To Buy or Not to Buy - Zone Alarm Pro
Topic: Computer
My free trial period for ZoneAlarm Pro ended yesterday. First thing I noticed during the trial was that the 'Valid HTML', Valid CSS' and 'Icra Label' links had all disappeared from my pages. That meant I could no longer do a quick check when I uploaded a revised page by clicking on the links. So I removed ZoneAlarm's Ad Blocking for "Banner/Skyscraper ads", which solved that problem but meant I had to put up with the odd pop-up ad appearing. Then I found I couldn't read the "Times OnLine" because it uses cookies so, I unchecked "Block Third Party Cookies". Maybe I could have put this site into Trusted Zones? Anyway, PestPatrol has a "Cookie Cruncher". The outcome is that I have decided to go back to the free version and put up with all the pop-up ads.

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Text Only Web Pages
Topic: Web Design
Found another useful web service today which allows authors to see what their pages look like (sort of) when viewed with a Lynx text-mode browser on this Lynx Viewer. They recommend that you should download a copy of Lynx itself and run it locally but this is the next best thing.

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Pest and Spyware Protection
Topic: Computer
I picked up two pests whilst reading the news on Google, 'Client Sniffer' and 'RedV', both sitting in Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5. PestPatrol was running and found them almost immediately. If you are worried about removing pests or spyware and you want a free removal program, take a look at this webpage first: Rogue/Suspect Anti-Spyware Products & Web Sites. I update PestPatrol regularly but I had never checked to see if there was an update for ZoneAlarm. There was, so I downloaded it there and then. Decided to try the free trial for the Pro version - there is no obligation and I can go back to the free version if I want.

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What do you think?
Topic: My Web Pages
Finally finished working on my updated personal pages and uploaded them today. About time - I had been working on them for ages! I knew I had to get rid of the night sky background and replace it with something lighter so that anyone with an older browser could read the black text. However, I have to battle this problem I have of always going for bright fussy backgrounds! Trying to stick to 'Eos' designs so I finally chose the same pale texture I am using here and on my Album and Family Tree pages for the table background. Do you think the orangey page background behind the table is too bright? (You can read the black text on it, though.) I did once get an email from someone thanking me for 'a beautiful site' but I suspect any professional designers would throw their hands up in horror and tell me to stick to plain white with a fluid design. Anyway, I think a bit of colour does no harm. I am trying hard to follow some of the accessibility guidelines but it seems I am a long way from achieving even Priority 1. Will keep trying (yes, I know, I am VERY trying!).

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Stephanie's Gap
Topic: Grandchildren
Stephanie asked me to take a photograph of her showing where her tooth came out! You might just see the gap. It is strange that Elliot lost his upper left tooth and Stephanie has lost her lower right tooth. She also has some new molars, which have come through rather early, I think. Both the children seem to be very happy to be back at school and they are always very keen to read their school books to us! They are doing very well and we are very proud of them.

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The Siege of the School in Beslan
Topic: Terrorism
Like everyone else in the world, I have been very shocked and upset by the terrible events in Beslan, Russia, this week. How can any human being be so evil and so wicked as to deliberately take the lives of innocent children? Absolutely nothing can excuse such callous brutality. What did they think it would achieve to hold a school to ramson and how did they envisage it ending? I know some terrible things have happened in Chechnya and that both sides have behaved badly and must share the blame. But, in the end, it is the ordinary people caught in the middle who suffer the most. Sadly it seems that terrorism is now a world wide plague - and I believe that the cure is dialogue. We must listen to these desperate people, try to understand their point of view and the politicians must find common ground to build on.

Update
The news published at the end of October by Russia goes a long way to explain the behaviour of these terrorists, most of whom were under the influence of hard drugs and tranquilizers. It seems that the terrorist organisations also prey on those unfortunate enough to be hooked on drugs. By feeding their habit they make them slaves to their will and destroy their humanity.

