 |
|
|
|
Hearts are everywhere in February, as are messages of affection and appreciation. Since we love our customers and want you to fully enjoy your online experiences, we put our heart and soul into bringing you valuable tips and information each month. This issue includes a warning about tax-related email scams, examples of creative memes online, and instructions on how to set up your new timeline on Facebook. We bet you’ll also love the fun videos and super-cool websites.
We think you'll find the information contained in this newsletter to be a valuable tool for enhancing your Internet experience. As always, we appreciate your feedback and suggestions. Please send your thoughts, comments or questions to newsletter@greenmountainaccess.net.
- The Green
Mountain Access Team
Aaron, Adam, Amanda, Eric, Kris,
Phil, Richard, Seth, Scott, and Tom
|
 |
|
Win A $100 Gift Card To Dakin Farm
Each month, we raffle off a prize from a local business, so be sure to enter your name every month for your chance to win. Congratulations to Linda Ruscitto, last month's winner of a $100 gift card to Sugarbush Resort. This month, we have another great prize a $100 gift card to Dakin Farm. Four words sum up Dakin Farm: What Vermont tastes like. Learn more about this longtime family business by visiting www.dakinfarm.com. The drawing will take place on February 15. To be entered into the raffle, simply click this link and leave your name and contact information.
WCVT and GMA President's Day Office Closing
Our Customer Service and local Technical Support will be closed in celebration of President's Day, Monday, February 20. As always, our after hours Technical Support and Repair Service will be available, so please don't hesitate to call at: 1-888-321-0815 if you need assistance. For a great educational link to learn more about each of our President’s, visit http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents.
Change In Static IP Address Pricing
Effective March 1, we will begin charging $2.95 per month for customers with a static IP address. Please note that this change only affects customers who have requested that a static IP address be assigned to them. If you currently have a static IP address assigned to you and feel that you no longer require your static IP address, please contact our Technical Support Department at 888-321-0815 and we will convert you back to a dynamically assigned address. Static IP addresses are assigned to a computer/device to be its permanent address on the Internet. These are typically required if you are hosting your own web, e-mail or other type of server or VPN (Virtual Private Network). Please don’t hesitate to contact us at 888-321-0815 with any questions you may have.
WCVT in the Community
We are hard at work preparing for several upcoming community events.
 Come See us at the Mad River Valley Mini Business Expo on February 15th
On February 15, we will once again be exhibiting at the Business Builders Expo/Mixer at the Big Picture Theater in Waitsfield from 3:00-7:00 pm. Be sure to stop by and say hi and see the variety of local businesses that will be on hand. Buy local and support your friends, neighbors, and the community!
WCVT To Hold Blood Drive on March 20th
 Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom will hold a Red Cross blood drive from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at our main business office located on Route 100 in Waitsfield (across from Waitsfield Elementary School). For more information, please call 496-3391 or contact the Red Cross at 1-800-GIVE-LIFE or online at www.redcrossblood.org.
Mad River Valley Community Easter Egg Hunt Coming March 31
On Saturday, March 31, we will hold our annual Mad River Valley Community Easter Egg Hunt. The egg hunt will start promptly at 10:00 am. Refreshments will be available beginning at 9:30 a.m. The event will be held at the Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom business office located on Route 100. The egg hunt is open to children of all ages and is free of charge. For more information, please contact Lorraine Keener at 496-3391 or via e-mail at lkeener@wcvt.com.
If you have a community service project in the making and are looking for help please don’t hesitate to contact Alan Jones, at 496-8328 or via e-mail ajones@wcvt.com to see if we can lend a hand.
Lucky iPad Winners Announced
 Congratulations to Cliff Mix of Ferrisburgh and Linda Benoit of Bolton, the lucky winners of iPads from our recent Green Mountain Access survey and Facebook raffles. Thank you to all who completed the survey. In all, we had over 2,300 responses and received great feedback. We are in the process of reviewing the results and hope to make improvements based on your feedback. In addition, we are now over 1,000 friends on the GMA Facebook page. The iPads were purchased locally from our friends at Small Dog Electronics in Waitsfield.
And The Winner Of One Free Month Of High-Speed Internet Service Is
Congratulations Brian Smith for being this month’s winner of one-free month of high-speed Internet service. Brian’s name was chosen at random from customers who completed our monthly Green Mountain Access technical support surveys.
Each month, one name is selected at random from customers who completed our online technical support or new user surveys. Survey requests are sent out via e-mail to customers after calling technical support, or establishing new service. So be sure to fill out those surveys!
