DropBox Direct Download Link
How to direct download a file from DropBox.
1) On DropBox page with shareable link, right-click icon to left of file > copy link.
2) Paste link to text editor.
3) Change the last digit from "0" to "1" (https://www.dropbox.com/...dm5&dl=1).

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RocketCake Website Editor Tips
RocketCake is a website editor with free and pro versions for Windows and Mac (including M1/M2). It comes with pre-made examples and help. There's an online Forum to ask questions. This website was made with it.

Download RocketCake Tips.txt. Useful tips and solutions to create website pages. Updated: Aug/2023.

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Run Linux Programs On Chromebook
A Chromebook can't run Mac or Windows programs but can run Linux programs.

1) To set up a Chromebook to run Linux software, go to Settings > Advanced > Developers.
2) Select the option to turn on the Linux development environment.
3) Follow the onscreen instructions and install free Linux software from Flathub.

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Problems With Treadmills Under $400
Most home treadmills are about $1000. A new category of smaller treadmills under $400 with folding handlebars offer portable ease of storage, quick setup, and walk/run speeds controlled with a remote.

Consumers are reporting lots of problems manufacturers are not correcting. Carefully check 1-2 star ratings before considering purchase.

The most frequent complaints: 2.25hp motor burnout, narrow 16" tread slips, 40" tread too short to run, frequent lube/belt adjust, handlebar beyond reach/awkward deploy, no carpet, 3mo warranty, short power chord, no local repair, no replacement parts/remote/magnetic key, no start without remote/magkey, no factory testing, poor customer support.

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Delete Google Search History
Google tracks and stores your web activity when signed in, including web searches, locations, and YouTube viewing.

To delete your currently stored Google activity and turn off future tracking:

1. Go to myactivity.google.com.
2. Delete activity by..."All time".
3. Turn off Web & App Activity, Location History, and YouTube History.

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Medical Wellness Checklist Age 65+
Kaiser Permanente recommends these medical wellness checks for men and women 65 and older.

For All:
Wellness Visit, Blood Pressure and Vision every year.
Shingles (2 shots only, 2 months apart).
Pneumonia (2 shots only, 1 year apart).
Influenza (1 shot every year).
Covid-19 (2 shots + 2 boosters, then 1 shot every year).
Tetanus-Diptheria (1 shot every 10 years).
Cholesterol test every 5 years.
Hepatitis-C test (once for men born 1945-1965).
Colon Cancer screen.

For Men:
Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) screen (once for men 65-75 with family history of AAA
OR have high BP, high cholesterol, obesity, cardiovascular disease, smoke).
Prostate Cancer screen.

For Women:
Bone Density test DEXA (once only).
Mammogram (every 1-2 years, optional 75+).

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Personal Debt Recovery
Many people have been pushed into unfamiliar personal debt the last two years. Emergency savings exhausted. Credit cards maxed out.

How to begin the task of debt recovery.

Step 1) Cut Monthly Expenses.
This will be difficult. Cut unnecessary monthly expenses. Postpone elective purchases. Make no new credit card charges and remove the cards from wallet. Forgo the family vacation. Brownbag lunch and no dinners out. Give up coffee or make your own. It will seem pointless squeezing five dollars here and there, but it slowly adds up.

Step 2) Build A Two Month Emergency Fund.
Use a high-interest savings account like synchronybank.com or ally.com to save a minimum two months of expenses, including rent/mortgage. It can be linked to a local checking account, and a debit card is included allowing access through ATMs. Bad things happen to good people. This is a true emergency fund for a lost job, hospitalization, car breakdown, catastrophic fire....

Step 3) Payoff Credit Card Debt.
Use the proven "snowball" payoff strategy. Make the minimum payments on all credit cards. Commit to adding an additional amount to the highest-interest card 1. When that account is finally paid off, apply the same additional amount + the minimum payment of card1 to the minimum payment of the next highest-interest card 2. The "snowball" payment increases with each card paid off.

