My doctor says fitness is important.  So my husband and I walk every day.  In the past I have used a pedometer to record my walks.  I knew there had to be a more accurate and interactive way to accomplish this task.   I did a search on Google Play by inputting ” walking apps” and came up with Map My Walk.  I saw that the app had a high rating among it’s users.  I decided to give it a try.

I downloaded the app to my phone, set up an account, and anxiously awaited the next day to try  it out.  I was a bit worried that the app might not work well considering the signal I got was either a weak 4g or a 2g signal.  I need not have worried.  The Map My Walk application worked like a champ.

When finished with the walk, I just hit the pause button and saved the walk.  When I got home and logged into the apps website, I noticed a lot of interesting features that I really like.  This application works with Google Maps to create a map showing the route of your walk and gives you details.  Such as; how far you walked, how long it took, and the amount of calories you burned.

This app is not just a log of your walk.  There is also a place to track what you eat, make friends, and, if you want, you can post your results to your Facebook page.   This is a great motivational tool to use for exercising.  There are also other applications that are offered through this company for fitness (MapMyRide, MapMyRun, etc.).

There are also Pro versions of the applications that MapMyFitness offers.  You can purchase either monthly or annual subscriptions and they have different price levels that you can choose.  With the Pro Plan you can get ad free browsing, professional training plans, map printing, and discounts in their store.

Not sure if I would try the Pro Plan.  I’ll need to see how this goes, but so far I have found that this a very fun and useful app.  If you’re needing a little motivation to get moving, give one of their apps a try.  I really enjoy the Map My Walk Android App.  Of course, it also come in an app for the iPhone.

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You will be able to ask questions in order to receive answers that are tailored to your specific needs.  Looking for reviews on services provided on the internet?  You will find comparisons, discounts, and excellent thorough reviews.

Product reviews are very important when trying to make a decision on whether to purchase an item or use a service.  It’s better to do a little advance research to make sure that you are making a wise purchase.  Knoji will help you with that.  New reviews are being written every day.

I enjoy writing for this site.  So if you are looking for an answer to a question, look me up my name is Pat Bartels (or just click on my name) and ask me a question.  I’ll find you an answer.  I’ll either answer your question myself, or direct you to another writer who can answer your question.  You can be sure that you will get well researched and accurate information.

I also want to encourage anyone who writes to give this site a try.  Use my affiliate link to get started.  I have found that this is a great place to earn some cash.  This is one of the sites where I make a steady consistent payout.  I’m not the most prolific writer, but if you are, you will like the upfront article bonuses and additional bonuses that you receive when you write assigned reviews.  Not only will you make upfront bonuses, but you will also earn from article views.

You will also find that this site has a lot of other friendly writers who will encourage you along the way.  I have met a lot of nice people at Knoji.  It’s always helpful to have a friendly atmosphere in which to write.  If nothing else, come take a look at the site.  Browse through the different categories.  There is sure to be something that interests you.  Hope to see you on Knoji soon.

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I rarely write a check.  Most of the time my banking is done onli
ne.  You can always develop a signature for legal documents.  Heck you could just scribble, and as long as you used the same scribble each time you could call it your signature.  How many times have you seen a signature that didn’t look anything like a person’s name?

Now, I’m all for technological advance.  It just seems a shame that our youth are losing some of the abilities that were common years ago.  They rely on technology to think for them.  Many cannot even do  simple math.  Call me old fashioned, but children should be taught basics.  Technology can fail.  Worse yet if we become a people that cannot think for ourselves someone else will be doing the thinking for us.  Will we become blind followers of information that we see on the computer and electronic devices?

Government education requirements are dictating to schools what needs to be accomplished.  Schools are making decisions about curriculum based on what they have time to do.  When my child was in school the computer was not in every home as it is today.  Still I saw the value of my child learning keyboarding.  At that time keyboarding was considered an elective.  My son complained a bit at first, but today he uses the keyboard without a thought.  Every child should learn keyboarding without a doubt.

My Granddaughter who is only three can change the font and colors of text in a word processor.  I believe technology teaches our children at a much faster pace.  I still think that children should also learn to think on their own, and that is where parents come in.  Know what your children are learning and guide them to become self thinkers.

