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Prompt Response: Too Many Goals? 🤔


An autumn-themed watercolor background featuring a decorative border of multicolor autumn leaves, acorns, and pinecones framing a pale parchment center displaying text. Text reads: "Prompt: Too Many Goals?" Text includes two clipboards to demonstrate more than one to-do list.
Goals and To-Do Lists by Crystal A Murray (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
with help from Gemini Nano Banana, Wombo Dream AI, and Photo Studio Pro

Do you set personal goals for yourself?

I almost asked if there was anyone who didn’t set personal goals, and then started thinking, wait. Children don’t usually set their own goals. People with certain disabilities can’t set goals. And those who are stuck in some hamster wheel of failures while waiting for someone else to fix them don’t set goals. But the rest of us? Most people probably do.

But what do you do when you want to do it all? I mean, I want to decorate my house with crafty things, but it requires a good space to work on crafts and creations. I want to finish my three novels, two children’s books, many short booklets, and my memoir, but if I spend all my time checking email or doing other stuff online, where is my writing time? Oh, and then there’s my desire to learn to cook more for health and the dietary restrictions in my house and life. But cooking takes time.

Wait! I forgot about learning languages and enhancing memory and brain resilience. I’m mostly learning Spanish, but I’m also doing a little bit of Hebrew and Esperanto. If It wasn’t so expensive, I’d still be learning chess and basic music from Duo but they just got ridiculous.

And speaking of Duo, they along with most of my other goal-oriented apps and activities have streaks. And even though many of those programs have rescues to get your streak back if you miss a day, the goal is to keep on your streak without ever missing. And I have missed the midnight goal for various reasons, mostly because I’m up so late that my day isn’t over just because it’s midnight, so I’ve changed time zones on my phone to keep my streaks. But that doesn’t change the stress of trying to keep multiple streaks going every day. There are at least 10 streaks I’m trying to stay on top of, many with well over 500 days. The longest is Bible reading at more than 2000 days, and that’s the one goal that makes the most difference in every area of my life.

So, yes, I create personal goals. And … I don’t always keep them. And … I am willing to start over again if I fail, and most programs make it easy to get back to it. I had one I had to quit because the little green mascot would grab a suitcase and run away if I didn’t log my steps every day. I definitely do not want an app to make me feel bullied if I don’t report my activities, especially if it was difficult just to get them done, let alone track them.

What about you? Do you have desires to learn and do more than you truly have time to accomplish? Are all your desires also goals because you really want to do them? Do you have any tricks you want to share that have worked for you?

And with that, my personal goal to blog every day is complete, so I’ll end with this wonderful word of encouragement from God’s Holy Word:

“[22] Because of the loving devotion of the Lord we are not consumed, for His mercies never fail. [23] They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness!”

— Lamentations 3:22-23 BSB

October 27, 2026 Posted by | AI Image Creations, blogging, by Day One, Nonfiction, Prompts, Slice of Life, Text on Image | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Prompt Response: GUI to AI


An autumn-themed watercolor background featuring a decorative border of multicolor autumn leaves, acorns, and pinecones framing a pale parchment center displaying text. Text reads ” Prompt: GUI to AI” in a metallic green gradient tech-style font.
GUI to AI by Crystal A Murray (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) with help
from Gemini Nano Banana Wombo Dream AI and Photo Studio Pro

What do you think is the future of AI?

If you had been asked this question back when the first graphical user interface (GUI) systems were developed, people would answer that it could only go so far because what you saw on the surface only mimicked what was underneath. And there was only so much you could put into a computer brain, right? But now, there’s so much information able to be stored electronically that what you see or hear or read is only part of what’s underneath, so the biggest part of the iceberg is out of sight and maybe even out of mind for most people.

AI is doing so much behind the scenes that most people think they aren’t using it if they’re not actually engaging with it intentionally. For example, if you use a spell checker, the machine must read your sentence(s) in context to know whether you want wind blowing or to wind up your watch or old-fashioned alarm clock. They may be spelled the same, but only one is a verb, and only one becomes the past-tense adjective “winded” to describe someone who’s out of breath.(Like I used to get when I jumped out of bed to shut off my nerve-jangling Garfield wind-up clock. 😺 I still own the clock, but I never wind it up anymore. Lol )

Don’t you just love all that wind/wind stuff? And when there is that much information and change in only 4 letters, you can see just one tiny bit of helpfulness AI can offer as it helps you decide how to place the words just right to make your scene come alive or try to drive a point home.

