WordPress & Picasa

WORDPRESS

WordPress is the most popular web blogging software because it provides:

- Ease of use. WordPress is suitable for just about anybody - from the absolute novice to the advanced programmer.

- Feature-rich interface. WordPress has a rich text editor with advanced multimedia support;

- Expandable. WordPress's community distributes a large number of modules for almost any popular website feature;

- It is Open Source. This means it is free to install, use and distribute Wordpress on your site.

PICASA

Picasa is a free photo organization and editing tool from Google, and for a free program, it really has a lot to offer. Picasa is desktop software that runs on Windows, and it can be downloaded from http://picasa.google.com/.

After you install Picasa, it asks you if you'd like to scan your entire computer or if you'd like to scan just the desktop, my photos, and my documents folders. I'd really suggest restricting your search to just those folders, unless you've got more than one hard drive or you've been storing photos in odd locations.

When Picasa scans your entire computer, you'll get cached Internet files, graphics from computer programs, and other images that you probably don't need in your photo album. You can remove files later, but it's easier not to import them in the first place.

You can also import photos directly from a digital camera, which is a handy way to keep them organized from the start.

Organize Your Photos

Picasa will organize your photos by date and initially retains the same file structure as your hard drive. The main area shows thumbnails of the images, and along the right side is a scroll bar to navigate. Thumbnails in the library are grouped by folder, but they're all displayed (with some scrolling.) This means that you don't have to repeatedly click to navigate to a new folder, which is a nice touch.

You can move thumbnails from folder to folder directly from Picasa, and it will confirm and then move the corresponding file on your hard drive. This makes it much easier to organize albums.

By double clicking on a photo, you can enter an editing room to crop, fix red eye, straighten photos, adjust color, and apply special effects like film grain or soft focus. The editing room even has an I'm Feeling Lucky button, just like the Google search engine, which automatically applies recommended effects.

Overall, the effects are pretty advanced for a free software program. You don't get as much control as you would in an advanced photo-editing package like Adobe Photoshop, of course, but the options and controls for photo editing are still really nice.

My Next Project

My next project will be on making a Kahelelani shell bracelet and necklace. I will be collecting shells from the beaches on and off base and sort through them. When I sort through them, I have to organize it by color and size. Next i will have to make it shine and start making the lei and bracelet. Aunty Charleen will teach me how to make the lei and bracelet. I recently finished my PPF. I also finished my Pre-eval and they passed it. Now I have to do research and start picking the shells. I found out what type of bracelet I am going to make. I know it's going to take a lot of time. I can't wait to finish this project. It will be a great final product because I will be able to wear it.

Rhody

I have a 2 year old male dog named Rhody. He loves to cuddle, smell crotch, and ass. He doesn't bark at cats, dogs or people when he walks past them, only at people approaching our door. He likes to choose his days to take a crap outside or inside the house. He is very friendly with kids and meeting new people. He is a very healthy and active dog. He is a great watch dog. Even though he doesn't know how to shit outside, I still love him. He is very intertaining. I love watching him chase his tail around in circles. He's a great cuddler. I guess its a love hate situation.