Children not only learn from what is taught in the school, but they also learn from their environment.  Provide an environment that is rich in teaching them to use their imaginations.  Teach them music.  Not just the love of music.  Expose them to the wonders of nature.  Teach them to be physically active.  Don’t let the school be a child’s only source of learning.  Take an active part in your child’s education.

Should the schools stop teaching cursive as a requirement?  Maybe so, but at least offer it as an elective course so that this form of handwriting doesn’t die.  It’s been around since the birth of our country and before.  All of our governments founding documents were written in cursive.  It looks as if cursive is going the way of Latin.  It will slowly become a thing of the past.

I took Latin when in high school because I was always intrigued by the Roman Empire.  I learned a lot of ancient history as well as a language that is now only used mainly by the Catholic Church.  I hope that I can pass on to my grandchildren the love of learning.  I will encourage them to be free thinkers, and learners of not only what is current, but of past civilizations and ways of life that might be considered dead.  In the future if you want your child to learn cursive writing, you may be the one that will have to teach them.

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There are many options to choose from when it comes to keeping your files and important photos backed up.  You can always buy an external hard drive and backup your files that way, or you can choose one of the many options for online backup.

I personally use a company called CrashPlan which has a free backup plan option. This way I back up my hard drive information to an external hard drive for all of my computers.  You can also purchase a paid backup plan from CrashPlan, and the price is very reasonable.  With their free backup plan you can either backup your data locally or offsite to a friend or family members computer.  Their online paid backup plans depend on how much space you need for backup and how many computers you have in your household.  For one computer using their unlimited plan you will pay $49.99 a year.  A small price to pay for peace of mind.  They also have business plans.

The important thing is that you do the backups.  Not only that, but you have to be disciplined about doing it.  Some programs will schedule your backups automatically for you.  That would be the preferred method.  Most people will find that if they don’t have some sort of automatic method of backup, that after awhile they won’t continue, and nine times out of ten that is when the unexpected happens, you will experience a computer problem and lose date.

Everything is digital these days.  Wedding photos, pictures of baby, and important documents are increasingly being stored on your computer.  There is a higher likelihood that something will go wrong.  A file could become corrupt or your whole system could go down.  Backup is one of the most important things you can do to safeguard all of those valuable digital memories.

No matter what method you choose for backing up your computer data, the key is being consistent.  Choose a method that you are comfortable with and is not confusing.  In the long run you will be thankful that your computer info is safe.  If you are already backing up your data, give yourself a big pat on the back.

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A few days ago my toaster died.  I had that toaster for over 40 years.  So I haven’t had to shop for a small appliance in awhile.  The first store I went to was Walmart.  Do you know that there was not a single toaster that was made in the U.S.A.?  Not that they had a lot to choose from, because their selection was pretty limited.

Next stop was Bed Bath and Beyond.  There again there was not a single toaster that was made in the U.S.A.   A store clerk did tell me that she could order a toaster from Calphalon that was made in Ohio.  If I wanted to order something, I would go online and do it myself.

At that point I decided to go online to see if I could find out just exactly which toasters were made in the U.S.A.  I found that even the high end toasters made by Cuisinart are made in China.  It was certainly an eye opener to see that products such as Sunbeam, Black and Decker, and Oster are all made in China.  I finally did discover that Kitchenaid toasters were made here in the good ole U.S. of A.

So I went off to Target to find the toaster of my dreams, and there it was sitting on the shelf.  On the bottom of the toaster, proudly displayed, were the words made in the U.S.A.  Not only that, but it was on clearance with only two toasters left.  I grabbed mine and happily trotted up to the check out.

This isn’t the first time that I’ve been on a quest to find something that was made here in this country.  One day, when I was shopping in Kohl’s, I was looking at the towels.  They have a lot of pretty towels, but there was not a single towel in that store that was made in the U.S.A.  Not one.  I couldn’t believe it.

Since my little experience with Kohl’s, I have been really curious.  Each time I go into a store I will glance at the towels to see if I can find any that are not imported.  I couldn’t find any in Walmart or J.C. Penney’s.  My quest goes on.  I did find where you can buy towels from the U.S. online.  Maybe that’s what I’ll have to do in order to support the American workers in this country.