This is not easy. A sincere committment to getting out of debt is required. You must live like a pauper below your means with no new credit card charges, perhaps for several years.

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Install Free Windows 7 Microsoft Games in Win 10/11
Download the free installer at Winaero.com (click small link at bottom of page). Miss the Win 7 offline games? FreeCell, Chess Titans, Majong Titans, and Spider Solitare are among those included. You may choose which games to install. Opt out of other products. The install is slow, but worth the wait to have these classic offline Microsoft games again.

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Add More Text To Speech Voices
Windows and Mac have additional text-to-speech voices to download. They're not exactly easy to find. The voice files are large so don't download all of them. You must be online.

Windows: start > settings > time & language > speech, add voices, Spanish (Mexico).
Mac: apple > system preferences > accessibility > speech > texttospeech > customize, Spanish (Mexico).

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Foam Rot
An unfortunate reality of time is the gradual and unstoppable degradation of foam after 10 to 15 years. This is especially a problem with the foam surrounds for speaker woofers and foam in camera cases that slowly turn to sticky cotton candy.

Zero Halliburton recommends replacing their foam every five years and disavows any responsibility for foam damage. Lesson learned, Don't store expensive items in a foam case and consider replacing foam with bubble wrap or cotton towels. Zero and Cobra offer replacement foam options.

SimplySpeakers.com offers a wide range of speaker refoam kits + instructions for about $30. It takes 4.5 hours to prepare and install new foam surrounds on two woofers. The critical step is gluing the outer foam lip to the speaker frame so the voice coil doesn't scrape when the cone is moved in & out. If the voice coil scrapes you fail and must start over with new foam surrounds. Luckily the cone self-centers itself when the foam ring is passive with no tension in any direction. New foam surrounds are supposed to last longer than original older foam.

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Easy Healthy Recipes
Download Healthy Recipes.txt. 75 easy-cook recipes also suitable for diabetic and low-salt diets. All are 2 to 4 servings. Yes there's tofu and zucchini in some of them but they're really pretty good and (horror) good for you. Here's an example:

Whole Grain Pasta with Roasted Eggplant and Tomatoes (serves 2)
1.75 cups eggplant peeled cubed, .5 cup red onion sliced, 1 cup tomato sauce, .5 cup diced tomatoes, .25 cup water, 1 cup penne pasta, 2 tbs grated parmesan cheese.
Bake 425* 25 min eggplant in single layer pie plate with cooking spray, turn once. Add baked eggplant, onion, tomato sauce, tomatoes to saucepan, stir and cover, simmer 10 minutes. Cook pasta, spoon onto serving plates topped with eggplant sauce, parmesan cheese.

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IrfanView PNG Transparency
IrfanView is a popular free Windows image editor. IrfanView does not support PNG transparency of a pasted image, but does support PNG transparency of an imported image if some obscure default settings are changed.

Change Default Settings
Options > properties > view > main window color, choose a distinct color not present in the image (light blue).
Check view tab top option to Show Png/Alpha Transparent Color (to show main window color through transparency).
Import PNG Image

Save File
File > open, open png image in Irfanview. (Pasting loses transparency.)
Image > resize/resample, to set new size enter one dimension in pixels or % (preserve aspect ratio on).
File > save as, in popup window select: Save Transparent Color, Save Transparency As Alpha Channel, Use Main Window Color For Transparency (so transparency can be identified).
In main window enter a new name for the file, pay attention to file saving path, > save.

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Remove Comcast Info Smartbar
Comcast Cable updated their TV info display with an obnoxious "smartbar" that covers the lower third of the screen for 5 seconds before another channel can be selected. Here are the hidden steps to disable it.

On the comcast remote clicker press the following buttons:
info > 8 (settings) > enter > 6 > 8 (smartbar timeout) > enter (until "off") > 4 > 4.

