Google Continues World Domination, Introduces Operating System

Google announced a new Google Chrome OS, an open source lightweight operating system initially designed for netbooks “for people who live on the web.”

Google continues to expand its product offering and it is exciting to see what else they have in store for us people who live on the web. Google seems truly invested in bringing consumers solutions that work within our realm instead of forcing rigid costly solutions (and problems) into our computing world.

Free and Cheap Kid-Friendly Things to Do in and around Forsyth County, GA

I was a working mom until about a week ago and now am transitioning to a stay at home mom. It is an odd but exciting feeling to be able to stay home with my daughters for the summer. So now I am planning on things to do that are low or no-cost in North Atlanta.

I will share the places I find and hope it helps you add to your summer adventures. I live in Forsyth County, GA so this will focus on this area for the most part. I will also update this as I go. Happy trails!

Forsyth County Parks – we are fortunate to have a wealth of parks available for our leisure. Here is a list with plenty of resources. Central Park is a favorite hangout. Poole’s Mill has a wonderful creek and shady playground.

Movies 400 - free summer movies on Tuesday and Thursdays at 10:00 am. The concession stand offers a special size $1.00 Popcorn and $1.00 Soda for these showings only. Join us this summer for free movies. Bring a can of food to support our can food drive and receive a free popcorn! (Free Family Film Festival Size only, Limit One Per Customer)

Forsyth County Public Library – activities, puppet shows and a calendar for story time keep the library a fresh fun place to go. Plus checking out books keeps our reading library replenished at no cost!

Cumming City Park Pool and playground – Hours: May 30-Aug 6, Mon-Sun 1pm–5pm; Adult Lap Swim: Mon-Thu 5:30pm-7:30pm; Call for lesson schedule. Cost: $3; lesson prices separate.

Catch Air – a cool and spacious jumpy place with weekly specials. They have a new magic wall and a preschooler area. They are adding neat things and keep it fun for the kids. One of our favorite places to go.

Autrey Mill Nature Preserve and Heritage Center
Autrey Mill, located in Alpharetta, has miles of walking trails, a Heritage Village with original buildings and artifacts from the mid-1800s to the mid-1900s, animal exhibits and replicas of Native American dwellings. All activities on the grounds are free.
9770 Autrey Mill Road, Johns Creek, GA 30022.

Chattahoochee Nature Center – walking trails and educational sessions with a low cost admission is fun for the whole family.

Wills Park Wacky World and Disc Golf is a 110-acre park featuring baseball fields, a disc golf course, lighted tennis courts, picnic pavilions, walking trails and two large playgrounds, including “Wacky World,” a unique kingdom that kids rave about. Situated at the edge of the park is the Alpharetta city pool, which has a diving well with three boards, a shaded kiddie, shaded and open deck areas and a concession stand.

Chick-Fil-A – Tuesday night is family night at The Avenues in Cumming, GA. Balloons, face painting and special meal deals. Sign up for email newsletter local events and deals.

Barnes & Noble at The Avenues – story time and other fun events at the B&N in Cumming, GA.

North Georgia Premium Outlets – playground, food court and outdoor shops for window shopping and enjoying the outdoors.

Michaels – arts and crafts classes are offered at the Michael’s in Cumming, GA off Market Place Blvd.

Lowe’s – offers kids classes to build all kinds of fun things. Lowe’s in Cumming, GA off Market Place Blvd.

Waterparks around Atlanta – I just learned of the one, Bogan, near Mall of Georgia. Great list here and although there is a cost, some like Bogan are real deals.

Suwanee Town Center Park and Playtown Suwanee – a little bit further away but adventure awaits with an interactive fountain, lots of greenspace and a great playground.

Mulberry Moon Bride – Personalized jewelry, gifts and accessories for your wedding day!

Due to the success of MulberryMoon.com’s bridal section of products, they have expanded and now offer an entire web site of personalized gifts to make your wedding day extra special. Voted one of the top wedding sites from Modern Bride magazine, Mulberry Moon has the gifts that you need for your wedding, wedding party or for wedding gifts for the bride and groom.

