Thursday, June 25, 2009

New Sites Be sure to visit our Resources page to see the new sites that have been added. 12:09:08 PM     Upcoming Events at HPL How Does Your Garden Grow? 11 AM Friday, June 26 Dig in to gardening fun with Master Gardener Connie VanDeKoppel. Kids will create a sunflower garden around the Library and join the Tallest Sunflower Contest. There will also be seeds and plants to take home. Please call the Youth Services Department at 231-722-7276 x 230. Sunshine Art 2 PM Monday, June 29 Use sunlight to create artistic masterpieces. Kids will make Crystal Plate Suncatchers and Design-It-Yourself Window Clings. Please call the Youth Services Department at 231-722-7276 x 230. Outdoor Storytime II Midsummer Meltdown 6:30 PM Wednesday, July 1 Stories and activities about all the fun things you can do in hot weather. For ages 3 - 7. Please call the Youth Services Department at 231-722-7276 x 230. Bubble Day 2 PM Monday, July 6 The bubbly fun includes: Giant bubble-making, a Bubble Gum Contest, Super Foam Blowers, Soap Bubble Volley Ball and more. Please call the Youth Services Department at 231-722-7276 x 230. Patchwork Pear Theatre 6:30 PM Wednesday, July 8 Patchwork Pear presents free Outdoor Theatre on the Library lawn. The talented duo presents a creative mix of mime, music, juggling and spoken word. Please call the Youth Services Department at 231-722-7276 x 230. 12:07:05 PM     Book Reviews from Master The Art of Reading Adult Summer Reading Club participants Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult: Wonderfully written! Page turner. Jodi never disappoints. Anthem by Ayn Rand: 100 pages that make you think about equality, equal rights, individuality and the government. It definitly makes you think! Great Read! The Hemingses of Monticello by Annette Gorden Reed: While the author's attention to detail and historical accuracy is admirable,, the story line is somewhat lost. The Best of Everything by Kimberla Lawson Roby: Not Roby's best work, but worth the time if you're sitting back relaxing this summer. Vampire Kisses #1 by Ellen Schreiber: Cute book, quick read. King's Grace by Anne E. Smith: Wonderful novel about the last phase of Henry VII's reign told from the standpoint of his cousin Grace. It really grabs you! Lexicon by Steve Vander Ark: Great for filling in the details you didn't catch while reading the Harry Potter books. Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne: This book is definitely a lot different than the movie. Jules Verne really put his imagination to work when he wrote this book. Purpose-Drive Life by Richard Warren: Very good informative book to read. We all have a purpose in life, we have to find it. Knowing your purpose in life will help reduce stress and many other things in our daily life. 12:00:28 PM     6 free Windows programs to fix and prevent PC problems on your own. Filed under: Security, Utilities, Windows, Productivity, Freeware, Lists Yesterday I wrote up a little list of things I wished people would quit installing on their PCs. Today, I've put together a selection of handy programs those same people can use to take care of some of the annoyances I mentioned - and more. Here are six (seventeen, really, but some are grouped) simple applications that will help - and they're all free for personal use! 1. PC Decrapifier - A lot of people that drop their systems off for repair say "take out any programs that don't need to be there." Well, that's exactly the kind of crud Decrapifier is designed to get rid of. It compares the programs on your system to a list of known bloatware (Wikipedia definition) and simplifies the removal process. 2. Malware Bytes - Those annoying popups you're getting? The weird pages you see when you try to search for something in your browser? Malware Bytes does a great job at removing the pests that cause those problems. It's usually the first program I run on horribly bogged-down computers. After a scan, clean, and reboot, they're usually much more cooperative. 3. Glary Utilities - The one-click maintenance mode in Glary is a wonderfully simple way for even non-technical users to keep their systems tuned. It tackles all kinds of tasks, from removing temporary file garbage and broken shortcuts to tuning up your registry. One note: download the slim version to avoid the Ask Toolbar. You can opt out of it during the regular install, but slim removes it altogether. Continue reading 6 free Windows programs to fix and prevent PC problems on your own 6 free Windows programs to fix and prevent PC problems on your own originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments [Download Squad] 11:48:49 AM     Earlier this week, President Obama announced United We Serve, a summer campaign encouraging citizens across the country to reach out and volunteer in their communities. The campaign runs from now until September 11 with the idea that it takes more than government officials to help solve the problems the country is facing. In his video message, the President says the country needs volunteers in schools as mentors and tutors, in hospitals to help keep people healthy, and in many other places that officials in Washington D.C. can't be. There are plenty of opportunities for you to give some of your time if you're interested. Serve.gov is the new Web site that was launched as part of this effort. You can find information on all kinds of service projects in your community. And if you're working on a project and looking for volunteers, you can register it and promote it on the site to help attract volunteers. Even if you can only give one hour each week, someone else's life will be touched. Feel free to share in the comments any volunteer projects you will be working on this summer. And don't forget to submit your Independence Day photos on the USA.gov / GobiernoUSA.gov Flickr Group. - Jess [Gov Gab: Your U.S. Government Blog] 11:48:03 AM

© Copyright 2009 Jocelyn Shaw. Last update: 7/1/2009; 10:01:32 AM. Photo curtesy of Marjorie O'Brien