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Google Drive Direct Download Link
How to direct download a file or folder or zipped folder from Google Drive.
[Google requires sign-in for downloads]

1) MyDrive > upload file, choose file or folder or zipped folder to upload to Google Drive.
Once uploaded, hilite file/folder, right-click > get shareable link (or click link icon). Choose the option to make the file available to anyone. Click Get Link. Link is automatically placed on clipboard to paste to text editor.

2) Extract your unique file id number from that link. Include all spaces, even at the end:
(in this example the id=1boGpVLF3xDQl58Lg6FWmVeG-6 )
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1boGpVLF3xDQl58Lg6FWmVeG-6 /view?usp=sharing

3) And insert it into this new link:
https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=1boGpVLF3xDQl58Lg6FWmVeG-6

Email this new download link to friends, or use as a web page direct download link.

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Google Drive Upload New Version
How to upload a new version of a file or folder or zipped folder to Google Drive. This will maintain a share link made to the file. Anyone who uses their existing file link will get your most recently uploaded version.

1) Click file to hilite, click three-dot icon OR right-click file > file info > manage versions, upload new version.
2) Click three-dot icon next to older non-current file to delete the older file. (It's auto-deleted in 30 days).

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Need More Sleep?
Getting enough deep sleep has become a national health issue. We know we need it, but how with noise and worry and insomnia?

• Settle on a routine wake-up time and maintain that time, give or take an hour, even on weekends. Make sure to get some exposure to natural light.
• Designate the bedroom as a sleep zone.
• Exercise can help people get to sleep, but avoid it in the few hours before bedtime.
• Avoid alcohol and caffeine before bedtime but also later in the day.
• Don't let life stresses eat up your last waking hour. Confine ruminating and planning to an earlier time in the evening.
• Don't go to bed after a big meal, but don't go to bed hungry either.

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Used Car Checklist
If you've got the cash, a well chosen used car will save you thousands over a new car, and serve you just as well. But beware. You've no idea how the previous owner treated it.

Download Used Car Checklist.txt. Armed with this list you've got a good chance of choosing a nice reliable car, or a good candidate car to pay an auto mechanic to check.

Based on a point-system, if the car scores more than 10 findings, walk away. Includes 13 Deal Busters. Find just one and run from the car. Checklist questions are organized in 10 categories: exterior, tires, suspension, frame, interior, engine, underbody, performance, transmission, brakes, and steering. Includes a printable Bill Of Sale for the transaction, with instructions for transferring the Vehicle Title.

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What Really Saves Gas?
Edmunds.com offers four sure-fire tips to significantly improve gas mileage simply by changing driving habits, plus four additional tips to squeeze a few more miles out of a gallon of gas. That's saving real dollars at the pump.

Significant Gas Mileage Improvements
Aggressive driving burns gas. Accelerating slowly saves 31%.
Avoid idling more than a minute. Turning engine off saves 19%.
Lower speed saves gas. Driving the speed limit saves 12%.
Use cruise control. Saves 7%.

Modest Gas Mileage Improvements
Replace air filter every 12,000 miles. Saves 5%.
Tune engine and check oxygen sensor. Saves 4%.
Maintain proper tire pressure. Saves 3%
Remove heavy junk in the trunk. Weight drags mileage.

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Phantom Power Steals Money
If there's a device plugged into the wall with an AC adapter, that rectangular thingy near the plug-end, then it's stealing electricity right now. Even when the device is off the phantom load is always on, 24 hours a day every day, adding up to real money over a year. Multiply that by all the homes in your state.

From the U.S. Dept. of Energy: "These phantom loads occur in most appliances that use electricity such as televisions, stereos, computers, and kitchen appliances. In the average home, 75% of the electricity used to power home electronics is consumed while the products are turned off."

The simple fix is to unplug the device when not in use. Another strategy is to use a power strip with an on/off switch, or an extension chord to unplug. Some power strips have both surge protection and auto cut-off circuitry that senses when the device is off.

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