October 2011
In this issue
►Letter from the President
►Ricky's Corner
►Wrong Ways to Use Technology
►Protecting Your Wireless Network
►Inserting Tables in Microsoft Word
►Business Continuity Tip
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Inserting tables in
Microsoft Word
Tables are extremely useful in documents of all types, but they can frequently be confusing when you want to modify them to get a specific effect.
We’ll show you two ways to insert a table. In another tip, we’ll show you where and how to modify border thickness and color, background colors, and more.
Table Structure
Tables are made up of cells (“boxes”). Cells are organized vertically into columns and horizontally into rows. When you insert a table, you’ll need to know how many rows you want and how many columns.
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Business Continuity Tip
A Plan to Rely On
During a disaster, you, your family, your employees, and your neighbors will rely on each other for help. There is a shared responsibility when it comes to your level of preparedness. To be truly prepared, everyone has to work together as a team.
The Red Cross encourages three actions with their "Be Red Cross Ready" campaign: Get a Kit, Make a Plan, and Be Informed. The worst time to scramble for solutions is during an emergency. Start making personal, family, and community preparations now, so you know who to rely on.
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Laugh a Little
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Quality is more important than quantity. One home run is much better than two doubles.
- Steve Jobs
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Letter from the President
Tim Rettig
The Toaster Effect
Saturday, my wife Mary returned from a shopping trip with a new toaster. When I saw it in her pile of newly purchased merchandise, I innocently asked, “Did our toaster break?”
“No,” she replied, “I just thought it was time for a change.”
I quickly did the math in my head, and replied, “Okay, sounds good.”
I came to the conclusion that there were two good reasons why her purchase garnered an almost “Yes, dear” reply:
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She has put up with me purchasing about every new piece of technology in the house when the obsolete device usually worked just fine, in her view. She didn’t say a thing when, in just a few years stretch, we went from a VCR to DVD to HD-DVD to Blu-Ray. She also hasn’t complained that we currently have four different cameras we use on a regular basis. |
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I didn’t know how old the toaster was, but I was pretty sure we might have received it as a wedding gift 16 years ago. I haven’t kept up with toaster technology, but I would suspect, in that timeframe, someone has dreamed up some new features. |
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Ricky's Corner
Ricky Phipps
It’s a Jungle in Here
I really enjoy observing how we interact with our environments. It’s fascinating to consider our engagement with a situation’s facts (or non-facts) and the strategies we employ to deal with them. Sometimes there is an observable, intelligible goal, but frequently, it seems that some crazy autopilot is turned on. The latter scenario tends to be the most frustrating—or the funniest—depending on how close you are to the action.
One of my favorite aspects of how we navigate daily life is one we know intellectually but rarely appreciate for what it is. We are animals, effectively great apes. Our ape instincts play out everywhere, but it’s especially fun in the office, where our natural tendencies are mostly expected to be hidden from view.
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3 wrong ways to use technology
Reprinted with permission from the Microsoft Small Business Center
by Kim Komando
 I spend a lot of time talking about the right ways to use technology.
But there are wrong ways to use technology as well. Trust me, these three scenarios outlined below are a lot more common than you think.
You want to get an edge on your competition? Avoid trying these and other disingenuous methods. They are more likely to lead to public embarrassment for you and your company, lawsuits, or both.
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Protecting your wireless network
reprinted with permission from the HP Small Business Center
 Why wireless security?
When you have a wireless network, you need to make sure it's kept secure. An unencrypted network presents the potential for security breaches.
Wireless technologies that provide long-range connectivity can't be contained within an office. When you use a network that's not secure, hackers could potentially "capture" the information you're sending back and forth. This means passwords, records, and more.
Isn't my network already secure?
With some older wireless technologies, like Bluetooth, access is limited by physical proximity to the corporate network.
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