Panda Picks-Seniors Work on the Net!

Seniors take advantage of reading devices when necessary. Love to read, but having trouble holding a book and turning pages? Love to read but the eyes are not co-operating? Reading and traveling are a great way to get away. All challenges are covered when you say hello to the New Kindle.

Slim: Just over 1/3 of an inch, as thin as most magazines

Lightweight: At 10.2 ounces, lighter than a typical paperback

Wireless: 3G wireless lets you download books right from your Kindle, anytime, anywhere; no monthly fees, service plans, or hunting for Wi-Fi hotspots

Books in Under 60 Seconds: Get books delivered in less than 60 seconds; no PC required

Improved Display: Reads like real paper; now boasts 16 shades of gray for clear text and even crisper images

Longer Battery Life: 25% longer battery life; read for days without recharging

More Storage: Take your library with you; holds over 1,500 books

Faster Page Turns: 20% faster page turns

Read-to-Me: With the new Text-to-Speech feature, Kindle can read every book, blog, magazine, and newspaper out loud to you

Large Selection: Over 230,000 books plus U.S. and international newspapers, magazines, and blogs available

Low Book Prices: New York Times Best Sellers and New Releases $9.99, unless marked otherwise
It’s exciting to introduce Amazon Kindle 2, the next generation wireless reading device. With a sleek and thin design that makes Kindle 2 as thin as a typical magazine and lighter than a paperpack, the new Kindle has seven times more storage and now holds over 1,500 books. It has a longer battery life and faster page turns. An advanced display provides even crisper images and clearer text for an improved book-like reading experience. And Kindle 2 even reads to you, with “Read to Me”, our new Text to Speech feature.
With Kindle 2 we kept everything readers love about the original Kindle—the convenience of reading what you want, when you want it, the immediacy of getting a book wirelessly delivered in less than 60 seconds, and Kindle’s ability to “disappear” in your hands so you can get lost in the author’s words. We’re also excited to announce that the Kindle Store has over 230,000 ebooks available.

GO HERE      This is Panda ‘s Pick for today. Kindle 2  is available for pre-order starting today for $359 at  and will ship later this month . There is a wide variety of Kindle accessories available, including new covers from Cole Haan, Patagonia, and Belkin and more.

Panda Lady

We seniors find e-mails to be the easiest and most fun part of being on line and using the internet. We send notes to each other like pen pals including those famous Soccer Mom humorous and inspirational e-mails. We soon learned not to open “attachments” to protect our PC. Those typing skills we learned in high school on clunky typewriters were put to use in a way we never dreamed they would be used. The keys had different names than we were used to but we soon learned how to use them; enter, alt. esc. control etc. We had to learn them while my grandchildren used all the buttons with ease and they haven’t even sat through high school typing class. Best of all was the way one could correct, move ahead, erase, cut and paste and no restrictions on how many copies we could send. Wow multiple e-mails could be sent and no carbon paper needed. And need I mention spell check.

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We had to learn a new vocabulary: spam, e-mail, files. signature lines, etc. We built our e-mail list and made files. Not easy tasks but we so enjoyed the new communication system that we typed away, forwarded e-mails, and collected addresses. The computer became a prominent fixture as we used it like the telephone, receiving and answering messages. It was like a super toy allowing us to talk to grandchildren in far off towns, connecting us to people across the world we had never met. Sending and receiving humors u-tubes made us the masters of humor to enlighten each others lives.

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Sun. Jan. 11, 2009 an interesting story appeared in my local hometown newspaper, The Lima News. A story printed there shared how local resident, Marilyn Williams used e-mail to collaborate in the writing of a book.. She told how her mother had dreamed of being a published author but it never happened.  Barbara Bailey Caspersen, Marilyn’s sister took the idea and joined forces with her sister to create a book “No Time for Tears” (The story of Anna). Barbara felt she was being helped along by her mother, but needed some assistance from her sister..

