Monday, October 31, 2011

Melodic Dramatic Emotional Trance

I don't really know what to call it, but I love trance, especially orchestral trance with a great melody including live violins, pianos and synth. Some examples of 5-star trance tracks in my mp3 collection:

  • Miss You - Simon Patterson
  • Children - Robert Miles
  • Sunday Afternoon (Nu NRG Remix) - Ronski Speed
  • Mirage - Armin Van Buuren
  • Full Focus - Armin Van Buuren
  • Desiderium 207 & Mirage (Extended Version) - Armin Van Buuren
  • Ordinary World (Condor Remix) - Aurora
  • M (Above & Beyond Typhoon Dub Remix) - Ayumi Hamasaki
  • Light the Skies (Retrobyte's Classic Electrobounce Mix) - Cerf, Mitiska & Jaren
  • L.E.F. Galaxia - Ferry Corsten
  • If I Survive - Hybrid
  • Forbidden Love (B Mix) - Marc Van Linden
  • Beautiful Together - Oceanlab
  • Freedom - Robert Miles
  • I'm Alone (Miroc De Govia Mix) - Ronski Speed pres Sun Decade
  • We'll See - Simon Patterson
  • Super Nature - Stoneface & Terminal
  • Ends of the Earth (Paul Oaken) - Sun
  • Breathe of Life - Sun Decade
  • 14 Hours to Save the Earth - Tomski
  • Flug Auf Dem Gluecksdrachen (Radio Cut) - Tunnel Allstats Feat DJ Yanny
  • Colors (Night Club Mix) - DJ MindX
  • My World - (Solar Project Mix)
  • CQ (Seek You) - EnMass
  • Insomnia - Faithless
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Sunday, April 17, 2011

Mum's the word

I had an interesting conversation recently with Renée Purdie of Rising Star Designs, a peer of mine in the industry of freelance editing, design and email marketing. I was wondering if capitalising the word 'Mum' follows the same rules as capitalising titles like 'King' and 'Queen'.

Different editors will tell you different things when it comes to capitalisation of titles like mum, dad, aunt, uncle. Some say it's OK to allow writers to capitalise titles when they're trying to honor the person. Others say to only capitalise titles when they are in place or part of a name. I agree with the latter. For example:

Incorrect

That was why my Mum and I went to the shops.
That was why mum and I went to the shops.
My Brother and I fight a lot.
I saw brother Cavill in the courtyard.
I know the King and Queen of France love to dance.
I know king Louis and queen Francesca love to dance.
My Aunt is great.
I went to great aunt Judy's house.

Correct

That was why my mum and I went to the shops.
That was why Mum and I went to the shops.
My brother and I fight a lot.
I saw Brother Cavill in the courtyard.
I know the king and queen of France love to dance.
I know King Louis and Queen Francesca love to dance.
My aunt is great.
I went to Great Aunt Judy's house.

Please leave comments if you have any editing questions or wish to discuss this topic.

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Visit Amanda's Website to buy books and get free school activities

Monday, March 21, 2011

I've got a virus - what do I do?

Please note: In this article, I use the term malware as an umbrella term that includes viruses, trojans, worms and adware. Also, I am only an amateur at IT but this article may help totally clueless people to deal with malware.

First of all, what makes you think you have a virus or trojan? Sometimes the warnings themselves are from dodgy popups or malware trying trying to install other malware. If it's your anti-virus program, then it should offer you some way to get rid of it. And if that doesn't work, then you should contact the anti-virus software manufacturer for assistance - often if you search on their website there are a list of steps of what to do to get rid of viruses.

I have a tiny bit of experience dealing with malware, having had two rather tricky viruses in 2010. Each took me about 15 hours to get rid of. In the end, I found that trying different anti-virus software did the trick. Some will have definitions (software that's designed to recognise and obliterate viruses) that the others don't have. There are so many new viruses coming out that the anti-virus companies can barely keep up. So anyway, if you are struggling, I recommend doing the following:

  1. Write down every problem you're experiencing because of the virus or trojan and note down the exact text of any error messages you are getting and everything that makes you think you have malware on your computer. Even better, screen capture it and save it in a Word document. To do this, press 'prtscn' on the keyboard, then press CTRL+V in a Word doc.
  2. Backup your important files (eg. documents, photos)
  3. Download Microsoft Security Essentials and Malwarebytes (both are free)
  4. Disconnect your computer from the Internet
  5. Uninstall the antivirus program you have which is failing to deal with the virus
  6. Install Microsoft Security Essentials and Malwarebytes
  7. Run a scan with both programs one after the other on your entire computer (this may take a while, eg. overnight)
  8. Restart the computer, reconnect the internet and see how you go

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