Business Spotlights:
Scentsations Flowers and Gifts - Bristol
 Scentsations Flowers & Gifts is a new full-service florist shop owned and operated by Erin Heffernan and Danielle Bluteau offering custom arrangements in both fresh, silk and dried flowers as well as a wide variety of plants. Scentsations carries a large assortment of gift items including beaded jewelry, felted hats and purses, handmade wooden boxes, stationery, hand painted rocks, quilts and other sewing projects. Balloons in a variety of colors and designs are also available. Located at 10 Main Street in downtown Bristol,
Scentsations offers free wedding and funeral consultations. Open Monday – Friday 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Visit them online at
www.facebook.com/scentsationsVT or call 453-6622.
Moosewalk Studios & Gallery - Warren
 Moosewalk Studios & Gallery is owned by Mad River Valley artists Gary Ekhart and Roarke Sharlow. The gallery is surrounded by beautiful gardens and adjacent to the Green Mountain National Forest. As the name implies, moose do frequent the property. The original works and giclee prints of award winning watercolorist Eckhart and the fine art photography of Sharlow are the focus of the charming, intimate gallery. The gallery also features the finely crafted, Vermont folk art of Lisa and Brent Hilliker. Large scale,
metal sculpture by local sculptor Mark Schwabe can be found in the outdoor sculpture garden with his smaller bronzes on display indoors. The Gallery is located at 200 Orion Road in Warren, just off the picturesque Lincoln Gap Road. Visit them on the web at
www.moosewalkstudios.com or call 583-2224.
Two to View — A Couple Of Amazing Videos You Don't Want To Miss
Baby's First Technology Lesson
click here for video
 A baby shows how, for her generation, technology is the rule rather than the exception. After using an iPad, she expects a magazine to work the same way. This "sign of the times" was picked by Mashable, a leading digital news website, as one of the top videos of 2011.
Cobra Weave Stick Bomb
click here for video
Looking for something to do at home on the next snowy day? This fun video shows plain old popsicle sticks transformed into a cool, multicolored, exploding "cobra weave stick bomb." The stick bomb shown uses 1,000 sticks; the world record, as of 2011, is over 5,000!
|
 |
|
Scam Warning Beware of Tax-Related E-mails
Tax season can be frustrating enough; don't make it worse by falling victim to a tax-related email scam. Each year cybercriminals use a variety of ploys to try to convince nervous taxpayers to reveal personal information. One currently circulating scam uses the name of a legitimate tax preparation software company--Turbo Tax.
The phony email tells recipients they need to upgrade their software in order to be in compliance with new tax laws. It also provides a link which leads to a fake (but legitimate-looking) website. At this point, recipients may be asked to enter personal information to confirm they're the software holder; the cybercriminals then use this information to file tax returns and have refunds sent to them.
To protect yourself:
• Always check on the legitimacy of the tax preparation service you are going to use.
• If you receive an email from any tax preparation software company, do not open it or click on any link. If you actually need a software upgrade, go directly to the company's secure site.
On a related note, keep in mind that the IRS does NOT send unsolicited email about tax account matters to taxpayers. If you should receive an email claiming to be from the IRS, DO NOT REPLY, CLICK ON ANY LINKS, OR PROVIDE ANY INFORMATION.
Visit the IRS website for more about reporting and identifying IRS email scams.
This Month's FAQ What is a Meme?
Question: I've heard the term "meme" used to describe photos and videos
but I'm not sure what it means. What is a meme, exactly?
Answer: In general terms, a meme (pronounced meem) is a cultural idea that is passed from person to person. Just about any piece of information that gets passed throughout the population or down through the generations (such as the ability to start a fire, the invention of the phone, a welding process, a fashion trend, a joke, or a catch phrase) is considered a meme. The collection of all memes is the basis of culture.
An Internet meme is a particular kind--a meme that's transmitted online in the form of videos, songs, photos, or Photoshop-enhanced images. Often times, these memes are humorous in tone and created in response to something happening in the news.
Short Tutorial Setting Up Your Facebook Timeline
Timeline is Facebook's new way of presenting you to the world and is the most radical change in the history of the site. Whether you're ready or not, Facebook has begun the mandatory Timeline rollout. Here's what to do to learn more about it and manage the content of your new timeline:
1. Log in to your Facebook account.
2. Go to http://www.facebook.com/about/timeline. You'll learn the basics of Timeline and see examples of what this feature can look like. At the bottom of this page, there may be a box showing which of your Facebook friends has signed up for Timeline.
3. Click "Get Timeline." You'll have seven days to preview your timeline before other people can see it. You can use this time to add a cover, fill in life events, and star important stories. Until your timeline goes live, people will see your old profile.