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Of course the two ladies could talk on the phone and at times met to discuss the script.  With Williams in Lima, Ohio and sister Barbara Bailey Caspersen of Hamilton Ontario, Canada discussions could take place but it was the opportunity to send e-mails where they could share ideas on the script that allowed for instant feedback on the project.. It took two years to finish.  The option of using e-mails was a solution that worked out so well that another book “Moving Mountains” has been completed and Williams thinks it will be available by June.

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From our 50th high school reunion this past summer, the class of ’58 connected in this unique manner. During those 50 years we only met in person 3 times and rarely communicated with our fellow classmates. Now, just for fun, we can chat about the old days and brag about happenings in our lives. We can inform each other of crises and share prayers of concern.  E-mail gave us this opportunity to connect and become re-acquainted.
Panda Picked e-mails as one of the neat reasons we seniors like to be on-line.  Ideas are shared as when we wrote letters but the instant feedback allows for a flow of communications in such a way that we can carry on a conversation. E-mails add to our lives because they are fun and informative, and ever so easy to add to our daily routine when we master their use.
How do you use e-mails?

Panda Lady

                           Hotels  for     D O G      V A C A T I O N S

Seniors traveling like to include their furry four legged family members. Often this presents the question of where can we lodge for the night and include the whole family. The answer is to look for Doggie Hotels, where people can stay too.

Seniors go on line to Bring Fido site,  and use the “Where To stay” search in the center of the page.  Once you have read the reviews from other pet owners, checked out the maps for locations, know the regulations and prices,  you can register your reservation on the right side menu.  While there click on the dog house (motel), fire hydrant (play), and dog bone (dog friendly restaurants).  Hotels, bed and breaksfasts, campgrounds and motels from around the room welcome you and your dog.

Plan Fido’s vacation before you leave home so that everyone can enjoy the family vacation.  Use  Bring Fido  site for information on all your needs from dog sitters, restaurants, leash free recreation, vets, flight information,  doggie events, etc.  Everything you need for a hassle free vacation is found on Bring Fido.

Panda Picked Bring Fido.com as the recommended site for planning pet friendly vacations anywhere in the world. This is a no cost site based on the experiences of other dog owners. Don’t leave home without Fido. By the way your photo’s of your dog on vacation and your ratings of the services you used will  assist others using on line searchers for traveling with dogs.

Panda Lady

FOOT FIXES For FROSTY WEATHER

3. MASSAGE- increase circulation and rejuvenate the skin. Using lotion, rub toes in all directions

4. Lie down and elevate legs by putting feet higher than your heart

5. Wear smart shoes.  Carry the high heels and fashion shoes to put on when you arrive or use shoes with good treads  or clip on cleatts in the winter months of snow and ice .                                                              

Panda Picked the subject of seniors going on line to do research because it is so convenient, and we have many resources to tap into.  On line research  is another scource of information as we check out information for our own personal use or for the purposes of publishing.

Panda Lady

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We seniors love receiving and giving gift cards when it comes to gift giving.  Much like the younger people, we find it takes the hassle out of gift giving.  If our children and grandchildren live in another part of the country, we have trouble finding clothing that fits, mailing packages can be inconvenient, we don’t really know the likes and dislikes of those living so far from us and we avoid causing people the hassle of returns or exchanges.

We are not alone in this new phenomenon of using gift cards.  Angie’s List, the nation’s leading consumer ratings service, reports that consumers bought more than $25 billion worth of gift cards over the holiday season. From a nationwide consumer survey they reported that 1/4 of all gifts will be gift cards.

Perhaps this year because of economic conditions, our gift cards may be buying more practical gifts such as gas, winter boots and gloves, groceries,  dinner and entertainment.

With the use of gift card giving goes a warning.  Did you know that scam artists have learned to copy down the numbers of gift cards while displayed in stores?  They then check on balances and quickly charge against the card on line.

SOLUTION:  Buy cards that are stored behind the counter and not out on open racks.

Another issue is the fear of a business place going backrupt before the card is redemed. According to the poll from Angie’s List 17 percent of all people having problems redeeming their card was because of bankruptcy. 

