Book Commercials & Misanthropic Observations

Importing Quicken files into Quickbooks, maybe

This is hugely important for anyone with non-business checking accounts who use quick books for home book keeping. I have struggled with this for years and can’t wait to tell Rita Fosterling & JoAnne Blum that I have an answer, maybe- I’m gonna do it myself for a month or 2 first…

Associated Bank, and others, only offer Quicken file downloads from online banking, leaving you unable to import transactions into Quickbooks. I have been importing transactions for years, and have been taking this ease of data entry for granted as I sing the praises of Quickbooks to my friends. BUT I read today online that qfx (Quicken) and qbo (Quickbooks) files are THE SAME- so I downloaded ad qfx, changed the file extension and imported it successfully today.

What remains to be seen is if it has all the same snappy qbo features like smart import, where it doesn’t download the same transaction twice. I will run this process myself for a month or 2 before I declare success.

Stranded Traveler Survival kit

Hannah asked me the other day if I had blogged yet about the day we went to the Buddhist temple- she was there to process it out loud with me and knew I had a lot of thoughts about it. When I said that even though it seems like I have so much time here (being stranded and all) for such a thing it has yet to be QUIET enough in this city to feel like I can get any thoughts in an order understandable to my blogfriends. And she said “That’s exactly how I feel - i want to blog but there is such over stimulation here I can’t process yet.” So Now I have new understanding of why Hannah’s Thailand blog lays fallow…

But I do want to express my appreciation for all that God has taken care of during this strange time and so here is my list of things to pack when you are heading off for an adventure in an unstable country.

1. Family with a strong faith that God is in control - so you don’t have the added pressure of handling their freak out (at least not when you are on skype with them)
2. SKYPE!!!!
3. A hotel reservation in a place gracious enough not to kick you out when you have no place to go: Thank you, Father, that we have a place to stay and please keep all those who are sleeping on airport conveyor belts or under hastily slapped up tents safe, fed, and well.
4. A sister who speaks the language and doesn’t get mad when she must race down to the laundry to translate for you before she is dressed for the day.
5. A place to feel useful in the long days of unknown: Eli is helping in an English class and Brandy is found in the lobby helping students practice conversation and running spelling and vocab drills.
6. A sister who knows how to order strange food to the taste of “farangs” (white people who think they can handle spicy food but really can’t handle Thai people’s idea of “a little spicy”)
7. A video game controller to help Eli fill the time- this is big!
8. Bible
9. A mother who spends time on the phone extracting a guarantee the Northwest will not only replace the canceled flight from Bangkok to Tokyo but ALSO the missed flight from Tokyo to MSP - which isn’t technically covered by the state of emergency.
10. Access to funds from home- REALLY I mean this. There are a lot of desperate people who have run out of money because they only planned to stay a certain length of time and I am not taking this gift for granted.
11. Some one like Andrea Bordeau who is kind enough to run some book keeping tasks at FCC that cannot wait while you talk her through it on the phone.
12. An understanding employer- that’s another big fear I hear about here. Job loss for not returning.
13. A husband who: Answers no matter what time you call, listens when you need him to, laughs for same reason, and makes any phone call he can helping to get you home and extend the length of time your debit card will work in Asia. And holds the puppies up to the camera so you can see them.
14. Prayer
15. Prayer
16. prayer
17. Friends who leave encouragement of facebook and send emails.
18. Friends who feed my husband and check in with him

The list could go on and on- I am so grateful. Thank you, Father. Thank you, friends & family.

Upgrading onOne Phototools Plug-in Suite 4 with Photoshop CS3

I really like Phototools. It has helped me make any image better as I edit things for the media screens at Faith Community, and it’s made my personal photography more fun knowing I can make a decent photo great with a little tweaking later.

So I was excited to hear about the upgrade released in October that would include a whole new series of photoframes and layering options and installed it as soon as I could. BIG mistake- which I confirmed when I went to the Phototools support forum after wondering why in the world my photoshop would simply shut down every time I tried to use Phototools.

Feel free, if you are interested in this issue, to browse the forum yourself for other examples and suggested fixes, but here is what I did after much trial & error.

1. Use the Add/Remove Programs control panel to uninstall Plug-In Suite 4 if you have already upgraded. (if not, skip ahead to where onOne and I diverge instructions)
2. For XP go to C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data
3. If onOne Software is present you will want to delete it.
4. Go to C:\Documents and Settings\Your User\Application Data*
5. If onOne Software is present you will want to delete it
6. C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CS 3 (or CS 4)\Plug-Ins
7. Delete onOne Library.acel.8bx and onOne Library.dll if present.
8. Go to where Photoshop is located at, commonly C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CS 3 (or CS 4)
9. Delete the following dll files
   -CoreFoundation.dll
   -glut32.dll
   -onOneSuiteCheck.dll
   -onOneToolbox2.dll
   -onOneWelcomeDialog.dll
   -onOneWidgets.dll

Up until this point phototools support and I are on the same page, you can find all the above steps on this page

Here is where we diverge:

The update is a complete installer, (which takes FOREVER to download, by the way) and the updated versions of phototools and focal point shut down the program. Well, I don’t need new versions of those programs, I just want the new photoframe layers.