Mulberry Moon Bride is the newest addition to the Mulberry Moon Gift Group, LLC. Mulberry Moon has been specializing in personalized sterling silver jewelry and fine embroidered and engraved gifts since 2003 on our website, www.mulberrymoon.com. The idea for Mulberry Moon Bride came from the many creative and astute brides who have been purchasing bridesmaid gifts and wedding day accessories from us for the past 6 years. These brides let us know they were looking for beautiful, yet affordable, personalized gifts, favors, and memory keepers for their wedding day as well as unique bridesmaid and thank you gifts. In 2009 we decided to expand Mulberry Moon and create a unique online store where all of our specialized wedding gifts and accessories are collectively available on one website. Our goal at Mulberry Moon Bride is to provide exceptionally personal wedding gifts and accessories with exceptional customer service and satisfaction.

Thoughts from a Food Allergic Child’s Mom in the Peanut State.

I spoke with my sister in Charlotte, NC and was surprised to hear that her school system has been strict with food allergies and labeling with what gets brought to school for almost six years. They serve Sunbutter and jelly sandwiches and if you bring in any snacks, it has to have the store label on it. No big deal but it can save a life.

In GA, however, it is an entirely different story. My daughter has an egg and peanut allergy and I was voicing my concerns to my sister over our schools in GA still serving peanut butter and allowing any snack foods (homemade or store bought) to be brought in to classroom parties and for the daily class snack.

And then it hit me. Tonight I saw a peanut commercial for the peanut industry in Georgia. I connected the political and economical connections between the state and the peanut industry and my heart sank. We will never have the same understanding in our schools as long as the peanut industry and lobbyists have a say in this state.

How heartbreaking is it to realize that I have an uphill battle? It’s more than having a peanut free table in the cafeteria. I mean, you still serve peanut butter on the menu so how will you protect a food allergic child from being exposed when kids can wipe it on a chair or table? Who checks to see that their hands are clean? And what about all the classroom parties and daily snacks where parents bring in anything?

I have more regulations with my daughter’s daycare at Primrose School (thankfully) and now I am considering keeping her there for private kindergarten. It is a battle that I hope most parents do not face. It has implications that go far beyond “just keep your kid away from the peanut butter.”

Warning: Microsoft Privacy Center is a Virus

The other day my mom called me at work for some computer help. I work at a software company as a marketing and PR manager. This also means that I am my parents’ help desk by association. I know just enough about technology to be dangerous.

So mom calls and says that MS privacy center is running on her computer and the voice of a British woman is talking in the background. So while she was on the phone, I searched MS Privacy Center and discovered that it was a rogue virus, malware to be exact. And it’s not pretty.

It took over her computer by autorunning and scanning her computer and she could not do anything else. It also prompts for you to buy the software and enter credit or debit card payment. DO NOT DO THIS.

She hit control-alt-delete and was able to go to the task manager. From there, we were able to disable the .exe file under the processes tab and then I sent her an email to download the malware remover software. This took about a half day but was worth helping my mom out. Here are instructions if this happens to you.

If you see this or if it happens on your system, follow these steps:

Disable the exe file in the Processes tab of Task Manager (filename: pc.exe)

Download this link and run the malware remover software: Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware Download Link

Here is another explanation to remove the virus.

Be careful out there!

Homeowners stumped – wrong trees cut down Earth Day week

Our tree story is in today’s Forsyth County News. Lessons learned so far when dealing with the County and City – if someone is in your yard and should not be, first call the police. We were at work so we weren’t aware of this, but a neighbor tried to halt the trees being cut by calling the City and County with no immediate response.

If you look at your property schematic, there is a right of way (ROW) marked that the government has rights to that is usually about 20 feet on both sides from the center of the road (our street is 40 feet total). The contractor went outside of the ROW and into our private property. We lost some very old hardwood and pine trees that shaded our yard and house.  It has been heartbreaking. Our saga continues with finding some sort of resolution. Will keep posted.

Social Media Marketing Map from Overdrive Interactive – a must have

I read a post on Twitter and clicked out of interest to see how social media would appear visually. It is a wonderful map showing the expanding world of social media.

It’s also a brilliant branding tool for agency Overdrive Interactive. It is going viral and if you share it, please share the link to their web site as well. I am printing this out for work and home! Enjoy social media marketers everywhere!

