Panda Picks-Seniors Work on the Net!

Get Out of My Way

 We seniors might enjoy shopping but Black Friday is NOT the day to be walking through the malls for exercise.  I for one never wanted to battle the bargain hunters.  Even the parking lot is cause for concern as the shoppers get in a hurry and bang into cars, leave the carts sitting where I can hit them.  So here’s a great solution, just go on line.  We seniors know how to use our computers to our advantage.  We can do comparison shopping, yell at the dog, cut up our cards when we hit the limit and keep our car from getting dings in the mall shopping lot.

So Panda Lady says:  ”Don’t spend Black Friday jostling for bargains and parking spots. Instead, visit Amazon.com for Black Friday specials and great deals all week long from the convenience (and comfort) of your keyboard. Visit every day as new bargains will be posted now, YES NOW through  Dec. 4.Make yourself a cup of coffee, park here, and have a happy carefree shopping day. 

Mary Hofstetter AKA The Panda Lady

Seniors love to use the internet to research subjects.  It saves a trip to the library, saves gas, and the internet is easy reading.  While checking out  information on one of the leading causes of death, heart disease.  I came across a nice magazine article in Lifescript.beta, written by Carly Young, where she lists 10 foods which give us healthy happy hearts.

check these for happy hearts

The list is:  Oatmeal, almonds, flax-seeds, garlic, apples, beans, soy protein, psyllium husk or hulls and exercise.

I set out to see how much I could include in my breakfast yesterday.  My hot oatmeal – was what I was planning.  A chopped apple with the skins still on, some nuts, psyllium hulls, unprocessed wheat bran made quite a combination using 5 of the 10 items on their list.

If you read their 10 foods list, you will find ways to sneak the items into your diet.  So now all we need to do is to get those happy feet going for a nice long walk.

While doing the research to find the best heart foods, I came across the American Heart Association web site which gives us another neat way to use the internet.  They have directions for making your happy  heart shopping list. Their site teaches us another new skill, internet meal planning.

Panda Lady searched for the best products that we could find to help not only seniors, but all people  who use Psyllium, flaxseed and oatmeal.  Our top recommendations are:
flaxseed products

Oatmeal Bread

psyllium 

Mary Hofstetter AKA The Panda Lady

We seniors are creatures of habit.  Once we find good service, just  like anyone else we tend to return. Today I took my car for an oil and filter change.  Anybody who is a decent mechanic could do that, right?  It’s not about who can change my oil but who services my car. We seniors look for quality as much as affordable service.

As I entered the dealership I was greeted by a friendly person, ready to write up my order for the overdue oil exchange.  A typical well groomed service area awaited my car. I was sent to a waiting area to have a cup of coffee and a donut.

Nothing too unusual you might say. But there is a difference when one considers the word “loyalty” acted out.

Here’s how it played out.

The car salesman who sold me the car came by to greet me.  The conversation centered on my daughter because he was concerned with her struggle of an addiction which he too had conquered.  We connected.  I remarked that the coffee was nice but why didn’t tea  drinkers have their drink of choice?  He said he would get one for me.  We connected.  The owner of the dealership came by and asked another lady how her Explorer was doing? Wow he knew what car he had sold her some time ago. She marveled at his memory. They connected. I teased him about the lack tea and told him I understood that he was a tea drinker.  Within minutes a receptionist came by with hot water and choice of tea bags.  We connected.

The salesman never  suggested my buying  a car.  The owner never questioned the lady if she were there to buy a car.  So what were they selling?  They were selling themselves and their good service. They were sealing our loyalty.  If they saw a need, they were ready to accommodate.

People do not have to be sold.  Your customers should seek you out knowing that you have their best interest at heart. If  you present yourself as the answer to their needs, you have sealed their loyalty. There is no need to hound your friends and neighbors to make a sale. Let them come to you, as you have what they want or need.

So why would I travel clear across town to have my oil changed?  Service is the answer. Loyalty and commitment acted out in a dealership where the owner has such passion about his product that he knows every car on his lot, so the salesman tells me.

Panda Picked this story to remind you that you are not doing an internet business to sell anything.  You are in business to provide a service or product which someone wants and needs. With quality service, you will have their loyalty whether to re-order or recommend some other person to you and your business.

Panda Picked Baby Boomers.com as a good resource to add to your connections on the net.

Mary Hofstetter AKA The 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?

We Seniors see so many opportunities thrown our way with big promises of additional income. Most are business ventures who scam us out of our meager monthly allotment. I have seen and witnessed my share of programs that promise no work, no investment, no advertising as the site owner does it all for you. I have seen and been part of ventures that disappear over night taking our money with them.  Products that look good, may not be what was promised when we purchased on line.

That is not to say that all programs are taking advantage of us.  So once a week Panda will Pick someone she knows who is successful on the internet or a recommended product that fulfills it claims.

Over the past 3  years I have had a casual internet relationship with a lady by the name of Barb Doyle.  She would occasionally  respond to forum threads which I had posted.  Barb is a quiet marketer not really spending much time in the social community called Adlandpro.  Her posts were content rich showing that she was a lady who did not post on a whim, but posted to forum threads that had meaning to her and her business. She is not as concerned with being seen but being seen in the right places.

Meet Barb Doyle

All the glory goes to God.

Barb lives near St. Louis, Missouri with her husband.  She was born in Alaska as her father was in the military, stationed in the far north state.  When I asked about her on line involvement she responded: (more…)

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

Happy,  healthy feet are as valuable as a well tuned car getting good mileage.  If you wish to be an active person on the go without the nagging “My feet hurt”, then maybe these ideas will work for you.

>>Wear flip flops instead of going barefoot.  You can avoid ringworm, warts, athlete’s foot, and other icky stuff.

>>Turn on the lights or have a flashlight handy when you get up in the middle of the night.  Who needs a broken toe when you have great plans for tomorrow.

>>Summer routine should include sunscreen.  ouchie feet and ankles might slow you down.

>>Drink plenty of water.  Coffee and tea don’t count.  We need to keep hydrated to keep swelling down.

>>Flex your ankles, wiggle your toes, stretch calves to enhance blood flow

>>Remember that nail polish might cause fungus.  Yellow toenails or the absence of toenails is not cool

>>Dry out wet sneakers and don’t wear the same shoes everyday.

>>Wear shoes according to activity. Personally I need ankle support for long  walks.

>>Spray anti-perspirant on your feet if they’re often sweaty.

For ankle stiffness do a daily exercise while you are being a couch potato.  Take your big toe and write all the letters of the alphabet. Repeat with the other foot.  Now get up and go for a nice long walk and put on some miles.

Panda picked happy healthy feet to keep you comfortable and healthy and recomends you visit Foot Care Direct for assistance with feet problems.

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