Lessons learned from a spamathon

A certain person who shall remain nameless, drew my attention to the offer of a free trial of a particular upmarket brand hairdryer. As my 35 year old model had recently expired, I made the mistake of signing up and then realising one had to express an interest in some other products. I scrolled my way through the multiple offers, no I did not want x, y or even z. In fact I think there were close to thirty offers I declined. At this stage I opted out of confirming any further details. Aha, it was too late, I had filled in email and mobile on the previous screen. Luckily I have gmail and within 3 days it had rejected 42 spurious offers as spam.

Then my mobile started to ring. Unrecognised numbers. More spam. After a couple of false starts I answered without speaking, yes these computer generated dialling robots simply hang up if there is no verbal response. After burrowing around in my mobile's settings I found where to block the numbers. So far there are eight numbers I've had to block. Lesson learned after all these years on the net, if the offer looks to good to be true then it probably is!.

Steps to block numbers

- Nexus 5 - These steps will be similar in many Android phones

In the phone app:

• Locate the number in the log of calls
• Touch and hold down until copy number appears
• Choose settings from the phone apps menu (usually three dots, the 'hamburger')
• Choose Call blocking, Add number and touch and hold down to paste.

Blocked numbers may still be able to leave voicemail, but generally nuisance callers desist when they receive no verbal response.

How to extend ring time on your mobile

Positive outcome: So many times I miss calls on my phone by not answering within the 15 seconds allocated by the Telstra. This constant ringing of my phone made me resolve to pursue the issue, now I have a full 30 seconds before the call switches to voicemail.

Choose your telco for instructions on how to add ring time to your mobile before it diverts to a message bank or voicemail.

• Telstra Extend ring time
• Optus Extend ring time
• Vodafone Extend ring time

This post first appeared on https://librarycurrants.blogspot.com

Excelling file names

On a recent trip to South Australia, I acquired 319 new digital items to be filed and named. Many of these are scanned photos, images captured from newspapers, photocopied documents, and photographed family memorabilia. What a bonus for a budding family historian to have acquired so much in a short period but how will I process and organise all this information? On looking at my file naming practice I spotted many errors had crept into my system over the past three years. This time, I was determined to stay consistent by using Excel to generate file names.

Spreadsheets have a function useful for this purpose: Concatenate. This simply means that all the information entered into a series of cells will be combined together into one cell. Why use this for file naming? The column headings on the spreadsheet prompt me to enter the different types of information; names, dates, places, and events. Basically, it is a guide to answering questions about files.

• Who is it about?
• When did it happen or when was it generated?
• Where did it take place?
• What is it about?

So my spreadsheet column headings reflect the type of information I wish to record. Any cell can be left blank if the type of information in that column is not relevant to the file to be named.
In the column where I want the file name compiled, in this case, I3, I added the formula =CONCATENATE(A3,B3,C3,D3,E3,F3,G3,H3) to join together or combine the information from the cells in columns A to H. This creates my completed file name.

Next , I used the fill handle, (drag down from the bottom right-hand corner of cell I3) to copy the formula down into all the cells in column I. Now any information I add in new rows will automatically be compiled in Column I.

I’ve added an underscore in column E to separate the numbers where there are two dates, simply for ease of reading. I’ve used fill down so that I don’t need to type that underscore every time.

If spaces are required between names one could add two double quotes around a space, into the formula. So to get Horgan John rather than HorganJohn I would need to amend part of the formula (A3,B3) to (A3,“ ”,B3)

The second tab on my spreadsheet replicates the formula for photographs, not all of which are related to family history pursuits. The reminder headings may be interpreted differently as the name column may be used to describe the contents of the photo. By keeping the sheets separate I will be able to sort the data in different ways.

I’ve added a Column J which contains a link to the file on my computer. This link is inserted once the file has been renamed using this system.  Now I need to get back to sorting and naming all those files.

This post on GFC Learn Free explains the concatenate function. There are many excellent Excel tutorials on YouTube. Google Sheets or Open Office users will find this function can be replicated in those spreadsheet programs.

This post first appeared on https://librarycurrants.blogspot.com

Busy times bring rewards

Being thankful

Flowers from Saturday

This last week has provided me with plenty of opportunities to pause and appreciate life in all its variations. A visit to a local doctor supplied me with the means to get better from a nasty bug, good medicine and great care from the local surgery.

Its National Family History Month in Australia and on Thursday last I had the opportunity to present a session about online resources. The venue was the local Noosaville library and despite my misgivings, the attendees provided generous positive feedback. Here's the presentation and the handout.

On Saturday I participated in an ASG (Australian Sewing Guild) Suncoast Regional Day put together by three local sewing groups. Good food, genial company and learning opportunities abounded. Fabulous textile art was displayed and free motion embroidery was demonstrated by the talented Jan Hutchison. Martyn Smith presented a range of professional tips and trade secrets designed to improve our sewing skills. I presented a session on Digital skills for sewing enthusiasts which included suggestions for using Evernote for sewing enthusiasts. The accompanying handout includes a link to this shared Evernote notebook.

An unexpected communication from a sibling who has followed through a suggestion I made last year about writing up some of her childhood memories has given me great pleasure. I am in the midst of preparing for a trip to visit my siblings later this month and along with enjoying their company, I hope to snaffle many family memories and photos.

For book club this month our group has been reading The Dalai Lama’s Cat by David Michie. This is a gentle, delightful read with words of wisdom on every page. I’m sure this Thursday’s group discussion when we meet for morning tea will be enlightening. The author has kindly reproduced the prologue and first chapter free online, enjoy.

This morning I’ve visited the local library again where my sewing and book club friend Stephanie, has mounted a display of her creative work. Amongst other things, she is the author of Noosa’s Native Plants. Her photography and computer mastery skills have produced some amazing works. Not content with pictorial display she has uploaded her photographic artworks to Spoonflower where they are printed on to fabric. Taking that one more step she has then created some beautiful tea towels and bags of every shape and description. Her works display not only her prodigious talent but are designed to promote the importance and beauty of the native flora of the region. Enjoy some of her work shown below.

Tea towels by Stephanie Haslam

Bag, tea towel and book by Stephanie Haslam

Paper barked Tea Tree by Stephanie Haslam

Bag by Stephanie Haslam