out the site at www.intellipodcast.com where you can sign up for a free account and keep it as long as you'd like! We think you'll find it as useful as our Brainy Betty site!

Happy Fall and have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your families!

 

nan @ brainybetty

Friday, October 31, 2008

New Tutorial: How to create video from your digital pictures!

In this new tutorial, you'll learn how to create a video from digital pictures using Windows Movie Maker (which you already have on your system if you have an XP or Vista. Learn in less than 10 minutes how to create great video you can use to teach, communicate and market yourself!

 

View it at our sister site, Intellipodcast, here

.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Budgets & Templates - Microsoft Office Online

Manage your monthly budget, create a special project or special event budget, and more with a variety of free Excel templates. Simply download the template here:

Budgets - Templates - Microsoft Office Online

Monday, September 29, 2008

Webcasts and Podcasts Home Page - Microsoft Office Online

View webcasts, listen to podcasts, get tips tricks and training all free at this site!

Here are the ones for PowerPoint.

(The title to this article links to all of Office 2007).

Enjoy!

Nan @ brainybetty  :)

P.S. If you haven't yet checked out the video about podcasting from PowerPoint, go here and click the Play button on the video player....

Webcasts and Podcasts Home Page - Microsoft Office Online

Friday, September 26, 2008

PowerPlugs: Ultimate Combo for PowerPoint - ON SALE! WOOHOO!

80% off until September 30th ONLY!

NEW PowerPlugs: Ultimate Combo 2007 v 7 has everything you need to energize your PowerPoint presentations including:

 

• Transitions 3.01 volumes I - VII - Updated 09/01/08
• Templates Subscription -
More templates!
• Template Finder -
New product!
• Video Backgrounds Subscription
• Video Backgrounds Player 2.0 -
Updated 09/01/08
• 3D Titles 3.01 volumes I & II -
Updated 09/01/08
• FlashReady 3.0 - Updated 08/18/08
• Pictures Subscription
• Presentations To Go
• Music Subscription
• Music Helper Plugin
• Animator

 

PowerPlugs: Ultimate Combo for PowerPoint - Home Page

Thursday, September 25, 2008

YouTube - Embed YouTube Video into PowerPoint

How to embed a YouTube video into PowerPoint - I get this question an LOT! Watch this well done video to learn how!

Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats

Having trouble opening an Office 2007 file from a colleague? Download the free Compatibility Pack, and you'll be able to open, edit, and save files in the new file formats for Office 2007, using any previous version of Office.

Download details: Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Overview - Training - Microsoft Office Online

This is a great training module from Microsoft with audio to keep yourself reminded of holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, etc. I would suggest following the steps and exercises

given for the best outcome! Happy September -

Nan :)

Overview - Training - Microsoft Office Online

Top 10 most useful secret ninja moves in Office

This is a fantastic article on the top 110 tricks to improve Productivity using Microsoft Office. Well worth reading and applying!

Office Hours: Top 10 most useful secret ninja moves in Office - Help and How-to - Microsoft Office Online

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Automatically start an Office program when you turn on your computer - Help and How-to - Microsoft Office Online

Automatically start an Office program when you turn on your computer - Help and How-to - Microsoft Office Online

Learn how to automatically start an Office program when you turn on your computer using Vista or XP - I've found this useful for me because I generally will turn on my system and then open Outlook almost always first - this makes it happen automatically!

By the way, Crystal Graphics is having an amazing saleagain on their PowerPlugs Templates:

• 6,000+ professionally-designed PowerPoint templates to pick from!
• 277 new ones added just today: Check out our latest additions!
• 100s more added monthly at no extra charge.
• $99 gets you unlimited PowerPoint templates 24/7 for an entire year!
• 25 watermarked demo templates available for you to download now for free.
• 3 ways to search: By keyword, color and/or category.
• 2 themed backgrounds per template: 1 full screen and 1 framed.
• 1 great way to give the perfect look to each of your PowerPoint presentations!

Visit CrystalGraphics.com and start downloading now
or call (800) 394-0700 x 1
Winner of Presentation magazine’s award for "Best PowerPoint Templates"

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

101 Fantastic Freebies from MSN Tech & Gadgets - Products

101 Fantastic Freebies - Page1 -  MSN Tech & Gadgets - Products Find 101 fantastic freebies to download and use on this page!

