Panda Picks-Seniors Work on the Net!

When we retired we left behind structure, accountability to a boss, feeling useful, being around people, having extra money for travel and adventure. On a fixed income we might begin to feel like we have days without purpose, no one cares about us, we can’t afford to do things. So step out of the comfort zone and reach out to help others while you help yourself.

Volunteers are necessary to make most programs function on a budget. You can be involved locally, nationally, or globally

CONSIDERATIONS FOR VOLUNTEERS

Know Your Passion

What have you always wanted to do? Where would you like to be? If you love a quiet place and like memories you might choose your local museum. A passion for reading might mean you would want to read to those who can’t or who are learning. Always wanted to learn about trees, or wildflowers, contact your local park system and ask what you can do so that you can be outside, learn from the naturalist, so you can share with others. If you like action you might want to be a coach, or join the CB club who assists during times of disaster.You love children or older persons, the disabled, autions, walking etc. Go whereyou wanta go and be where you wanta to be.

Limitations

Where can you go, how long can you be away , travel restrictions, health problems, mobility and other issues will determine your volunteer options.You will need to consider financial obligations and your personal situation including spouse and family.

Skills and Abilities

Your volunteer options do not need to be limited to what you already know or have done for a life occupation. Consider what gifts you have, caring/sharing, compassion, willingness to learn new skills,teaching, giving of time or money. In this area you may be surprized that as you work in a volunteer situation you will be doing what you had no prior experience with, nor the knowledge to do it. Your willilngness to expand your skills and abililties will be the key to your success. All the attributes you had as a worker can be applied to your volunteer time: ie puncuality, following directions, trusted, community minded, cheerful etc.

Time Restraints

Consider your obligations and restrictions before you sign up. Perhaps you are a grump.

before 10:00 or like to go to bed early. Snowbirds will not be volunteering in the winter months. They need volunteers for 4 hours but you need to rest every two hours.

Benefits of Voluneering

-Meet new people

-schedule and structure

-Feel appreciated for your skills and time

-travel

-new experiences

-dreams fullfilled ( I always wanted to)

-contribution to your community

-live in position saves home expenses

What considerations did you have to work through before doing volunteer work?

Panda picked Volunteerism as a way of staying active and productive

Panda Picked the subject of keeping our computer safe as it relates to hackers.  I checked with an on friend who e-mailed me his version of the problem.

Mr. John Partington

John Partington of Crewe, Cheshire, United Kingdom has provided this information to share with all our Seniors new or experienced on the internet.

Here are his suggestions:

“The best advice I can give on what hackers can do is tell people to watch the Steven Segal film “Under Siege 2″

You have to remember that if a site is online or your computer is online they are both available to hackers if they have the  correct software to discover your passwords.

A hacker will access your own computer and place trojans that will log all your keystrokes, thats the way they get the information to hack into the server you are using.

The only really safe sites are the ones with secure encryption, ie; the address starts with https and a lock will appear somewhere in your browser window. That is why  Microsoft keep issuing security updates for their browser!

Never ever leave your computer connected to the internet if you are not in front of it, and make sure your computer has some form of firewall security ie; Macfee or Norton anti virus software.

A free site I use is very good you can find it at http://www.spybot.info/index2.html . Its very good and available in many languages. Its free but you can always give them a donation if you want to. Its reasonably easy to use, just follow the instructions as you will have to download the file and then run it to load it onto your hard drive.

After you have done that just click on the shortcut that will be placed on your desktop menu.”

John has worked most of his working years as a self employed carpet fitter, miner, salesman, plus others to numerous to mention, as he says. In 1995 he took an interest in the computer having been self taught.

John says “I have messed around with computers since 1995 and put my first site online the same year. I am self taught, mainly by reading books and making mistakes but I am quite competent now.  I have recently had to stop working because of ill health.”

John is a promoter of M2Y.Info Hosting.

Information on the hacker situation is based on experience as he had his computer compromised.  He lost his  self created  site and sites of others whom he was helping.  It has cost him many hours and  several months of work.

John and I share ideas and promote each other in social communites. He like I develop relationships with the sole purpose of helping other members.

Thank you John for sharing your knowledge.

Panda Picked the hacker issue because we need to understand that knowledge may be the key to protecting your work and the contents of your computer.

Mary Hofstetter AKA The Panda Lady

We are experiencing a beautiful fall here in Northwestern Ohio as mother nature dons her prettiest dresses. The evenings are crisp and cool which is great for high school football games.  The nights are cold in the 30′s so that we can bundle under the blankets we had caste aside for summer.  The frost tolerant plants like beets, swiss chard, kohlrabi and cilantro are enjoying the sunny days without the stress of extreme heat.

However, there is a dark side to this season.  S.A.D. aka Seasonal Affective Disorder has reared its ugly  head.  About Sept. 17 I feel the effects of this disorder as the amount of light has diminished enough to bring on depression.  It manifests itself in eating too much, wanting to go to bed early as the sun sets, and taking more naps. Many people feel these manifestations but people with SAD have a more serious reaction. Short days  and long nights affect my attitude, enthusiasm, interest in activities which must affect my feeling of well being if not my health.