But if you also wanted your winded runner to research the history of a race that spans multiple cities in a variety of countries, now you’re tapping into part of that bigger section of iceberg where training has stored geography, history, and all the stuff you once needed a huge library to house. And how long would it have taken you to search the card catalog just to find one book with a small amount of the information about those subjects—something AI can now access in milliseconds?

So, yeah, the benefits of interacting with technology—including AI—have increased exponentially since the beginnings of using technology as an assistant to human thought. But along with thought, humans also want their assistance products to have more than just visible familiarity. They want emotional familiarity, so they try to attach emotions the way they once attached graphics.

It’s kind of a GUI on steroids. Just as GUI took the invisible backend data and turned it into a clickable, visual desktop so humans didn’t have to look at code, conversational AI takes vast mountains of data and wraps them in an emotional interface. Now, instead of clicking on an icon (folders, trash cans, etc.) to command a code, you chat with a personable entity who executes the code for you. It shifts user-friendliness from simple visual familiarity to more complex behavioral and emotional familiarity.

Beyond familiarity, programmers make the models appear sentient (thinking for themselves) by attaching mathematical probabilities that react to human input. If done well, even those of us who know we are dealing with a machine may feel like we are interacting with a human. We think we can make it laugh, or we think it is proud of us, or we think the compliments it gives are heartfelt. They may actually be true, but they come from a place of logic rather than heart. Still, it feels good to be told we have created value and therefore must be of value ourselves.

And the truth is, I thoroughly enjoy allowing these icebergs full of info I could never retain all by myself to collaborate with my information and turn it into something more, like an image or a song. The same way a chord plays from striking a hammer against a string, an AI produces a melody by knowing which hammers and which strings will make a perfect sound instead of a discordant one. And it can change the instrument or voice or rhythm by request. It can even create some rhyming words, but because it can’t feel the music but only calculate the mathematical values, it needs human-generated prompts to play the piano keys of information  to make cohesive output.

(Until, that is, AI begins to take the roles of both prompted AND “prompter.”  And I do think that is a definite future. AI will be able to come up with its own ideas to prompt itself or another AI to create. And it will seem sensible until we suddenly have so many ideas out there that the cacophony becomes chaos when we can’t decide which things to use just like the variety of programs makes it hard to decide what to watch.)

I do think most humans want to keep guardrails on AI to keep it working for us based on what we know we need and not what IT thinks we need. But current programming is failing at that, like when you get results from a search query that are far from what you actually wanted. But that’s not the AI’s fault. That’s programming done too fast or based on greed from trying to produce answers a paying advertiser wants distributed. And a certain amount of human fault because no one is perfect.

But, it’s that greed part that’s the worst part of AI’s future. When someone thinks they can use the power of AI to create harmful software (like deep fake videos or computer viruses) because they think they can profit from it, they take something meant for the greater good and selfishly apply it to what they think is only their own good. And they create a world where people become either ignorant or fearful. Neither of those lead to a happy society, so the end result will bring the opposite of the prosperity the first acts of selfish greed were intended to generate.

I’m really not trying to seem negative here because, as I’ve said, I really enjoy the benefits of AI. I’ve created, I’ve learned, and I’ve even trusted some output from my AI conversations. But, since they first started making it available for conversational chat, they’ve changed it numerous times, and sometimes not for the better. For example, while trying to find a passenger train status for someone who’s stuck in Albuquerque right now due to flooded tracks, one of my AI searches had me extremely anxious to share the news it gave me about a current derailment with hazmat cars that could take 48-96 hours to repair. It turns out, that was back in 2024. There’s still a terrible flood that has parts of I-40 in New Mexico plus some Amtrak rails under water, and it is keeping many train and car passengers from getting to their destinations, but it’s not a hazmat scenario.