How do we get workers in this country back to work?  How about let’s spend our hard earned dollars on products made here.  Believe me they are not always the most expensive.  I found some little plastic boats for my Granddaughter at Walmart that were $1.00 each, and they were made here.  I also bought some plastic storage bins that had “made in the U.S.” on them.

So thank you to Kitchenaid, Sterilite, Colgate, Calphalon and the many other manufactures that produce their products in the U.S.  Thanks for employing people in this country.  Oh and to the stores whose products are mostly imported.  If you want me to spend money in your store, let’s see some more products that are made here.  Let’s all support products that are made in the U.S.A.

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The reason I’m bringing this up is that I was in a discount electronics store called Micro Center today.  I overheard a man talking to a store representative about monitors.  Eventually the man decided to buy two Acer 23″ LCD Monitors.  The Acer monitors at Micro Center cost $169.00 each.  The reason I paid any attention, was because I had just purchased the same monitor online at Newegg for $109 with free shipping.

If this man was buying the monitors because of price ($169 for a 23″ monitor isn’t bad), then why didn’t he shop around a little better?  With the money he could have saved by shopping around he would have been able to buy three of these monitors for the price he paid for two.

I know, when you buy online you don’t get the item right away.  You will have to wait anywhere from three to five days before it arrives at your doorstep.  Personally I think it’s well worth the wait.  Wouldn’t you rather save $60 plus dollars if you were making a big purchase?

Another problem with buying online is that you can’t see the item you are buying.  One way to solve this problem is go to the local electronics store and check out the item.  Best Buy is one place I will go if I’m interested in seeing exactly how an item looks.  It doesn’t hurt if you’re kind of an electronics geek, because you like going to stores to see hands on what kind of new gadgets are out there.

The best thing to do before making a final purchase is to go online and see where you can buy the item the cheapest.  Not only that, but it doesn’t hurt to do a search for a coupon.  Many times coupons are available online that will save you even more money.  Why pay full price when somewhere out there you can find a deal?

Just think what you can do with the money you save.  With the way prices have been going up at the grocery store and the gas pump you need to make wise decisions about your spending.  Shop around.  It won’t take you long to do, and you’ll feel better about your purchases.

I’ve been a member of Redgage for about two years now. I like to share photos mostly, and occasionally I’ll share links to articles that I write at other places on the internet. This website is unique from other sites that pay you for your content on the web. I think it’s much more fun.

If you would like to join Redgage, just go to their webpage and sign up or you can use my link. It ‘s very easy to do. Set up your profile, and start sharing and promoting your content from around the internet. It won’t be long before you start getting friend requests. I’ve met some really nice people on Redgage. Look up OregonArtGuy. He has over 5400 friends and posts a lot of interesting content. Oh, and of course look for me, PBartelssc.

If you’re like me and enjoy taking photos, you probably have a lot of pictures you would love to share with others. Why not upload them to Redgage, let others enjoy them, and make a little bit of money while you’re at it?

Once I upload my content then I use Twitter to let people know that I have photos to view. Twitter is a really valuable tool that will allow you to drive traffic to your links and photos. You can also post your Redgage links to your photos on Google+ and Facebook so that your friends and family can see your Redgage content.

Redgage is just another tool that will help you network and promote your content. If you really want to make money you have to network and get exposure. Otherwise you will be the only one viewing your photos. So come hangout, make friends, and earn a little money at Redgage.  If you use my link, you will be automatically added to my friend list; PBartelssc.  Looking forward to seeing you soon.

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I have three different devices that I use Evernote with.  I want to share with you how Evernote can keep your recipes safe, and easy to find.  How many times have you remembered that you had a recipe you wanted to use, but couldn’t remember where you put it.  You don’t have to ever let that happen again.

Why do I have Evernote on three different devices?

Because I use each device in a different place and capacity.