"Whether you're partial to online services or to downloadable software, we have the Web's best free stuff and it'll keep you productive, secure and entertained.

Free. It's the magic word for an ever-expanding wealth of downloadable software and online services. Free doesn't necessarily mean good, however, and hunting for freebies can mean sifting through a lot of junk.

That's where we come in. We surfed, clicked and installed to find sparkling free gems capable of planning your time, keeping you in touch and tuning and securing your PC, not to mention glitzing up your desktop, helping you stay productive and entertaining you with music, videos, photos and games. We paid special attention to programs and services you may not have heard of before."... Be sure and check it out!

Summer - Templates - Microsoft Office Online

Summer - Templates - Microsoft Office Online Find free summer templates from Microsoft - party cards, invitations, and more!

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

The Rapid eLearning Blog

pic_tomThis is an excellent blog for those of you who are involved in any type of e-learning or training activities and use PowerPoint. I especially like his specific, short and targeted tutorials to do multiple actions in PowerPoint. Highly Recommended!  

The Rapid eLearning Blog

How NOT to use PowerPoint!

This is a great video on how NOT to use PowerPoint.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Crystal Graphics has added over 400 new templates to their collection!

Crystal Graphics has added over 400 new templates to their collection. I particularly love being able to search by color and style on these. For example, if I have a business presentation and I want it to match my company colors, I can choose Business, Blue.

With so many categories - too many to list here, but I'll give you a flavor: Business, Education, Defense, Religion, Abstract, Communication, Medical, Marketing, Real Estate, etc. you are definitely going to find the perfect background for your presentation.

At $99 and unlimited downloads for one full year, you shouldn't miss out on this deal!

Monday, April 07, 2008

Podcasting from PowerPoint? Here's how!

A new free e-course from your friends at Brainy Betty! Learn how to create podcasts using PowerPoint and tools and programs you probably already have on your computer!



YOU MAY WANT TO CLICK FULL SCREEN ON THE PLAYER FOR THE LARGEST VIEW.

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Watch the intellipodcast trailer!

Learn what you can do with a free account at our new business division: intellipodcast! (Click on the player to access the site or read about the features here.)

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Crystal Graphics - 80% off until March 31st!

Announcing the NEW PowerPlugs: Ultimate Combo 2007 version 5.0 for PowerPoint! It has everything you need to energize your PowerPoint presentations including:

• Templates Subscription More templates!
• Video Backgrounds Player
• Music Helper Plugin New version!
• Pictures Subscription
• FlashReady
• Animator

• Transitions volumes I-VII
Video Backgrounds Subscription
• Music Subscription New product!
• 3D Titles volumes I&II
• Presentations To Go



Visit CrystalGraphics.com for more information

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

PowerPlugs: 3D Titles and Transitions software

This is a great offer from Crystal Graphics:

You can get all 7 volumes of the NEW PowerPlugs: Transitions plus both volumes of the NEW PowerPlugs: 3D Titles together for just $199. That's a $511 value for over 60% off – their best offer ever on these popular products!

PowerPlugs: 3D Titles and Transitions software

In other PowerPoint news, we recently sent out our newsletter to our subscribers and it was chockfull of the new backgrounds, graphics, royalty free music and more. If you would like to subscribe to our free newsletter, you can sign up at Brainy Betty.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Getting Started in Word 2007

This is a fabulous set of tutorials from Florida Gulf Coast University for those of you who are new to Office 2007:

Enjoy learning!

Getting Started in Word 2007

Monday, February 18, 2008

Spoken Impact - Public Speaking Services for Executives has a great tutorial on using gradients

Picture1 In this great tutorial for PowerPoint, you can learn how to create custom gradients for better design and visual impact. Worth taking 15 minutes at lunchtime to read and learn.

Spoken Impact is a company that specializes in public speaking training for executives and others based in Minnesota.

Spoken Impact - Public Speaking Services for Executives

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Instant travel-tales: Share your vacation in real-time

Social networking on vacation? This great article talks about ways to connect with others including using photos and more. A good one to bookmark!