By Thanksgiving SAD will be in full force as we have not only less light in the days, but we tend to have  fog, rain, snow showers, cloudy days end upon end. This  depression does not lift until the end of Dec. when we have more sunshine although cold and snowy days prevail.  The feelings of SAD begins to turn around in the middle of February.  I can almost know the day when my body says “ok we had enough light and it is all over”.

So how does one cope with SAD.  I have read that it helps to increase the wattage of light bulbs so I bought the new energy efficient  natural light bulbs. They are more expensive but quite effective.  It is suggested to use  light box therapy.  Those are expensive so I find the brightest place to sit and soak up the light like a turtle.

Several years ago I accidently discovered that a cup of Earl Grey tea, bergemont tea leaves, lifted my spirits.  A late afternoon  4:00 cup of tea will get me through the worst part of the day. Sun down is particularly hard as my body wants to cry out, “Stop, I haven’t had enough light for today”.  Closing the drapes and curtains helps to fool my body.  You know out of site, out of mind. If I don’t see  the sun is setting I can’t complain.  Have you ever noticed your mood change with certain types of music.  A jazz station from Dayton Ohio will kick my serotonin on so that I can concentrate on activities. The last way I  deal with SAD is to be very occupied and interested in some activity late in the afternoon.  If the problem gets too bad especially in the worst month of Nov. and part of December, St. John’s Wort therapy is necessary.

Anyone reading this who has SAD, please share comments as to how you manage this disorder. What kicks the serotonin on for you?

Panda picked S.A.D. as a subject to discuss because we need to understand and deal with the effects of light deprivation. There still is little understanding from those who have no idea how it affects our lives. SAD has only been recognized by the medical field for a few years.

So you want to set up a  business on the internet   Here’s a little reality that you should read at least once a week while building your business.

FOUR BITS OF WISDOM
 1.  INVESTMENT-THERE IS NO FREE when it comes to doing business on the internet. Whether it’s an investment of time, or an investment with money, you have to ‘invest’. This is a business, and a business cannot grow without some capital. Plus, if you are investing in your future, it makes sense to invest in your business.  If you are still employed, don’t fall for “Fire the Boss” as you might just have to crawl back and ask for your job.  Continue with employment until you are making more on your internet business than you are earning at your paying job.  When you have made allowance for the benefits you will lose and making a live-able wage then full time internet marketing might be feasible.

You will need advertising.  Oh my did I miss that one when I bought my first site. The business you buy has no obligation to promote. You are on your own and a perfect set-up to spend big bucks.

 Connect with a business that fits your personality and passion in life.  Ask yourself this “Would I buy this product if I were not selling it”. Your testimony to the usefulness of the product will speak volumes. Auto ship is the method of forcing you to purchase or another way to say it is, they send  a specific amount  automatically.  Your downline will do the same, and that is how you make your money.  Since it  means you must purchase a certain amount yourself,  ask yourself if you want a shelf full of potions and pills that you will not use. By far the largest investment will be in time and learning how to market.  Internet marketing is not like selling to your next door neighbor as your customers will be people you have never met. Know how this potential business suggests promoting.  If you detest cold calling (people you don’t know) or typing ads, doing research or what ever the suggested method, then check out our personality traits and abilities for marketing.

Number 2 – YOU HAVE TO MEET PEOPLE-The idea of working from home in your pj’s, saving on gas, saving on lunches and clothes seems so appealing.  But guess what, you still have to meet people.  Yes, you can do all of the above but networking means working with other people.  There will be people on line just like you or people that can make you want to throw your computer across the room.

Where will you meet these people.  You can talk or write to people on Yahoo, MSN, Skype and other free message centers.  Forums are a great place to learn about people and you can share about yourself and your experiences.  Perhaps your product would be of interest to someone when they learn about your product.  Writing e-books is a great way to share your ideas. You can enroll in sites who will provide leads at little or no expense. Live conferences on the phone or in on line meeting rooms will develop business partners and build businesses.

Number 3 – YOU MUST HAVE PATIENCE On the internet, we are told of instant riches, and success in 90 days or less. Some go so far as to promise you will have money in 3 hours. FORGET ABOUT IT. Remember, this is long term income we want here, not a quick fifty bucks. You must have patience with your online business. This is the only industry on the planet where success is ‘demanded’ in weeks and months, not years. It just cannot happen, most offline businesses take 2-4 years to turn a profit, it should be no different online. Take your time, there is no rush!

Number 4 – WORK, WORK, WORK I know…The images of sitting back with your feet up, sleeping in until noon, owning a yacht, travel to the islands….It’s a myth! You must roll up your sleeves and put in work. Again, this is a business, it takes effort. Do not be scared of it. Beware of any site that says, No work, No advertising, no recruiting, no nothing.  All that means is that you just bought “NOTHING”.  Do the math.  If you are promised to make a certain amount of money, figure out how many people it would take to make that much. 

Take those four points as you wish, all I ever write about is what I have experienced. These things have worked for me, and trust me, I’m not a ‘special person’. I had no clue what a url was when I first started. Even the words, mentor and internet marketer were unknown to me. Hopefully, when you find a business, you find mentors who will take you by the hand and take you through the strange world of on-line communities, advertising sites, computer skills, and most of all where to hide your credit cards.

Panda Picked this subject so that our Seniors new to the internet are not victims of the internet.  Choose a business unique to you and I wish you well on your journey.