Virtual Enrollment Party

I received some information today about young people and how they use the web, and thought it would be good to pass along to you, especially the ones of you who maintain your county websites.

From today's Washington Post, we have the following information about what teens post on their web profiles (MySpace, FaceBook, whatever):
82% include their first name.
79% post photos of themselves.
66% include photos of their friends.
61% include the name of their city.
49% include the name of their school.
40% have included an instant-message screen name.
40% stream audio to the profile.
39% link to a blog.
29% include an e-mail address.
29% included their last name.
29% post videos.
2% include a cellphone number.
66% of teens who have profiles say their profile is not visible to all Internet users.
46% of teens whose profiles can be accessed by anyone say they give false information on their profiles, sometimes to protect themselves.
49% of social network users say they use the sites to make friends.
23% of teens who have been contacted by a stranger online say they felt scared or uncomfortable because of the encounter. (That translates to 7 percent of all online teens.)
SOURCE: Pew Internet & American Life Project

Here's a good site for you to check out as you think about youth information on the web (like your county website!!). The author is a consultant on web safety, and her link to guidelines for safer school websites is particularly pertinent to us as well. Check it out, then comment back with your thoughts as this applies to us!

http://look-both-ways.com

Posted by Becky at 03:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Well, the wedding was a success, as judged by the criteria "they were married at the end of the evening"! And the reception was also a success, as judged by the crowded dance floor, the laughter, the food, the weather (incredible), the attendance (about 300), and most important, the new couple!! I can't think of a more perfect way to celebrate a marriage that we have waited a LONG time to see! Though there are some "parental types" that are definitely (but temporarily) at a loss as to what to do with ourselves, we spend a great deal of time congratulating ourselves on what a splendid party we threw!!

Let's see--highlights... well, there was the tent--somehow hearing 40x60 didn't translate into "bigger than my house" until I saw it taking up most of my backyard. Then there was the "damdest thing you ever saw" sweet corn cooker that Don manufactured from an industrial size stainless steel pressure cooker and a drying bin burner (that I would NOT let him hook to our 1000 gal. propane tank, regardless of whining and pouting). The sight of nearly 300 people eating corn on the cob as we arrived isn't something I'm likely to forget soon, either! We proved that it is possible to light up 2400 sq. feet with only Christmas lights (but LOTS of them), to keep bugs at bay with several dozen citronella candles, and entertain small children with gazillions of sparklers (lit at the aforementioned citronella candles).

My Saturday Coffee Group gave a whole new meaning to "friends", as they arrived early Saturday morning with their supplies, their gorgeous planters filled with flowers, and their incredible ability to work harder and faster than anyone I've ever met--and then stayed until the carpets were being rolled up to see to it that everyone was fed and happy! They were the secret to the success of the party. A suggestion was made that we just BUY the tent and host weekend parties all summer, but that didn't go any further than the propane tank idea!

In the end, my baby's married to the love of his life, and we have the most wonderful memories and life stories to tell--what more could you possibly ask? Well, probably for the same sort of experience to report after the fast-approaching September Wedding!! I'll post a picture of Dewey and his bride, Kelli, for now--maybe some tent pictures after I get them sized and so forth...

Thanks for all your kind wishes in the crazy days leading up to this!! See you at the fair if I don't post again before then!

Posted by Becky at 03:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)

In Filemaker, you can create fields that are called "global", and what they do is store the exact same piece of data in each record in the file. That seems contrary to the purpose of a database, which is to store different information in each record, doesn't it?

But there are some times when each record needs to hold the same information, and a really good example of that (at fair time) is the Fair Weigh Date field. All animals are weighed at the fair on the same day, so that field (used in the calculation for Rate of Gain) would be the same in each record.

To define a global field, you'd go to File>>Define Database and highlight the field. Then, when you click the Options button, you'd next choose the Storage tab at the top of the input box, and check the "Global storage" option as shown below. Then, when you need to change the date next year, you only change it once and it's changed for all records. Even nicer if you FORGET to change the date before you enter all the livestock... you can change it at any point, and all the calculations are re-done immediately!

This is only one example of using a global field, but it illustrates a perfect use. Do you have other ideas about where you could use this?

Posted by Becky at 01:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Welcome to the Virtual Blue Ribbon Party, which takes its name from the infamous Traveling Blue Ribbon Parties! Those are the ones that allow me to spend time each spring with all my friends in the counties, chatting about Blue Ribbon, Filemaker, kids, spouses, office news, and a grand variety of other timely topics. That's going to be the format of this weblog as well. I hope that we'll use it for exchanging information, ideas and solutions to Blue Ribbon and Filemaker questions, as well as building a virtual community--sharing news and tidbits. That will only work if YOU participate by leaving comments to the posts, so please do that!

There are presently three categories for the best-sellers I'm intending to write: Blue Ribbon, Filemaker, and Potluck. By definition, you never really know what you're going to get with potluck, but you can count on something good, and plenty of friends to visit with.

As is the case with most of my life, this is a "learn as you go" project. I hope I don't make too many mistakes in the beginning, and that I get better as I go along. I suppose that's the key to success in many areas of life, isn't it?

Be patient with new posts right now... I'll be off next week for The Wedding, but then I'll be back and hopefully provide a few details and maybe even a picture or two!

Posted by Becky at 04:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)