1.  On my PC or laptop – The computer is probably where I will search for a recipe that I want.  I also use the PC to put my paper recipes into Evernote.  All you need to use Evernote on the PC is an account, and the Evernote Web Clipper Extension.  You can create your account at Evernote.com, download their software for your computer, and add the web clipper extension.  If you don’t use any other devices, this would be basically all you need.  If you are going to add recipes that are in PDF or JPG format, you’ll want to download the Evernote software.  You can actually use Evernote without the software.  You just get more functionality with it.
2. On my Tablet – I use the tablet in my kitchen when I’m preparing recipes.  It’s light weight and small and perfect for this task.  I downloaded the Evernote Android App for this device, and it syncs with my PC whenever I find a recipe that I have added to my recipe notebook.
3.  On my Cell Phone – I downloaded the same Android App that was on my tablet.  All three devices sync up, and I see the same info between them.  I don’t use the app on my phone very much, but it is handy for spur of the moment decisions.  If I’m out somewhere and decide I want to make something later at home, I can look the recipe up on my phone and see if I need any ingredients.  I always have my phone with me, and so my recipes are with me also. 

I’m really interested in trying to scan and organize all of my paper.  This is not an easy task.  If I ever do succeed at this, think how easy it would be for me to find things.  One thing that was holding me back from this dream was all the scraps of  paper that I have some of my favorite recipes on.  With Evernote I can scan, photograph, or type (if I want) all those little bits and pieces of information I have laying around.

 I use the free version of Evernote.  They also have a premium version.  The premium version allows you to upload a whopping 1 GB a month of data.  The free version allows you to use 60 MB a month to upload.  I’m 9 days away from when my account switches to a new monthly allotment.  I’ve still got 58 MB to go.  If I ever find that I’m starting to max out my free account,  I would definitely switch to the premium service.

If you love to cook, this application can be one of the best tools you’ve ever owned.  Electronic gadgets are creeping more and more into our everyday lives.  Some of these gadgets and devices are big time savers.  Oh and this application works with just about any device, operating system, or browser that’s out there.

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First of all I prefer using the self hosted version of WordPress that can be found on WordPress.org.  Some hosting sites, like GoDaddy, offer it as an additional free option.  There are some things you should be aware of when it comes time to add plugins, update WordPress, and themes.

1. Use caution when getting ready to do any additions or updates.  I learned this the hard way, and I’m not certain that I’ve still learned my lesson.  You can cause your blog to go down if you aren’t careful.  Luckily I’ve been able to solve any of the stupid moves I’ve made.
2.  Backup your WordPress Blog.  This is a wise step especially if you are doing any major updates.  Most of the time if you have a problem you will be able to recover from a catastrophe, but you just never know.
3. Use caution trying out different plugins.  All plugins will not work as expected.  How do I know this?  Experience.  I’m no expert in the technical aspects of how WordPress themes and such work.  I’m just unafraid to try things.  Sometimes that’s good and sometimes that gets me into trouble.  Plugins may not cause a problem at first, but if you notice that your blog page is loading in a painfully slow manner, something is wrong.  It could be a problem with your hosting site, or it could be a plugin that you have installed.  Luckily this is an easy fix.  Start by deactivating all of your plugins, and then activate them one at a time to find the culprit.  When you find the one that is slowing down your site.  Just deactivate and delete it.  More than likely if you feel you need this plugin you’ll be able to find another one that will play nice on your blog site.
4. Beware of spam comments,  Make sure that you have your blog set to review any comments before they are posted.  For some reason spammers love to send comments with links to a lot of different crappy sites.  I was really disappointed when I went into my admin dashboard the other day and had over 700 bogus comments waiting for me to review.  I didn’t even go through them to see if there were any legitimate ones.  I just trashed them all.  Grrrr…  Would anyone in their right mind allow comments to post without reviewing them first?  Give it up spammers!
5. Be prepared to change your theme once in awhile.  There may be a time when you are forced to change your theme.  For instance, if it is no longer compatible with WordPress.  Sometimes themes don’t get updated over time and it may get to the point where you need a new theme.

I like using WordPress.  As far as the look you can achieve, without knowing how to build your blog from the ground up, the choices are top notch.  You can achieve a very professional look while having fun writing what you want.

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It is more important than ever to take your PC security seriously.  One company, that has been around for a long time, has a proven track record of doing just that.  The name of the company is PC Tools.  The company has been around since 1986, and was purchased by Symantec (another trusted name in PC security) in 1994.    They offer both security and performance products.  Their security products include:  To read the full article please go to,    PC Tools Security & Spyware Doctor Review (PCTools.com Coupons)