• Reinstall Phototools suite 4 from original disc (or stay where you are if you haven’t upgraded yet)
• Run the upgrade file, but select “custom install”
• Uncheck all boxes except photoframe 4.0.
• Complete the upgrade

You will find that while you only installed photoframe 4.0 that the upgrade installer still removed some files it thinks you don’t need, messing up some of your programs, like focalpoint. So here’s what I did next:

• Re-install the original suite from the disc over the top of everything. Do a complete install as if it was the first time. It will put the missing files back and not harm your upgrade to photoframe 4.0.

Crazy huh? Worked though. I’ll update this post if I find any problems in the near future as I play with the software.

Craig’s list hot tip

Seriously- I don’t even bother with your post unless you add a picture. I’m guessing I’m not alone. Add the picture.

Spammed!

We got hit here at the FCC office yesterday, and the email replicated itself until FCC reached it’s SMTP relay limit, locking all staffers out of outgoing emails for 24 hours. We don’t know who took the original hit.

I got this email today, with a zip file called e-ticket attatched:

Dear customers,
Thank you for using our new service “Buy airplane ticket Online” on our website.
Your account has been created:

Your login: bdopkins@fcchudson.com
Your password: PASSHZPW

Your credit card has been charged for $901.75.
We would like to remind you that whenever you order tickets on our website you get a discount of 10%!
Attached to this message is the purchase Invoice and the airplane ticket.
To use your ticket, simply print it on a color printed, and you are set to take off for the journey!

Kind regards,
Northwest Airlines

I googled it and found the scoop here. Maybe this is what happened yesterday? Someone understandably freaked out about a charge on their credit card and clicked the zip file in a panic?

Fishless cycling

I found this on wisegeek.com

Fishless cycling is the process of cycling a tank, or establishing a biological filter in a fishless aquarium.

The biological filter, or nitrogen cycle, naturally occurs over the first 4-6 weeks after a tank is set up. Cycling a tank is necessary to keep the water free of pollutants and the fish healthy, but while the filter is establishing itself, fish are exposed to toxic levels of ammonia and nitrite and often succumb to disease and death. Fishless cycling removes fish from harm by establishing the biological filter before fish are introduced to the aquarium.

Normally, when fish are added to a new aquarium, even though the water is clean, ammonia begins to build immediately, as fish release ammonia through breathing and waste. Uneaten food, and decaying plants also create ammonia. However, ammonia is necessary to start the nitrogen cycle — the first step in establishing a biological filter.

In January 1999 Chris Cow who holds a PhD in organic chemistry, posted a paper online regarding fishless cycling. He got the simple idea to add ammonia to a fishless aquarium in order to get the nitrogen cycle going. This not only saves fish, but it saves the aquarist from stress as well.

At this point all of the normal phases of the biological filter can be triggered without worry. Ammonia levels can soar, followed by toxic levels of nitrite, until, finally, both become neutralized. With the tank fully cycled any ammonia created by adding fish will now quickly be converted to harmless nitrate by the established colonies of positive bacteria that make up the biological filter.

Chris Cow’s experiment worked wonderfully, and has been used by countless aquarists since.

To use the fishless cycling method simply add 4-5 drops of pure ammonia per 10 gallons of water to a fishless tank. Do this once a day until nitrite becomes measurable. At that point cut back to 2-3 drops per 10 gallons of water, per day. When nitrite and ammonia are both at zero, and nitrate is measurable, the tank is cycled. A substantial water change of 25% or more is advised, then your tank is ready for a full complement of fish.

Only pure ammonia, without detergents or colors, should be used. Ammonia with additives will foam up when you shake the bottle. Pure ammonia will not foam.

A simple declorinator/de-chloraminer is recommended while cycling fishless, rather than products like Prime or AmQuel that sequester ammonia by converting it to non-toxic ammonium. The concern is that sequestered ammonia may be harder for bacteria to process, and therefore could slow down the establishment of the bacteria. Once the biological filter is established, adding products like Prime and AmQuel are excellent and will not hamper the biofilter.

Biofilter bacteria thrives at about 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius). If you turn up your tank’s heater while cycling fishless, the tank can cycle in as little as 7-10 days. Be sure to turn the heater back down when the nitrogen cycle is complete, and allow the water time to reach the desired temperature before adding fish.

The great advantage of fishless cycling is that it is humane and stress-free.

Random QuickBooks tip

After upgrading to QuickBooks 2009 when I downloaded web connect files, I kept getting the same error: no new transactions found. Strange and frustrating.

I tried this and it worked: disable the online services for the account and re-import the web connect file, selecting the correct account again. Worked fine after that.

Update:

Don’t bother-once you have done all that to even get the import to work you find yourself in a poorly thought out interface that doesn’t even allow you to add a new vendor name while adding the transaction. You end up actually having to go into the transaction late and trying to remember the vendor based on the $ amount. Stick with 2008 for now.

Adobe bridge acting cranky

Refusing to show random video files, and giving me an error about not allowing keywords.

Answer: Clear Cache in preferences. Worked like a charm.

This one is for Porter

When you get your new Dell XT and you try to use it in portrait mode you may get an error. Go to Microsoft updates, > optional updates > hardware-and download a new driver for your graphics Card. Works like a charm.

Outlook 2007 slow?

Lately at work we have been very frustrated at the slow startup speeds for outlook- I came across this today and it significantly improved the start up.

In Outlook: tools/trust center/addins. then click on “go…” at the bottom.  Uncheck any outlookaddins you don’t need.