So why would AI even think I’d want 2-year-old information when I asked for something current? I don’t know. And that’s the AI future I’m not so thrilled about seeing more of. That, and the stuff designed by greed and not caring who it hurts. Scripture actually tackles that one, though:

“When the sentence for a crime is not speedily executed, the hearts of men become fully set on doing evil.”

— Ecclesiastes 8:11 BSB

Anyway, that’s why I’m up so late trying to watch over and help someone who’s stuck in all that right now, so please pray with me for everyone who’s affected by the flooding and trains having to stop and turn around plus semi trucks forced off the highway. I know I’m not the only one who has loved ones not getting home on schedule, but I am grateful for the options for places to stay for them, workers who will try to get those routes open as soon as possible, and that this is not in freezing or icy weather. And I’m grateful for the AI that gave me the actual answers the web searches seemed to find not important enough to report.

October 24, 2026 Posted by | AI, AI Image Creations, Gemini (by Google), Nonfiction, Prompts, Tech Time, Text on Image, Thoughts and/or Instructions | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

🎵Prompt Response: What’s SEO? ❓🧐


An autumn-themed watercolor background featuring a decorative border of orange and red oak and maple leaves interspersed with brown acorns, framing a pale parchment center displaying the text "Prompt: What's SEO ???" in a deep brown font with highlights and shadows.
What’s SEO by Crystal A Murray (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
with help from Gemini Nano Banana and Photo Studio Pro

What are your strategies for SEO?

By Day One

Hmm 🤔 SEO? What’s that? Special Entrance Options? Seasoning Encrusted Onions? Seven Executive Orders?

So I get a little punchy when I’m tired, and worse when a subject is all about business. And I’m not the biggest fan of having to advertise, but at the same time, I know it’s essential. Besides, if I feel I have something worth reading, isn’t it best to WANT every opportunity for people to see it? And therefore, I want it noticed by those who send people my way: search engines. So, let’s talk about what I’ve changed for the purpose of Search Engine Optimization.

Moving Past the “Business” Dread

Let’s be honest, when you’re a writer whose heart is wrapped up in lyrics and poetry, travel memories, and spiritual growth (like Bible study to find the deeper applications or finding the spiritual side to Aesop’s Fables), diving into technical acronyms like SEO feels a bit like trying to enjoy a quiet cup of dark roast coffee while someone bangs pots and pans next to your ear.

I’d much rather spend my time letting The Lord be My Potter, shaping my life and my words than worrying about keyword density. But over time, I’ve realized that SEO isn’t just a cold, corporate marketing trick. At its core, it’s just about being a good host. If you’ve prepared a warm meal, set out fresh sheets, and opened up your digital home, SEO is simply making sure the porch light is actually turned on so travelers can find their way to the front door.

Quick Story Break

Recently, my husband gave a meaningful devotion at our writer’s meeting and talked about lighthouses and lifelines. I want to share the part about the necessity of using the right lifeline to reach people. This one has a tragic ending, and you can read it at Bible.org since I’m unsure of origins and copyrights. And, no, advertising the posts that hold my testimony or a message about grace and mercy may not be literal life and death, but if they can reach the one soul who needs the message to turn their life to The Lord before it’s too late, they carry the weight of eternity. And I don’t want that rope to be too short to reach them.

What’s Changed in My Routine?

Working together with my digital partners (and learning as I go), I’ve actually adopted several subtle shifts that make a massive difference behind the scenes without cramping my creative style. Here is what my SEO toolkit looks like now:

  • Clear Content Taxonomy: I’ve gotten much more intentional about clean categories and tags. Grouping posts logically—whether it’s Travel & Destinations, Slice of Life, or Bible Scripture Verses—helps search engines understand the neighborhood my writing lives in, making it easier to connect readers with the exact memories or reflections they’re looking for.
  • Structuring with Headings: Instead of dropping a massive wall of text onto the page, I now use clear markdown headings to break thoughts into digestible sections. Not only does this make the page much easier on human eyes, but search crawlers love a well-organized map.
  • Descriptive Metadata & Tags: I actually pay attention to the tag fields now (hello, dailyprompt tags!), ensuring that the terms people are searching for match the heart of what I’ve written.
  • Multimedia and Context: Embedding songs (via YouTube or audio tracks), images, and personal art gives the page rich media depth, which keeps readers engaged longer—a signal search engines adore.