SOLUTION: Know that the company is solid. Redeem cards ASAP. Believe it or not some of us seniors are still carring cards for a year or so according to the survey.

Panda Picked Gift Giving Cards as a great solution to gift giving for Seniors.  The giver and the receiver will be pleased.  Know the conditions and stipulations of cards we buy. The advice from Daily Business News is to use them sooner than later.

Panda Lady suggests Amazon Gift cards for all your senior friends on line.

Do you like gift cards for giving? How would you spend a gift card?

As late summer days approached, the smell of ripe tomatoes in our garden permeated the air.  The older ladies of the neighborhood would often stop and discuss the opening of the tomato factory.  “When would it open?”, “What was the crop looking like?”,” Are you working at the tomato factory this year?’ were the questions most often posed to each other.

One could  hear the rustle of stiff rubber aprons hitting against the black rubber boots as the ladies passed on the alley behind our house.  The long awaited day had arrived.  The tomato factory had opened.  It really was not a factory but what we would now call a processing plant.  In the little town of Pandora, Ohio the opening of the tomato factory was anticipated as it would provide income for some senior citizens at the factory and immigrant or seasonal laborers picking tomatos. It was short term work of only a few weeks.

When I was a child I witnessed my older sister and my mother as well as some neighborhood widows take this as  part time employment.  Because I was home alone and some times sought my mothers permission to play with friends or go swimming with another family, I would stop in at the tomato factory.

It always smelled of over ripe tomatos, close to rotting, and tomatoes cooking in the hot water gave the aroma I well remember. The sounds of cans clanging overhead as they traveled from outside the building to the end of the peeling line are vivid memories. There wasn’t much chatter among the ladies who stood along a conveyer belt concentrating on their task of peeling tomatoes. They had to make their money in just a few short weeks, so each hour of concentrated work was precious. After all they were getting a dollar for each galvanized bucket they filled. A card pinned to their back was to be punched by the ‘runner’ for each bucket filled.

The process was simple, men outside the building dumped hamsters of tomatoes into tubs of hot water. A conveyor belt pulled the tomatoes into the building where the ladies stood on the peeling line.  The first ladies took the biggest tomatoes, gave a slight squeeze to remove the skin and quickly removed the core with their special tomato knife.  As the tomatoes progressed down the line the less desirable tomatoes took a little more work to remove the skins and possibly cut some of the hard parts around the core. By the end of the line, the poorest tomatoes were available, and fewer tomatoes were processed.  Each hour the ladies shifted  positions so  that all had equal opportunity to the best tomatoes.  The canning of the tomatoes was the last part of the process.

I never got to work in the the tomato factory, wearing the stiff rubber aprons and stiff black rubber boots and coming home with withered skin on the hands. The factory was closed and moved to modern facilities where people wore sanitary suits, masks and processed tomatoes in sanitized  well controlled environments. Now the tomatoes are picked by giant machines which make one trip through the fields to tear up the plants at the height of ripening period.  The little town of Pandora, Ohio no longer provides this seasonal work for Seniors seeking part time work.

This story reminds us that opportunities for Seniors to work on line processing seasonal foods has disappeared.  Many jobs have moved overseas where labor costs are less.  As retirees we look for opportunities to find part-time or short term work to supplement our income.  The internet provides us such opportunity.  Even if we are physically challenged using our computer to generate income is a viable way to have some short term or seasonal work.

I am thankful I don’t have to rise early and go to work in a damp wet place like a tomato factory but rather work on line in the comfort of my home, choose my own hours, choose the type of work I wish to pursue.  I have mentors and friends not from a neighborhood but from the entire world of internet users. It can be seasonal or short-term or even at my age I can make it a career.  Here’s to on line work for Seniors.

Panda Picked this  story to remind us that as times change, we Seniors can adapt to new ways of making money. We can use the computer to find us work, applying on line for local jobs, create our own on line business, or train ourselves for services to provide on line. The possibilities are endless!

What is your online venture using the internet and all its possibilites?