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Show January 1 03.qxd 12/7/2021 Volume VII Issue VI 3:25 PM Page 13 THE OGDEN VALLEY NEWS Page 13 January 1, 2003 I Cannot Wait For Winter! Tech Talk Presented by: Nicholas Kneipp, Proprietor of Sky Mountain Enterprise–Computer Services I have been thinking about the questions that my customers and friends ask about computers in general. The most popular question is, “What is the best tip for using Windows?” I believe that the single most unknown function of Microsoft Windows is the “Right Mouse Button.” This “little mouse ear,” as my niece calls it, can do things that will save many keystrokes. The official function name for this is a Pop-up Menu. Depending on where the mouse pointer is located, it determines the options in this menu. Usually, there will always be a menu choice of “Properties” for the item that the mouse cursor is pointing at. Other selections might include “Cut,” “Copy,” and “Paste.” By playing with this function you will see many ways to complete the same old tasks with fewer clicks. One other little known use of the Right Mouse Button is to hold down the right button while dragging an item for Copy or Move. Try the right button next time you are dragging and dropping files. You may find a better way that will save space on your hard drive. (It’s called: Create a Shortcut) The little phrase that I was taught is, “When In Doubt, Right Click It Out.” Happy Computing! If you have a question for Tech Talk, send it by e-mail to SkyMtn@networld.com. Skiing is FUN! Fun is the name of the game when it comes to skiing, and here are some tips to make both you and your child smile. Stress can kill the skiing experience before it ever begins, so it is best to start preparing the night before you hit the slopes. Be sure to: Check to make sure that all equipment is in good working condition. Mark for identification, all of your child’s clothing and equipment. Pack up the night before. Get a good night’s sleep. Eat a good breakfast. Give yourself plenty of time to get to the mountain, purchase your lift ticket, and sign up for ski school. Hire a professional to teach your child to ski—they are paid to be patient, and to make sure your child is safe while they’re having fun. A paid professional will help the student develop physical skills, while expanding their enjoyment of the mountain. The goal is to jumpstart the interest in winter fun, to introduce the student to the excitement and thrill of skiing. Spending an hour on the slopes, half an hour sipping hot cocoa in preparation for a ride in the “flying boxes” (gondola), a good snowball fight, or making the perfect snow angel, will all bring a smile to most any three year old. Alternate activities complement the child’s skiing experience, adding to the fun of learning to ski. Teaching children under seven to ski is initially about inspiring them to love the sport and to love outdoor winter fun. When this happens, they will keep coming back time and again, developing the skills and techniques needed to master that perfect turn so they can enjoy a lifetime of skiing fun. Start teaching your children early. Just remember, you must work with the child’s own developmental timetable. At Snowbasin a Sun Valley Resort, we recommend a one-hour private lesson for your three-year-old; private or group lessons for children ages four to six years old; and private or group lessons for children 7 to 11 years old. Group lessons can be two hour, or all day lessons, which includes lunch with the instructor. See you on the mountain! By Drienie Hattingh I sit at my dining room table sipping tea, enjoying a chat with my daughter Brenda who lives in New York. My dog Corrie lies at my feet with his head on his paws. Then, as I take another sip of tea, my eyes focus cross-eyed on the rim of my teacup. I make eyeto-eye contact with a boxelder bug. I walk over to the kitchen sink and pour the tea and the bug down the drain and activate the garbage disposal, without a blink of an eye. I sit down again, ready to resume my conversation. Then I see something out of the corner of my eye, and sit upright as a stifled scream escapes my lips. Brenda stops in mid sentence, wanting to know what is wrong. Between a kitchen cabinet and the wall, a mouse cautiously creeps out of an unbelievably small opening. He surveys the area, looking over to Corrie and me, apparently writing us off as a threat. He scoots over to Corrie’s food bowl and grabs a morsel of the dry dog food, which is almost as big as he. He then scurries back into his hole. I’m speechless! I’m sitting only a foot from the bowl. I tell Brenda what is happening, and she also gives a shriek, from thinking about it. The last couple of days I had been mesmerized by Corrie’s empty food bowl every morning. At first I thought that I’d been mistaken--perhaps there wasn’t any food in the bowl before we went to bed. Then I purposely filled the bowl before going upstairs, and discovered an empty bowl the next morning! I started having “daymares” about what was sneaking food at night! We did not think it could be a teeny mouse because the food morsels were too big, and we did have traps set inside cabinets and under the stove. We’ve had mice before, but the traps were untouched. I had wondered if the squirrel that lived under the patio outside our dining room might have a secret entryway into our house. Then I remembered reading how a boa constrictor had lived, unbeknownst to the occupants, in their house! He’d come out at night and hunt for food. Finally the family pet disappeared! I cautiously checked out every conceivable place for possible snake hideouts, Johan thinking that I’d gone off the deep end. I started closing our bedroom door every night with Johan, Corrie, and me safely inside. As I drifted off to sleep, I blocked out visions of a monstrous snake slithering around our house. So, I was relieved knowing it was a tiny mouse after all. As Brenda and I continue to talk, it came out again, stopped on its way to the bowl, standing on its hind legs, and checked out a boxelder bug on the wall. I gave continuous coverage to Brenda of the mouse’s antics. Corrie did not move during all of this. I guess he knew all about Mr. Mouse and did not object sharing his bowl of food as long as I kept on filling it. I said good-bye to Brenda and filled the now empty bowl after Corrie picked it up and dropped it at my feet. During the rest of the day as I went about my business, watching the little mouse as it emptied the bowl again, starting to feel sad about the sure demise of the little mouse the following night. I’d grown accustomed to the trusting little creature. But, boxelder bugs? No sympathy at all! I’ve seen them on my pillow in the moonlight, and in the stream of boiling water (fully cooked) as I poured it into my teapot and toasted to a perfect brown on my morning toast. I saw them hitching a ride on soapsuds in my exquisitely drawn bubble bath, and millions of them on my sunny front porch during lovely autumn days where I could have sat reading or had lunch with Johan. Through the long hot summer months I learned to hate them with an unbridled passion and invented several methods to try to destroy them. I washed them down from the walls with soapy warm water, as suggested by experts. I’ve emptied tins of poison on them. I’ve brushed them down with a broom and then trampled on them. I’m sure it looked like an enthusiastic rain dance to passers-by. Then I Corrie watches as a mouse eats his food. rejoiced at the sight of them lying silently in the first snow, sure that they must be frozen, only to see them coming back from the dead on warm sunny afternoons. At my wits end, I remembered seeing a flamethrowing contraption somewhere in a movie. I’ll get one of those and burn them! But someone pointed out that that might be illegal—throwing flames around during a drought. Nevertheless, looking at them crawling, flying, and scurrying into my house every time I opened my front door, I couldn’t help but to evilly grin at a mental picture of me standing, legs spread apart, the flame-thrower strapped over my shoulder, burning them to a crisp. While I’m putting Christmas lights and decorations on the porch, I unceremoniously step on them. Johan tries to calm me saying, “When winter arrives they will be gone!” Being a winter loving person, I have more than one reason to look forward to those wonderful winter-wonderland days in Eden. I cannot wait! Spacious 3 bedroom, 3.5 bath, elegant custom home with sweeping Ogden Valley views. Offered at $289,900! Just Listed! Eden horse property. 6 bedroom, 3 bath home on 2.30 acres w/barn. 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