Those who have tried have discovered that clicking “save as” and selecting the PDF option does not necessarily produce a document that is faithful to what you saw on the screen in MS Word.  Here’s a short list of potential problems:

• fuzzy pictures that look over compressed and pixellated.
• unacceptable font substitutions.
• mixed RGB and CMYK color modes. (Commercial printing requires CMYK)
• Lines and marks that should have been hidden by opaque layers show because of transparency issues.
• Text overflows in text boxes.

Continue reading →

Often we have lists of email addresses saved in spreadsheet format.  You want to copy the list of addresses into the address form for your email program, but when you try to paste they are not recognized as valid email addresses.  Usually, the problem is a missing comma to separate the addresses. The email program expects “comma separated values” when a series of addresses are pasted.  But the addresses from the spreadsheet are separated by spaces and a hidden new-line character which the email program ignores. Continue reading →

News of the largest recall of a consumer product ever hit the papers today. Sure enough, when I checked our food processor it had one of the defective blades and, as you can see in the photo below, it was cracked.

It would be only a matter of time before the piece between the rivets broke free and got chopped up in the food.  So if you have a Cuisinart food processor,look at the blade to see if it has rivets. If it does, go to this web page and follow the recall instructions: https://recall.cuisinart.com/.

You will need the information from the label on the bottom of the Cuisinart; an easy way to copy it is to snap a picture with your phone.  DO NOT USE YOUR CUISINART if it has riveted blades. Get the free replacement blade through the recall program.  (I don’t think anything good happens when these blades fail and come apart!)

Here is a great article on how to identify, and avoid, unsafe web links …

How to Check If a Link Is Safe to Click

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The obvious way to carry a banner is with a pole held between two marchers with others walking behind it gripping the pole.  Alas, in today’s world of protests and counter-protests confrontations happen. Police often ban any objects that could become a weapon like a stick or pole.

This rig was devised to eliminate the need for a pole. It uses rope and elastic bungees suspended between two shoulder harnesses.  (All of the materials were purchased at the local Ace Hardware in Newtown.) The marcher dons a harness by placing it over his or her head and then putting one arm through. You can decide what’s most comfortable, but the pressure of the strap should be on your shoulder and the side of your chest — NOT your neck! The strap should not cross the front of your throat for obvious reasons.

How it works.

As we walk we sway from side to side.  The bungees help to keep the banner taught with each stride.  It helps to march in step.  The rope threads through  the ties or grommets nearest the center of the banner to support the middle and keep the banner’s edge straight.  The number of center loops or grommets that the rope passes through will depend on how many marchers walk behind it and hold up the rope — experiment.

Wind

Gusts of wind will tend to blow the bottom edge and keep the banner from draping properly.  You can weight the bottom corners to prevent this, but then you will have to lug that weight as you march.  If you are walking into the wind, have people walk behind the banner letting their legs  keep it vertical. You might want to have a couple of pairs of old socks to make improvised sand-bag corner weights if they are needed … or maybe a couple of skate boards tethered close to the bottom hem?  Improvise.

Safety

Banners are sails, and the harness ties  you to the sail.  I used quick release clips on the harnesses so the wearer could escape quickly if things go wrong.

How to Temporarily Join 3/4″ and 1″ PVC poles.

3/4 inch PVC pipe slotted to ease insertion into 1″ PVC pipe.

PVC pipe can be easily cut to make poles and frames to support banners.  However, it’s not very convenient to carry a long piece of pipe in the car or even down a crowded sidewalk.  Here is a simple way of joining two pieces. It takes advantage of the fact that the outer diameter of 3/4 inch pipe is one inch, which is the nominal inner diameter of 1 inch pipe.  Actually they don’t easily fit and come apart again without this simple modification. But, if you cut a five inch slot in the smaller pipe (as shown above) it’s easy to fit them together and once the pipe is fully inserted they fit tight and won’t easily slip apart.

Study these pictures for fabrication details and review the notes at the end for helpful hints.

In the picture above notice that I drilled two quarter-inch holes about 3/4 inch apart and made a hacksaw cut to connect them. This cut forms a “T” with the five inch slot cut from the open end. The long slot allows the smaller pipe to collapse enough to slide inside the larger pipe.  The short transverse cut relieves stresses on the plastic to prevent cracking with repeated flexing.

You will find that when the pipe is inserted past the end of the long slot it begins to bind and hold securely.  You may want to put a thin film of candle wax or silicone grease on the overlapping parts to make them easier to take apart later on.

When PVC pipe is assembled in this way the union is actually stronger than either piece of pipe alone. It’s also more secure than using the couplings one would attach for plumbing joints. You can make just about any length of pole you want by alternating sections of 1″ and 3/4″ pipe.

Note that PVC pipe is not rigid, so long pieces sag unless supported along their length. I’ve used poles made this way to support a small Wi-Fi antenna for my RV and to make a light-weight pole for a horizontal banner to be carried in a march.

RBS160719

Here is the technique for hand washing recommended by the World Health Organization

And here is a downloadable PDF showing the basic steps:

http://www.who.int/gpsc/5may/Hand_Hygiene_Why_How_and_When_Brochure.pdf

Please contribute comments and pointers. (You must register to post or comment.)