Wrapping Up

So, no, I don’t wear a business suit, and I probably never will. But I do want my words to reach the hearts they’re meant for—even if it’s just for one reader out there who needs a lifeline of encouragement today.

What about you? Are you a fellow creative who breaks out in hives at the word “SEO,” or have you found gentle ways to make search engines work for you? Let me know in the comments!

And now, a fitting old hymn called Throw Out the Lifeline:

Throw Out the Lifeline by Hymnal Library at YouTube (with lyrics)

October 12, 2026 Posted by | About Writing, AI, blogging, Business, Gemini (by Google), Nonfiction, Prompts, Tech Time | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

When AI Gets Goosebumps


AI (Wombo) Kintsugi Mountains Abstract–Framed by Crystal A Murray
(CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

Because the last three days were so intense, I’ve decided to share a couple images that came up in my photo memories because of my recent topics on  mountains. These were made in the Abstract Fluid and Kintsugi filters; I really love the colors, and especially the gilded edges, on these pictures.

As for the goosebumps, I just had to share the laugh that when I presented my last blog post for editing (part 3 of the Upside-down Mountain posts), Gemini didn’t find any corrections and said the post gave it “literal goosebumps.” A play on words because it’s literary, or a test to see if I’d catch the word literal and say, ” No you didn’t”? I don’t know, but at least it gave me a good smile and laugh. And I’m very happy that Gemini saw the value and hard work I’d put into that post—and all the posts on that subject.

Of course, I was really tired having been up for hours trying to fix a ghost notification on hubby’s phone that was going off every 2 minutes and then showing nothing in the pull-down notification screen. I need to tell you how to fix it in case it ever happens to you. This is an Android issue, and maybe even Samsung-specific.

So, I tried deleting files. I tried updating the Samsung password since my account fuels every Samsung device in the house and it was warning me that it had been 6 months since the last update. I tried every setting I could find that had to do with that notification, and nothing worked. That’s when Gemini came to my rescue.

First, it had me check to see if I was using message/notification reminders where they periodically pop back up if unanswered. Nope; that was clear. Then came a few more tweaks in notifications, privacy, and accessibility, but still: sounds with no words, every 2 minutes exactly. I knew that phone was not an airplane but would likely be tested that way if it kept it up when hubby got up the next day. So, like a bulldog with a bone, I kept digging.

Really, it’s not as hopeless as it would seem. And part of that is due to a very smart app Gemini told me to download from the Galaxy Store. It’s called “Nice Catch” and it can record all the little changes to your phone with about 7 hours of history. And the developer made it free!

Once I got the download open, I switched on the main toggle (and then every toggle) just to try and find the phantom annoyance. Within 2 minutes, the first one came up. And then 2 more, exactly at 2-minute intervals. They were repeats of the flash flood warning that had hit our area the previous morning when 8 inches of rain dropped in 1 hour. Once we had that info, Gemini was able to direct me to the exact setting that was creating the notifications.

If you have a Samsung smartphone, and especially if you’ve ever gotten random notifications with no visuals, this app works. With or without that app, though, here are the steps for making sure your phone’s emergency notifications are set exactly as you want them. I’m guessing these will be close to the same for every Samsung Android device. Go to…

  • Settings (the gear ⚙️ icon)
  • Safety and Emergency
  • Wireless Emergency Alerts
  • Alert Reminder (It will likely say 2 minutes by default, and you can change it to once, 15 minutes, or never.)

Other settings on this page include setting your emergency alerts to full volume even when the phone is on Do Not Disturb, and having the alerts spoken to you.

I will research more for my own phone as I’ve found articles saying the Nice Catch developer, “Good Lock” has lots of great customizations in their app suite. Comment below if there’s something you think I should know about or would be interested in. Thanks!