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Another Visit from the Tooth Fairy!
Topic: Grandchildren

My daughter sent me an email last night and told me that Stephanie's loose tooth had finally come out. So, last night/this morning (past 2 am - time flies when you are engrossed in something!) I worked very hard on another email from the Tooth Fairy! Found a very nice picture (which I nicked, again - well, only using it for one email!). Addressed it to both the twins. It would have been fun to see them receiving their emails this afternoon but, as my son-in-law has been unwell and his workplace told him to stay home one more day, we are missing our weekly visit. Anyway, here are their replies received this evening:

Stephanie's Reply
Dear Tooth Fairy. This is Stephanie. Please can you tell me what you look like - is that you in the picture and is that me sleeping? Thank you for the money and thank you for the e-mail. How do you know what name we are or did we tell you in our other e-mail? I love your music, it is nice and pretty and I like your wings in the picture.

I thought it was going to be in there forever and it wouldn't come out but I couldn't eat any apples and I like apples and one time I went to McDonalds and once I saw a chocolate donut but then Mummy said you can have a packet of fruit with grapes or the donut and I said 'can I have the fruit and grapes'.

Where do I have to look to see the tooth?

Grandpa tried to get my tooth out but I wobbled it too much and it hurt and then when I ate one of my crisps it came loose and I said to Daddy 'my tooth needs to get out' then he tried to get it out with his quite big fingers and Elliot said 'try and get it out with a tissue' and then I got a tissue for Daddy and he tried the tissue and he got it out. Daddy got a cup with some water and he poured some salt in it and I had to swish it round my mouth and it tasted really really HORRRRRRRIBBBLE.

I have to go now as Elliot wants to say something and I know you are very busyxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Elliot's Reply
Hello Elliot here. How are you? Thank you for my money when you came that Thursday. How much teeth have you got in the sky? Did you see our cat when you came? How do you sneak in without us seeing and how do you shut the door quietly when we are asleep? Is Stephanie's tooth better because she eats more fruit and vegetables and because she eats tomatoes. One day I ate a whole apple. Today we made some lego. What do you make. How much money do you have and how much money do you give us for our back teeth? Where is your computer or don't you have a computer?

I'll see you next time tooth fairy. I hope you e-mail back. I need to go to school tomorrow and I'm in year 2. I hope you have some nice sleep - do you sleep in the day? Now I need to go. I love you tooth fairy. Where is fairy land? Elliotxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Been busy doing yet another reply! I think I have a job for life here. Mustn't forget to change my Outlook Express properties back to my name instead of 'Tooth Fairy'!

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Accessible Web Pages
Topic: Web Design
I found another very useful website, Usablenet.com, last Saturday. Their 'LIFT Online' trial will provide you with a free 5-page sample report on your website which stays on their server for five days. These reports evaluate your pages for accessibility and usability and provide loads of links to all the W3C guidelines. I have been busy making notes on all the comments. However, so many possible problems were thrown up (all my images and links, for instance) that I feel like the old woman who lived in a shoe! I still have not caught up with all the results from CSE HTML Validator. I had to really rush through the last few page checks before it disabled itself!

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A Very Useful Web Authoring Tool
Topic: Web Design
I am currently checking my pages with the trial version of a program called CSE HTML Validator Pro 6. You can use it for 30 days or 100 validations, whichever comes first, after which it deactivates itself and you have to purchase the full version or delete the program. It is absolutely brilliant at spotting all sorts of coding and spelling errors and gives advice and tips on just about everything. It has also pointed me in the direction of Dan's Web Tips, another excellent website to add to my favourites. At present, I am halfway through the trial period, so I am being kept rather busy! I must admit that I was actually using the Validator last December but didn't have time to finish the trial period because of Christmas. I did delete it (and some clever coding somewhere prevents you reinstalling the trial version!) but then my computer crash last April wiped out any remaining traces on the hard disk, so I was able to install it again as I still had the csesetup.exe! Very naughty! I have got a magazine cd somewhere with a free early version of the program - will have to install that later or perhaps buy the full program.

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A Trip to London
Topic: Family Days Out
We went up to the National Archives (Public Record Office) at Kew again last Monday. I have been several times to browse through WW II Escape and Evasion Reports, which are very interesting. You can order up to three documents on line in advance of your visit so that they are waiting for you.


From Kew, we went over to my son's for the evening. A thirteen mile journey which took 40 minutes in the London Traffic! Andrew is progressing by leaps and bounds and enjoyed his slice of cucumber! However, he was a little bit off colour - not surprising, as my son emailed me yesterday to say his first tooth had finally appeared!

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