Instant travel-tales: Share your vacation in real-time

Instant travel-tales: Share your vacation in real-time

Saturday, February 09, 2008

Flickr: Photos tagged with powerpoint

This is interesting. Have you ever been on Flickr? It's one of the largest photo sharing sites on th enet. I have always been a HUGE fan - just because of the number of talented people there posting pics.

The link below goes to a series of pics tagged with PowerPoint.... kinda boring, in my opinion.

Here's something WAY cooler: a guy in Kentucky - my home state - a BRILLIANT photographer - just please take a few moments to view his work. He's so incredible.

Flickr: Photos tagged with powerpoint

Thursday, February 07, 2008

YouTube - Yes We Can - Barack Obama Music Video

I had to post this (please spread the love) :) . I love the sentiment. Please go vote this year.

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

How to Add Video Clips to Microsoft PowerPoint | eHow.com

This is a great tutorial from e-How about adding video clips to your PowerPoint presentation:

How to Add Video Clips to Microsoft PowerPoint | eHow.com

 

On another note, frequently people ask me how to download YouTube videos to embed in their presentations. You can find out what I have learned at this link. It has the top 23 tools you can use for downloading YouTube videos and converting them to some other format beside the .flv format.

Or you can watch this video as well: (I would click the player to get the text directions for this video tutorial).

Cheers!

nan @ brainybetty :)

Monday, February 04, 2008

PowerCONVERTER - Convert PowerPoint presentations to Flash instantly!

 PowerConverterSig I get asked a LOT if there are any programs which will convert PowerPoint to Flash for reduced sizes for emailing or to put presentations out on the web.

Well, you'll be glad to hear that Crystal Graphics has created a program that does that (in 2 clicks of your mouse) and reduces the size of your presentation file size by up to 97%. Go check it out - it's on sale here for $199:

PowerCONVERTER - Convert PowerPoint presentations to Flash instantly!

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Design, Feng What? The Essentials of Feng Shui

I've always been interested in holistic practices and feng shui is another subject I've become attracted to learning about. Mostly because, I do believe (even in PowerPoint) design and clarity are important to achieve success in what you aim to do. The idea that you can design a workspace at home or at the office that brings about more creativity, productivity and yes, even financial improvement intrigues me.

Here's a short posting on the basics of how feng shui may be applied to the home office or the external office.

Design, Feng What? The Essentials of Feng Shui

You might be interested in these videos as well:

 

Enjoy!

Nan @ brainy betty

Thursday, January 24, 2008

.:: Microsoft presents :: The Ultimate Steal ::.

College students can get a MASSIVE deal on Office 2007 right now. Visit Microsoft's Ultimate Steal page. You save 91% (gasp)!

.:: Microsoft presents :: The Ultimate Steal ::.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Are you a Mac or a PC?

Watch this brilliant series of videos with Steve Jobs and Bill Gates in a rare interview together.

Have a great week!

Nan @ brainybetty.com

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

PowerPoint Live User Conference 2008 and more...

Happy New Year Everyone!

Make sure and put this in your Outlook calendar. September 21 - 24 of this year, make a plan to go to gorgeous San Diego, California and attend the PowerPoint Live User Conference this year hosted by expert Rick Altman.

There, you will learn presentation techniques and methods from all of the top experts and Microsoft MVPs and have 3 days of glorious fun and education. You can see last year's schedule here for reference to get an idea of how the 3 days are usually planned.

I'm planning to be there myself and hope to meet some of you in person.

Also, Crystal Graphics has added 200 more background templates to their library on January 14th. This is an amazing deal $99 for the entire year for access to the entire library with unlimited downloads. Or, for $199, you can get access to the entire library of thousands of backgrounds AND a custom template for you, specifically. Good deal.

Finally, start off the new year with a more organized inbox. Here are 6 tips to avoiding email clutter in 2008!

The Brainy Betty newsletter comes out in a few days. Hope you are subscribed! Lots of free goodies this month to start off your year right. I've scoured the web and found some great resources for you.

Again, Happy New Year and have a wonderful week!

Nan @ brainybetty