Shop Talk

Here is a link to a great article that was in the New York Times about seniors and their ability, with the Internet, to affect real change in America.  Check it out.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/02/opinion/02brooks.html?scp=1&sq=geezers%20crusade&st=cse

Let me know what you think.

A former OATS student sent me these rules to live by.  I thought I would share them with you all today.  Hope you enjoy!

For her 90th birthday, Regina Brest, a retired journalist from the Cleveland Plain Dealer, jotted these pieces of advice for us young-ones:

1. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

2. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your good friends and family will. Stay in touch.

3. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

4. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

5. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

6. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

7. Burn the candles, use nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

8. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

9. Forgive everyone, everything.

10. What other people think of you is none of your business.

11. Believe in miracles.

12. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

13. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

14. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

15. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

I have been teaching Microsoft Office Applications to seniors for the past two years and it seems no software program is subject to more "controversy" than Excel.

For those of you who don't know, Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet program which allows users to sort, filter, add subtract, multiply, and analyze data. It can be extremely fun for people like me who rely on it to keep track of important events, schedules and donations. However for many seniors, especially those with no desire to return to the workforce, it's a confusing labyrinth of boxes and formulas.

So what do you think? Has any senior out there used excel outside of a class? Do you think it is worth knowing? Let me hear your thoughts.

Not everyone is a writer, but everyone has stories. I think that's why I love blogs. Blogs are not meant to be works of literary genius. They lend themselves to incomplete sentences, akward phrasing, incomplete sentences. They give essayist, like myself, a voice more similar to the conversation they had last week over coffee.

The first blog I ever wrote was about not wanting to seem nacisitic or self-indulgent. I didn't want my readers to think that I thought my ideas and stories were more important. Really I wanted to find a bit of common ground with others. I wanted to feel like I wasn't the only one and give others a feeling like they were not alone.

That is what I feel the Internet really does, makes the world smaller. I'm trying to make it so small I can see Indonesia from my roof top. All I need is a laptop.

Many of you have experienced some problems logging into your accounts. This is do to an error on our part. I would like to take this time to apologize for the mistake, and to let you know that we are working hard to correct the problem. I also want to thank those of you who have been so patient while we go through these growth spurts.

In other news, we are up grading to a faster server. What does this mean for the site? I means faster page loads and less time waiting around. You should be able to see the speed change in the coming week.

Thank you all for your support.

Coming in March: New Senior Planet Home Page!

I want to start by saying thank you to all the people who have helped SeniorPlanet grow into an active site for older adults. We have a ways to go before we have daily bloggers and the Calendar filled up, but I have no doubt these things are coming soon.

Let's jump right in to what is going on. Our students have been working extremely hard on filling the Resource Exchange with valuable information for other older adults in New York City. Not only have they been editing existing articles, but also creating new pages of information on the site. Visit the Resource Exchange and see if your favorite organization has a page, if not create one. You can use our tutorials to guide you through the different site features.

With foundations in place for the Resource Exchange we are beginning work on our Blog and Calendar sections. Currently we are looking for writers who can take on the challenge of being a weekly blogger. If you, or someone you know, has alot to say about a particular area of expertise please contact me at editor@seniorplanet.org. Likewise, if you have an event that you would like us to include in our calendar, let me know.

I have to get back to the site now. Hope you enjoyed the update. Look forward to speaking with you all very soon.