Photography & Computer News
May 26, 2009 Issue

Hi Everyone!
Welcome to my late May newsletter. Summer is here and I have a few goodies to send your way.

IN THIS ISSUE

• Photo of the Month: Bald Eagle
• Computer Help: PrePaid Lesson Cards
• Photography News: SUMMER SALE
  
• Helpful Web Sites: Bypass Annoying Phone Menus

PHOTO OF THE MONTH:

Bald Eagle
Wiggins Pass
Naples, Florida

I found this eagle at Wiggins Pass a week ago. It was sitting atop a mangrove tree, looking for food. I floated in the kayak just off the mangroves photographing it until I noticed it flinch. Through the viewfinder of the camera, I couldn't see that an osprey had tried to dive-bomb it!

As the osprey made a second pass, the eagle flew off with the osprey hot on it's trail. I was just about to photograph their chase, but a power boat came by and I had to stow the camera gear. These two carried on in the air, swooping and flying, engaged in a mid-air battle. It was quite a sight! They locked talons in mid-air - and the osprey seemed to have the upper hand. Annoyed and undoubtedly humiliated, the eagle flew off and the osprey took over the roost atop the mangroves.

I guess there is a territorial pecking order to every place.

COMPUTER HELP: PRE-PAID LESSON CARDS

For those of you who use my teaching services, I'm now offering PrePaid lesson cards. This is a great way to get a big discount on my hourly rates. Here's how it works:

• Purchase a 5-hour PrePaid card for $300 and get a 6th hour for FREE.
• All PrePaid lesson cards are at my $60/hr rate and can be used for my mobile (at your home) services. This is a $5/hr ADDITIONAL savings.
• These cards have no expiration date. No matter what my current hourly rate, you can use this card. I'll even do the bookkeeping!
• The cards can be used for any kind of lesson, including home lessons and remote lessons.
• Home lessons have a one hour minimum, all other lessons have a 30-minute minimum.

This offer will end August 31, 2009.

To purchase a card, just give me a call (239-498-0480) or send me an email, and I'll give you the details.

PHOTOGRAPHY NEWS: SUMMER SALE

The Side Street Artists shows are now resting until November, 2009, and I don't have any further shows currently scheduled before that time. It's time to clean out my inventory so I can replenish it with new stuff for next year, so I'm offering a summer sale on the following photography products:

• Greeting cards: $2.95 each, 6 for $15 (regularly $3.95 each, 6 for $19.95
• Latitude of Light (SW FL) DVD: $15 (reg. $19.95)
• Footsteps Along The Way DVD: $20 (reg. $24.95)
• All other photography prints, including framed prints are 20% OFF.

This sale ends August 31, 2009.

WEB SITE TIPS: BYPASS ANNOYING PHONE MENUS

I know we have all tried to call the phone company, cable company or another business and gotten lost in the maze of phone menu options. It's frustrating when all you want to do is talk to a human. Well, this month, I have some solutions to that annoyance for you.

GetHuman.com
This web site have a very large database of companies, listed in alphabetical order. Find the company you want to call and they'll not only give you their phone number, but tell you which options to use to get directly to a human being. They also have databases for Canada, the UK and other countries.

ContactHelp.com
This web site does essentially the same thing, but allows you to SEARCH for the company. They also offer the current top searches. The most recent top search at the time of this writing? Amazon.com. Yes, indeed. Amazon has a phone number.

I hope these web sites help you have much more pleasant experiences when you have to call for help.

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I'm always looking for new topics to cover that interest YOU, the reader! If you have ideas, just click to send me an email, or give me a call at (239) 498-0480.

Well, that wraps up another issue of my newsletter. Until next month, thanks for reading!

M.E. Parker