Social Media Marketing Map

@michaelgass Social Media Marketing Map Used For Ad Agency’s New Business http://tinyurl.com/7feeff

Mashup: Map of Swine Flu with Google Maps and Prevention Tips

The number of cases in the US has doubled in the past 24 hours. It is best to be prepared and stock up on food/drinks and make a plan for your family. No scare tactics here, just the truth.

View H1N1 Swine Flu map.

Tips
Wash your hands regularly. Count to 10 while washing to kill all germs.
Use wipes to clean grocery store carts before use and other publicly used items.
If you are susceptible to the flu, take extra precautions to protect yourself.

Sick employees need to stay home

CDC recommends that employees who experience symptoms of swine flu stay home from work until the illness passes. You don’t need any heroes in the office with this one. (“I haven’t missed a day of work in 18 years, and I won’t now.” Uh-huh. Yes, you will.)

How long until the illness passes? People with swine flu should be considered contagious as long as they display symptoms and possibly up to seven days after they get sick, the CDC says on its Web site. Employees with kids should understand that children, especially younger children, could be contagious for longer periods, according to the CDC.

From Ragan.com: Swine flu resources on the Web

Here are some go-to sites for reliable information about the swine flu.

Your authoritative source: The U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC), Swine flu information.

CDC’s interim recommendations for facemask use.

CDC’s swine flu widget, which you can copy onto your own Web site.

Health and Human Services (HHS) press release about declaration of public health emergency.

USDA’s swine flu FAQ.

Follow the CDC on Twitter.

Follow Health and Human Services communicator Andrew Wilson on Twitter.

Google maps tracking the outbreak.

Earth day tips: 10 Things You Can Do Right Now to Reduce, Reuse & Recycle

Earth Day is Wednesday, April 22. There is no better time than the present to appreciate Mother Earth and practice conservation. Here are some little things that we do around our house that are easy and make a difference:

Water conservation
Not rinsing dishes before we put them in the dishwasher (it was a hard behavioral pattern to stop!)
Collect cold water in a bucket in the shower before the water gets warm and use it to water inside/outside plants
Brush teeth without water running
collect rain water in barrel and water outside plants
use low flow toilets

Energy conservation
install a programmable thermostat
replace air filters regularly
wrap water heater in a blanket
unplug electronic devices (they still use electricity if turned off and plugged in)
change our light bulbs to CFL bulbs
recycle cardboard, glass, plastic, newspaper, aluminum, magazines, etc.
hang energy-efficient curtains over windows
install window liner during winter season to insulate wall

Grocery shop with a fabric bag and save the paper and plastic
Reuse water bottles and cut plastic usage
Plant a tree

Resources

After watching Al Gore’s documentary “An Inconvenient Truth”, I learned little things we can all do daily from the Climate Crisis web site: There is even a calculator to determine our personal carbon footprint.

Treehugger.com is another good resource to get ideas.

I also use Freecycle to clean house, avoid taking items to the dump and to share with those in need.  I just unloaded a mattress and headboard to a woman today for her grandson’s bedroom!

Reduce junk mail

Cut direct mail catalogs and junk mail – use Catalog Choice to stop receiving unwanted catalogs.

An new organization called 41pounds.org promises to completely remove you from up to 95% of the junk mail lists by contacting each organization from which you receive mail and/or catalogs for a one-time fee of $41.

Here is an opt-out guide to junk your junk mail from New Dream,

Good luck! Remember to reduce, reuse, recycle whenever you can.

Note found by kindergartener on school bus – disturbing!

My kindergartener found a handwritten note on the floor of her school bus and put it in her school bag. I found it and opened it up and started reading it. At first, it read like any other note from a girl to another in high school. The bus is shared between HS, middle and elementary school so that made sense.

But as I read it, every parent’s nightmare was listed in the note. Jail time, teen pregnancy, you name it. The question is, now what do we do with it? We are going to turn it into the Principal. Thank goodness my daughter can’t read it, but what if a 3rd or 5th grader read it? Oh the horror. I typed it out into a word document as a reminder as well and I vow to be sure we are active in our child’s life so that this isn’t the path that she takes. I feel that the parents need to know what is going on with these kids and that is the least we can do. I will have nightmares tonight!

What would you do?