4. To add a cover image to your timeline, go to your timeline and click "Add a Cover." Choose whether you want to upload a new photo or pick a photo from one of your existing photo albums. (Note: Your cover image has to be at least 720 pixels wide.) Once you choose a photo, you can reposition it by clicking on the image and dragging it up or down. When you're satisfied with your cover image, click "Save."
5. Scroll down on your timeline and edit or remove any items you don't want shown. Do that by holding your cursor over the upper right of the item you want to edit and then make your choice on the drop-down list.
6. From that list, you can change the date of the item, add a location, hide it from the timeline, delete the post altogether, or report it/mark it as spam.
7. If you'd like to "feature" any of the posts, click on the star icon to the left of the pencil icon and that item will be expanded all the way across the page, made larger for all your friends to see.
8. Once you're satisfied with all the edits you've made, go back to the top of the Timeline and click "Publish Now." After seven days, your timeline will be published automatically.
Be aware that once you start the Timeline process, there's no going back. Since some users don't like the change, scammers are preying on people desperate to get rid of Timeline and revert back to the old Facebook Profile layout. Scammers are creating Facebook Pages filled with deceptive instructions that promise users the ability to go through such a rollback if they complete a series of actions such as inviting friends to "Like" a page or watching YouTube videos. Don't fall for these scams! They will not magically make you more powerful than Facebook.
|
 |
|
Hinesburg Winter Carnival February 11 Hinesburg
Start out your morning at the Hinesburg Nursery School Waffle Breakfast & Silent Auction, located in the Hinesburg Community School Cafeteria from 8:00-11:00 am.
Then enjoy dog sled rides and snowmobile rides, a dog show sponsored by the Burlington Dog Obedience & Training Club, ice skating, broomball, hockey, relay races, open-gym basketball, a snowman building contest, and sliding. Think Snow! Events will be held at the Hinesburg Community School from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. Contact the Hinesburg Recreation Department 482-2281 ext. 230 or e-mail hinesburgrec@gmavt.net
for further information.
Torchlight Parade and Fireworks February 18 - Sugarbush
Come see Sugarbush employees light up the mountain with a torchlight parade, followed by a spectacular fireworks display to kick off the long weekend. The parade starts at 6:45pm in Lincoln Peak Village. For more information, visit www.sugarbush.com.
President's Week Naturalist Series February 18-26 Mad River Glen
10:30 AM and 1:30 PM It is the middle of ski season and a month away from the vernal equinox. During Presidents week, join one of Mad River Glen’s daily naturalist programs and learn how the animals and plants of our northern hardwood forests are surviving at the height of winter. Easy to moderate difficulty, all ages welcome. For more info, visit http://www.madriverglen.com/naturalist/.
Mardi Gras Parade and Festival March 3 Burlington
On Saturday March 3, gather in downtown Burlington at 3 p.m., to watch as a promenade of 45 fantastic floats passes by, along with the frenzied hurling of beads! Over 40 floats take part in the Magic Hat Mardi Gras Parade in Burlington, which is followed by parties and live music. Sponsored by local brewery Magic Hat, the festivities raise money for the Women's Rape Crisis Center.
|
 |
|
Mardi Gras Recipes
http://allrecipes.com/recipes/holidays-and-events/events-and-gatherings/mardi-gras
Get ready for Fat Tuesday/Mardi Gras by visiting this site. It's loaded with recipes and videos for all your Cajun favorites including gumbo, dirty rice, blackened catfish, and king cake. Many of these recipes are highly rated by readers who have tried them. Check out the reviews, add recipes to your recipe box, or share favorites with friends.
Watch Flights In Progress
http://flightaware.com
Next time you’re picking someone up at the airport, visit this sophisticated flight tracking site, which offers detailed information on the status of commercial flights. Just enter the flight specifics and see a map that shows the flight in progress. While you’re there, check out the home page for at-a-glance delay news and the photo section for dazzling aircraft shots.
Free Credit Tools
http://quizzle.com
Just like going to the doctor periodically for a checkup, you need to track your credit to understand your financial health. This site, recommended by CNN, The Wall Street Journal, and USA Today, provides tools and information to help you better understand your credit. Get a free credit report, free credit score, credit improvement suggestions, and more.
Build Your Vocabulary
http://vocabulary.com
Quick, what does adumbrate mean? Not sure? Then you’ll want to check out this website to learn this word and more like it. The site offers a fun way to improve your vocabulary by answering multiple-choice questions. If you sign up for an account, the site will track your vocabulary and present new words you probably don’t already know.
Panoramic Travel Views
http://tourwrist.com
This innovative site lets you take a 360° look at all kinds of travel spots and events worldwide. The 360° experience allows you to see these locations like you’ve never seen them before. When you find something you like, the site makes it easy to share through social media or email. You can even create an account to shoot and post your own panoramic views.
|
|
|
