Auction, Auction, Auction. And, Oh Yeah, IT, Too...
For the record, I missed yet another day of blogging yesterday. (sigh) But it WAS a crazy day, working on Auction stuff and dealing with TONS of IT stuff -- mostly about getting QuickBooks 2012 set up... Happily QB is finally (!!!) working. So you might imagine that I'd be done with IT drama for a day or two, right?
Wrong.
I spent ages on it again today, too. An account that suddenly couldn't be accessed, for example. And part of a profile that wasn't Roaming properly. I was messing on the Server and exporting and importing and on and on and on... (sigh) I felt pretty good when I got it all done, at least!
So then the focus was -- as it needs to be!!! -- on the Auction. Marilyn has been working on the PowerPoint at work. Basically I'm just SUPPORT, and have little to do with the actual creation (in spite of the fact that people always seem to think differently).
I did find images we needed, like static fireworks, rainbows, images of the moon and of lightning -- and as always, I worked with these until they were the way I wanted them (size, shape, color and so on). I turned these into transparent .pngs, which work extremely well for PowerPoint presentations (just in case you're ever making one).
I also bought and downloaded the music (Katy Perry's "Firework") -- and spent hours yesterday and today trying to convert it.
Thanks a TON, Microsoft, for making it necessary to convert all music you want embedded in a PowerPoint to a .wma format. Believe me, if I could simply BUY the music as a .wma, I totally would! But it comes as an .mp3 -- and that WILL NOT WORK for PowerPoints. Period.
In the past I've managed to convert with little trouble. (Well, some trouble, but do-able.) But this time around it's been a NIGHTMARE. Partly due to a new computer that's missing so much of my software from the old machine (sigh). And partly because I couldn't locate the exact software I wanted.
Look, I'm generally willing to BUY the right software, if it's reasonable. But I certainly want to test it first. I tried the software I previously recommended here (I'll be editing that entry to indicate I no longer do so) -- but what a pain that ended up being! First, I didn't catch that it was downloading malware (toolbars, etc.) on my computer until after this had happened. I was shocked by this, but I guess I shouldn't be. It's apparently really common now with any free softwares...
Interestingly enough, I did end up with a free software -- and Marilyn was the one who found it! And while it has the option to put a toolbar (etc.) on your computer, it really does let you off the hook easily if you pay attention. So it was totally free (again, I would have paid) -- and didn't put anything nasty on my machine. (As it is, I'll probably have to have Donn here again to work on my machine. Can you believe that?)
I also located animated fireworks (and sparklers) and changed and enhanced those until I had what I wanted. You can put animations into PowerPoints, too, as long as you don't overdo it.
Marilyn is still at the office (as is Carol). I guess Ashley went home (I don't know when). At least Marilyn isn't down there entirely ALONE in the dark at this hour (!!!). The location isn't safe for a woman all alone -- and I'm not kidding about that. Marilyn's been there many times alone, but I don't like it!!!
I've finished reading several books lately (both on and off my Kindle) that I need to share. Maybe this weekend after the Auction is over. I've spent some time really cleaning and organizing in our kitchen this week, so we're feeling happy with the results. I plan to do more -- and we plan to do some things in our living room, too -- even if it's just moving furniture around a little. It doesn't matter that we're not doing the remodel, because we'll still love our house no matter what!
I did get the garbage and recycling done before dark, by the way -- which is always a good thing! Henry is sound asleep in the chair next to me here in the office (we call it his chair), and I suspect Colin is sleeping in the family room (or in a clothes basket in the laundry room).
My mind is wandering... I guess I'll close.