The Man on the Corner

For the last two years, I have watched an older man play guitar on the street corner by my house. He is there every day with his stuffed monkeys and a smile on his face. I have heard people say that this man is homeless, begging for money, and adding to the decay of our race. But I happen to know a few things about this person...

Though I do not know his name, I do know where he lives. And it is nicer than my place! He has also never asked for money. I have seen things to make me think he is a retired Vet, but I don't know for certain. The gentleman only wants to play for people. That is all. As people drive by the busy street, he merely waves, flashes a peace sign, and continues playing.

As a family member and I were driving past the other day, the man was out again, in literally dumping rain, still playing his guitar and smiling for us all. My passenger looked at him and said, "Wouldn't it be funny if that man was some sort of Angel or Divine Soul." Truth be known, he probably is. All those people pass him day in and day out, thinking he is begging for their 'hard earned money' when they are refusing to see what is so clearly standing before them.

So many people wish someone or something would come in and change the world, yet there is a man on my block doing just that. He may not be super wealthy, or dress in the latest fashions, but he always has a smile and a tune waiting for you. Isn't that--not following in what society says he 'should' be doing--changing the world?

Just a thought! :-)

The Synopsis

This could just be me, but seriously... I have been working on my synopsis now for months, and it is driving me insane. The problem, really, is that I have no idea how long it should be.

Some websites I have been to say they want it under two pages, which to me, sounds best. I know if I was reading a ton of them a day, I surely would not want to be reading upwards of ten pages. No way... But there are others who want them longer, or don't specify how long they should be.

I have come up with this solution, and please, anyone with input feel free to comment! :-)

The synopsis I plan on sending out mostly is the two pager. This is for the same reason I stated before. It is short, straight forward, and will hopefully give the reader a good idea of the storyline. The longer version I have will be reserved for those who request a longer synopsis. Though it definitely has much more detail than the two page one, it is also over ten pages.

If any of you have experience with the synopsis process, what do you think?

All Apps are NOT Created Equal...

Recently, government has been debating the issue of apps on mobile devices. The issue is that people who use android services can download apps through the android market for free. Sounds great to me, right? And who doesn't love open source programming?

(For all of you who do not know what open source means, basically that means I can go get the code to the android software for free, and from it make my own apps to use with my android device.)

So where's the problem???

Apparently, some people don't understand what that means and think that anything they are downloading from the android market is safe and android approved. That is not the case. You never want to download anything that asks for credit cards, bank accounts, or anything personal like that. People are gaining access to other's bank accounts by coming up with apps to do online banking. Thus, if I download and input my information, whoever created that app now has all they need to wipe out my bank account.

There are safe ways to get apps, that are not as much of a concern. Here are some things that I do to protect my personal information...

1. If you want to use an app for your banking, or to pay bills, you must go to their 'official' website and download the app from there. You can even speak with an operator to see if there have been any security issues with the app.

2. Some apps, like kindle, do ask for a credit card number, but as I said, make sure you download it from the kindle store, not just the android market.

3. Read the comments and warnings under the download section of the market, they really do offer good feedback.

4. Last, make sure you put a password on your actual device. I know it's a pain, but most people I know use their phones or tablets to pay bills, read email, even watch netflix, and all these things store passwords. Once someone can get into your email, they can see where your bank statements are sent and do a password reset. Granted, they would still have a safe guard or two to get past, but it's not that difficult to find maiden names or birthplaces when you already have so much personal info. on someone. If you password or use a swipe code to protect these items, the only way to get into it if stolen is to wipe it clean and install knew software, also wiping out any traces of your personal information.

So people, please, let's be smart about these things. :-) Research 'before' you use it, because the last thing anyone needs is for the government to have another reason to take over control of the Internet and technology! Happy androiding all!