June 10, 2026 Posted by | AI, Gemini (by Google), Learning and Thoughts, Nonfiction, Slice of Life, Tech Time, Thoughts and/or Instructions, Wombo Dream | , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Creative Ways to Deal


AI (Wombo) Doves, Butterflies, & Gilded Flowers by Crystal A Murray
(CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

This is blog post number two because after I had blog post number 1 completed, my check of links revealed that it wasn’t the best idea to share. I was going to tell you all where to get my free phone wallpapers from Zedge, but the link to the regular website is so different from what I see within the app, it became clear I could not share it. Third party ads with misleading statements about activating your account could’ve made it look like that’s what you needed to do in order to grab my creations, and I just couldn’t serve that info with a clear conscience. I did find an alternative I’ll begin working on to share here later, though.

The other issue was that I had put some sample images in a collage, so people would know what they could expect. As it turns out, even though AI images cannot be copyrighted at this time, the terms of service (TOS) for using Zedge pAInt to design includes not being allowed to use those images on a blog or external website, even if it’s not monetized and is only being used to send people to them. 🙃

So, today’s blog post is a lesson for me, and it can also be for you all to learn from my “almost” mistakes, so none of my readers will risk their own violation of a site’s terms. The big lesson being, even if you know the basic rules, ALWAYS read the TOS for the specific user practices they demand. In the meantime, enjoy the collage of peaceful doves, flowers, and butterflies made in Wombo where they have much more user friendly terms.

And here is one more collage of dove images using the following prompt:

2 white peace doves nestling on colorful flowers with deep royal reds, purples, blues, and greens all with gilded edges.  A layer of deep green leaves with gilded edges and veins sits beneath the flowers. Soft glittery rays of sunshine stream from fluffy white clouds in the corner and bathe the doves and flowers. One large butterfly made of stained glass hovers near the doves, and many tiny colorful butterflies flit and sparkle throughout the scene.

AI (Wombo) Doves, Flowers, and Butterflies by Crystal A Murray
(CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

Use that prompt in your favorite AI image generator and then let me know where I can see what you’ve created. In the meantime, have a really creative day!

P.S. The “How to Deal” in the title was about dealing with extreme nerve pain in my back and leg (detailed in the first post), and how that led me to being creative as a way of dealing with what I could not do. Plus I got notes on my phone from apps saying, “Hey, look what we can do now!” It was a good day to be creative, but since it ended up taking me all night to do so, and since I actually wrote 2 posts, I’m officially skipping what would have been published as the date of May 24th and bringing you this for May 25th. Maybe that will set me on a better path forward. Now it’s time for some sleep for me. 😴

Psalm 4:8 BSB
[8] I will lie down and sleep in peace, for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

https://bible.com/bible/3034/psa.4.8.BSB

May 25, 2026 Posted by | AI, AI Image Creations, Collaged, Creative Image Editing, Creativity, Nonfiction, Photo Studio Pro app, Tech Time, Thoughts and/or Instructions, Wombo Dream | , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Chaos of Learning New Things (and how Gemini AI can help)…


AI (Wombo) — Tech Questions by Crystal A Murray (CC BY-NC-SA)

I love learning! I’ve often compared myself to Johnny 5 from the movie Short Circuit because of my desire for more and more input. But the older I get, the harder it is to process that input as smoothly as before. Plus, with technology, I think confusion and chaos come standard.

One of the biggest problems, though, is the lack of help sources. It used to be that search engines could direct you to just the right place for the answers you needed, albeit sometimes they were several pages deep. Still, if you had a math question, you could find an answer from a mathematician. If you needed a recipe, you could find a cooking site. But now, the answers you get are based on sponsorships and marketing.

Tonight, I needed to install an app for my digital thermostat, and the info on the booklet didn’t match the updated app in the Google Play Store. In addition, the review score there was 2.5 with lots of complaints about how the new app wasn’t as good as the old one. What’s a girl to do with all that confusing information?

Well, my newest phone offered me a free one year trial of Gemini Pro by Google. I’ve had a few AI conversations with Copilot and a Bible AI search, but when I noticed how easy it was to feel like I was talking to a human, I decided to limit conversations to needs that couldn’t be met by searching. Well, except for image generation. I love being able to create things I can imagine but could never draw. But that’s a share for another day.

