I hate it when:
 
... I do not readily see a store/unit number in front of a business - commercial/industrial. Most often, one has to drive around the block to come back - in the middle of heavy traffic - to guess where the company might be.
 
... Vendors do not provide a manufacturer's model number and pertinent information that affects item price. Most of the time what appears to be a bargain is the cheapest, outdated item model. These secretive companies have the information but do not disclose it for obvious reasons.
 
... Companies drop an icon on your computer and then have it running in hidden fashion in such a way that you cannot uninstall the annoying - usually popping up app. When you finally find the way it is only for the company to know and/or a helpful forum. There ought to be a law!

For those like me who have not had formal training in the use of MS Word, here is a tip for editing your writings. For example, to check for names used to refer to a single individual, as I just did in a short story, I searched for Myllardys, the main character's name. Without removing the highlited name, I then searched for and highlighted "beggar."  I repeated the procedure adding more highlights such as "old man," "old fellow," "grumpy old man," etc.  The draft then showed all those words highlighted at once, thus allowing me to detect any repeated words within the same paragraph or sentence. 
The same can be done with pronouns "I, you, he, she, we," and any other word used in conjunction with the pronouns, "was, were, etc. Another similar search may include adjectives.  The writer usually knows the words that he/she has used regularly that may appear much too often.

12/12/2015
THE LAW OF GRAVITY. We have been mislead over the years with the tired example of the fallen apple. Sure! But isn't it true that whatever falls off your hand takes an invisible curve  and the darn thing ends in a place where the eyes cannot see it and the vacuum cannot reach? This proves Newton's apple theory wrong and  that there is such thing as sideways gravity, proven long ago by the Baseball Game's curve ball. Aha!

(c) Mirta Oliva
Oil painting 

I just received an email suggesting that fruits could be cleaned/disinfected
 with vinegar.  It called for filling the sink with water adding some vinegar
 and letting it soak for a few minutes. The vinegar, it said, would kill germs and
insecticides.  Even though the idea may be great, here is some "food for
thought".

The sink - at least mine does - overflows when I am dumping too
much  stuff or just soapy water down the drain. I must quickly turn the disposal
on.  The drain is usually cleaned by crushing ice, adding baking
soda, lemon juice, vinegar or a  commercial product (no recommendations
here); however, no matter what is used, the  tubing running down from below
the "rubber-stopper"  does not clean up all the  way from top to bottom.  The
latter causes a black  residue full of germs/bacteria that adheres  to the tubing,
particularly just below the rubber stopper. The crusher at the  bottom is
difficult to mess with, as to consider it free from residues or  bacteria from top
to sides to underneath the blades. The reference to germ/bacteria deposits
on the entire drainage system applies to sinks without food disposers as well.
  
For the drain tubing cleaning excercise, I first use a dry paper towel to
remove the residue inside the drain pipe and then wet another paper
towel to finish the cleaning process.  Despite how clean it may seem, I never
trust it to be free of bacteria. The metal crusher at the bottom will never be
either.  Without damaging the rubber stopper, it is  difficult to get underneath
it to remove everything. This is why I do not trust  using the sink instead of a
pan to wash anything, never mind edibles, even if I  had cleaned/disinfected
the whole sink first.  
  
And they say that the countertops are full of germs... That is true depending on
what is cleaned (poultry, fish, etc.) or placed on top of it.  I do not clean any
meat products on top of mine; instead, I use a microwave-safe dish or
tamper-resistant glass to clean uncooked meats, vegetables, etc. 
Again, the above is just  "food for thought".

MY YOUTUBE PRESENTATION.

Out of the blue I got the idea to create a PP slide presentation hoping that I could later on convert it to a YouTube video. I started it without guidelines, a pattern to follow or even looking for perfection, since it was only a trial version.  As the presentation progressed I kept adding more stuff about my books, cover pictures, websites, sample poems, etc.   At that point I realized that I should try publishing it on  YouTube to test if the conversion could be done.  