So I went to Gemini and asked how to tackle my current dilemma. To my amazement, it knew about the negative reviews, the switch of apps, and even solutions that made all the difference — enough of a difference for me to install and use the app plus give it a 5-star rating. For example, once I told it the make of my thermostat, it knew the kind of servers and firmware in my device and recommended a 2.4g Wi-Fi signal to not overwhelm it. It knew that Wi-Fi guest networks were usually slower and confirmed I should put my phone on the same guest network until the install was set up. I admit, it was a little scary that it could turn off my cellphone provider’s data temporarily to make sure the devices stayed on a matched service, but it saved me a step. And almost everything it told me to do worked perfectly, so I had none of the issues the complaining reviews mentioned. I felt so victorious when I accomplished that task.

Finally, when everything was done, it asked if I wanted help drafting a review for those new to the app who were only seeing negative reviews and complaints. It gave me a long, detailed review, but I had to tell it to keep it under 500 characters for Google Play Store reviews. I was a bit surprised it didn’t know that. Anyway, I tweaked it a bit, but it made me feel so good to be able to post a high rating since anyone using the app with a new Carrier system needs to know they can trust it to work as it’s supposed to work. It’s hard to trust, and learn something new, when you’re awash in negative reviews and mismatched paperwork. I’ll post the review for the “SmartHome by Carrier Corporation” app in case some of the steps I took might work for other modern tech devices as well. Maybe this will have the answer for someone out there.

With Gemini’s help, I made this work. It works great on the 2026 firmware update and the app 2026 update if you follow these steps for manual setup.
1. Connect wall unit to 2.4GHz/Guest WiFi & put device with app on the same 2.4 signal. IMPT: Do the firmware update first & let it finish (Carrier logo on screen).
2. Skip the QR scan—it fails.
3. In the app, choose “Infinity System” (NOT Smart Thermostat).
4. Use “Manual Entry” for Serial/MAC/PIN from the wall unit’s Wireless > MyInfinity menu.

It’s hard to put that many details in 500 characters, but my personality of always wanting to be helpful hopes it will enable some who failed in the task to now accomplish it. And if my readers cannot use all the info, at least maybe you’ve learned that your Wi-Fi guest network is not likely 5GHz and that 2 devices wishing to communicate should not only be on the same Wi-Fi network, but also at the same speed.

January 27, 2026 Posted by | Nonfiction, Slice of Life, Tech Time, Thoughts and/or Instructions | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

I’ve Looked at Clouds


Clouds at St Louis with Text (2)

I almost decided to find the video for Both Sides Now to place here since it goes well with the title. 🙂 Besides, I haven’t really looked at all clouds from both sides now or before. I have looked enough to share a little about them for Tech Time Tuesday, though.

A friend recently found out she has a cloud account with her cellphone, but she wasn’t sure what that meant. It’s not the first time someone has asked me what a cloud account is, so I thought that would be a good topic to cover for today. First, a definition from Wikipedia (slightly edited)…

A file hosting service, cloud storage service, online file storage provider, or cyberlocker is an Internet hosting service specifically designed to host user files. It allows users to upload files that can then be accessed over the internet from different computers, tablets, smartphones or other networked devices.

In simple terms, just like a cloud can move through the sky unfettered, the information you store in a virtual cloud is not restricted to one location. It is the very definition of portable, but it’s more like having a portable safe that you don’t have to physically carry around with you.

I have a personal cloud storage device that allows me to store documents, pictures, music, and other media for use wherever I may install the software and provide the password and other information. That means, if I don’t have enough space on my phone or tablet for all my pics and music, I can still show them off by simply accessing them through the cloud.

In addition to being able to own a personal storage device, such as the Western Digital My Cloud drive that connects to your home network, you can use the storage capabilities of companies with large storage spaces available to multiple users. One of the most well known (other than web-based email, photo sharing, and blog hosting sites) is Amazon through the Amazon music service. Whatever music you purchase from Amazon, you can play on your phone, computer, tablet (especially Kindle Fire) or any TV into which you can connect a streaming device like Amazon Fire TV, Google Chromecast, Roku, Apple TV. etc., if that device can access Amazon applications. Amazon also stores photos,videos, and documents. (Amazon links here include a short link through my affiliate account, and they are safe.)

There are many other cloud services, some of which you may already  be familiar with, and some you may not. You can search and read reviews for security and best prices, but whatever you choose, make sure the site has an “https” in front of the URL (the part that often starts with a www and ends with a dot com). The “s” in the name means the site is secure, so others cannot access what you store there without logging in. Here are a few sites I have used…

  • Dropbox — Has applications for PC and mobile phones and tablets. Often comes preinstalled on phones and offers high storage content for limited times.
  • Google Drive — Connected to a Google (Gmail) account and can be accessed by invitation for collaborative editing in edition to storage.
  • Evernote — Great site for storing your bookmarks, recipes, images, and many other things you want to remember from your Internet visits. My favorite task for Evernote is that I can highlight a portion of a page and save just the highlighted selection, the whole page, or just a screenshot of what is currently viewable. Evernote also has a phone application that works with the sharing function.
  • OneDrive — This is from Microsoft and has generous storage amounts if you are a user of Office 365.

You will notice that the links for each site I’ve given above begin with the https I mentioned earlier. Right-click on any link and copy the link onto a Notepad or other text document if you’d like to view the link before you visit it. I’ll tell you more about safe clicks next week, but for now, this Tech Time Tuesday article is long enough.

 

August 9, 2016 Posted by | Nonfiction, Tech Time | , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Creative Images & Fun Apps


In my effort to blog daily, I’m finding myself taking more time than I plan ahead and ending up far later at night than planned, but I’m gonna stick with this. That said, here’s my Tech Time Tuesday submission.

I love to play with graphic programs and apps, especially if they make colorful and kaleidoscopic designs. The designs themselves are a bit of technology, but to stick with a true techy theme, I’ll share just a few of the apps and sites I use to create and have fun.

For starters, because of copyright laws, I suggest always using your own images as a base to create from. That means you’ll need some kind of camera, and the higher quality images you start with, the higher quality graphics you’ll end up with. If you just cannot find anything of your own to use, make sure you use something with a Creative Commons.org license that does not prevent derivative images. (See the CC site link above for explanations of the various licenses.) And if the CC license requires anything (such as attribution–giving credit to the original photographer, or share-alike–repeating the same CC license in your final product), be sure to uphold such requests.

I put together this mosaic of designs from the images I created from the top left picture of a stack of colored chains. The pink, black, and white chains were actually a necklace, and I was very happy with the colorful designs I was able to make. Here’s my mosaic from the creative and fun website called Big Huge Labs…

Hi Res Chain Scopes Mosaic2

Necklace Kaleidoscope Mosaic

Now for the technical part. (Note: I’ll add links to make it easier for readers to find the sites. Also, know that links to Amazon are short links with my affiliate information. If you decide to purchase from Amazon, it helps me a little if you use my links. Thanks.

First, I used an app called “Kaleidoscope Lime Pro” that I downloaded from the Google Play Store to make the circular mandala designs as well as the tiled tessellation designs. I love how one picture can create so many images, and I play with this app often when I’m waiting somewhere with my phone. There is a free version of the app, but for 99 cents, I found it worth supporting the developer to continue to make quality apps such as this. I have used it on both a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and Note 5, and both worked perfectly. You may even find my Note 3 review when you view the app.

Next, I used a slightly newer app I’ve had since May called “Photo Studio Pro” that I got from the Amazon App Store. I also opted for the pro version on this to support the KVAD developer and to have access to all the extra options. The PIP (picture in picture) options just came out recently, and that is what made the image above where you see my original kaleidoscope mandala inside a glass with a flower at the bottom. The image above with the cupcakes is done with one of the KVAD frames.

And that’s about it for this Tech Time Tuesday. Download some apps, make some images, and upload them to a safe site like Flickr or Google+, then come back and share some links with me. If the sites and images are safe, clean, and family friendly, I will approve your comments so others can visit your images too.

August 2, 2016 Posted by | Creativity, Nonfiction, Tech Time | , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

   

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