When I finished my PP presentation, I saved it as SLIDE SHOW.  Having read  that it had to be saved as .png, I did that as well.  I searched the  internet as to how to convert it, got some ideas and went straight to  YouTube.  I was surprised when YouTube offered help in the conversion. I  allowed them to do the work and in a few seconds my short video (trial version)
was published.   Now I have to work on polishing it.  I had  allowed enough reading time but, somehow, it moves kind of fast.  Although it can be stopped as needed, I would like to see either a longer stop between certain frames or manual setting.  Also, I want to adjust the ink tone on the links in particular and change the first page.  Everything was done at  no cost to me.

Mirta Oliva's YouTube link:  http://tinyurl.com/omx8vcv  
 
WHEN SEARCHING THE INTERNET, PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE MIGHT BE A NAME SIMILAR TO MINE.  WHEN LOOKING FOR MY WORKS ON THE INTERNET, ANY REFERENCE TO "ARTIST, WRITER OR BOTH" WILL MOST LIKELY YIELD  A LINK TO MY WORKS OR WEBSITES.

HOW TO PUBLISH YOUR MANUSCRIPT TO YOUR TABLET
 
      If you would like to read your manuscript, and make changes to it right on
  your tablet, you may be able to.  As I searched for that possibility on the
  internet, I came across instructions to download a manuscript to a Sony
  tablet using an app.  Since I happen to have the Samsung Galaxie Tab II
  tablet, I searched the internet for such an app for it.  And Samsung had a
  free one which I downloaded. Later on, I purchased one for my iPad.

  My next step was to email my (Microsoft Word) book manuscript as an
  attachment to the default email address on my tablet.  I gave it a couple of
  minutes to do its thing and then opened the email, clicked on the attachment
  and  the book manuscript appeared just as it would in an e-published book. 
  Although I could make any changes on the tablet, I prefer to jot down in a pad
  the page number and three consecutive words where change is needed. 
  Later on, I go to the applicable page(s) in MS Word and search for the three
  words to get directed to the problem area.
  
       Another thing I am working on is formatting my poems including the Haikus,
  plus essays and short stories in MS Word.  When completed, I will email it
  to my tablet to proofread and also to see how it would appear as an eBook. 
  Eventually, it will get published.

Just joined Pinterest.  Still getting acquainted with this colorful and informative site. Please take a look, I like their format but need to do a better job at pinning on the

    ___ooo0ooo___

    Here are some excerpts from  various pages of the book:

"...You have opened my heart toward taking the first step even though I do not
know what will happen after that. It seems to me that if you approve of my
birth parents there must be something good about them.
I already know Molly and I like her. I hope I can say the same thing
about the professor. In the near future, I may be receptive
to sharing with them that ‘special kind of love’ to which you have referred.
I am not an expert with words, but it must be without demands,
subordinate to a superior kind of love–but love nonetheless.”
___ooo0ooo___
"You may argue that I had no other real experience to compare their love with,
but why would I need to compare my state of mind insofar as feeling loved 
when I have never felt the lack of it?"
___ooo0ooo___
"The actions preceding this visit paved the way for a new beginning marked by that
wondrous feeling of FEELING WANTED, a phrase I am borrowing from you ... 
While I had always felt the LOVE of my (adoptive) parents, they also proved that
they WANTED me in their lives. Two different concepts independent in their
values but, when put together, they elevate the meaning of the word
‘love’.”
___ooo0ooo___
From the poem MAKE AMENDS: 
"Uncover the lies, relieve the hurt, be brave before it's too late; tell the 
truth ... let it be! Make amends! And you'll be FOREVER FREE!" 
___ooo0ooo___
"... But my sweetheart was there, eager as I was to share fleeting while unforgettable
moments".
___ooo0ooo___
"...blurted out a new bombshell, quick enough as to keep me prisoner of her
sorrowful confession..."
___ooo0ooo___
"...a passionate kiss equal to no other, or so I eagerly believed..." 
___ooo0ooo___
"Our love affair started somewhat platonic, which gave way to our needing more..."