Create and Print Certificates For Kids - Free!

Certificates of Achievement sites:

• Certificate Creator
This service allows you to create certificates online. There are currently dozens of certificates to choose from and more are added regularly. Please note that upon entry into the site you'll need to click on the "free area" button near the top on the page.

• Award Certificate Maker
Making an award certificate is easy with TeAch-nology.com's Award Certificate Maker. Just follow the instructions at each step. After you have completed the certificate, click on "Generate Certificate" and your certificate will be displayed.

• Personalized Award Certificate Maker @ Billy Bear 4 Kids
Fill the areas of text...pick the pictures you want to use...click on the preview button at the bottom of the page...and viola...you have your very own personalized Certificate!

• Certificate of the Month Club @ Microsoft
Look to this archive for links to downloadable student projects centered around time-specific holidays and celebrations, as well as free, customizable certificates of accomplishment.

• abcteach.com Teaching Extras: Certificates
Offering 5000+ free printable certificates, theme units, word puzzles, writing forms, book report forms, math, ideas, lessons and much more.

Flix On The Cheap

DVD Price Search finds the best coupons and bargains for buying DVDs on the Web. You can search by title or just see what's on sale. You'll also find some deals on home theater and entertainment items.

When Your Speakers Get A Buzz....

A number of things could cause buzzing and feedback on speakers. I'd want first to eliminate the speakers and the cable as suspects. To do that, borrow speakers and a cable from a friend. Everybody has speakers on their computers these days. A friend might even have an extra set. Or maybe you could bring some home from work. Clear it with the boss first!

They should be plugged into a grounded surge/UPS protector and be placed away from other electrical or electronic devices - several feet from the computer and screen.

I had this problem once. The problem was actually vibration, because I had the bass set too high. I set both the bass and treble at the midpoint, and the buzz went away. Check your manual, too. It may recommend optimum settings.

You could also get a buzz if the speakers are not plugged in properly.
The jack has to be pushed all the way in. Double-check that.

Be certain you have the speakers plugged into the proper port. Modern computers usually have three or four ports, which look similar. Don't assume you have the correct port; double-check the computer manual.

Your audio system also could be faulty. Plug a pair of headphones (borrowed if necessary) into the proper port on the computer. If you get a buzz on the headphones (or on the second set of speakers), you probably have a problem with the audio system.

A nearby electronic device could cause interference, resulting in a buzz.

Education Is Expensive, But Not As Expensive As Lack Of Education

The federal government provides a lot of money for students. It offers both grants and loans, usually based on need. The Federal Student Aid Information Center is a good place to start.Be sure to check on private scholarships and loans, too. Reportedly, many go unclaimed year after year. Some places to search include:

FastWeb

Scholarships.com

College Scholarships

Prepare for a shock when you price textbooks. You can easily spend $100 or more per book. So price your books on the Internet. They may well be cheaper than at the campus bookstore. Sites to price new and used textbooks are:

Barnes & Noble

Amazon

TextbookX.com

Calculate Age In Excel

Excel's DATEDIF function allows you to quickly calculate a person's age. For example, let's say you need to know which employees are within five years of the retirement age of 65.

Column A lists the employee names, and column B lists their birth dates. To find the age (in years) of the first employee listed in A2, enter the following function in C2:

=DATEDIF(B2, TODAY(), "Y")

Excel will display the age in years of the employee listed in A2. To find the rest of the employees' ages, you can just copy the formula in each cell.

If you need to know the exact age of each employee in years, months, and days, enter the following formula in C2:

=DATEDIF(B2,NOW(),"y") &" years," & DATEDIF(B2,NOW(),"ym") &" months," & DATEDIF(B2,NOW(),"md") & " days"

This formula returns the age as a text string (e.g., 60 years, 4 months, 3 days).

Links won't work in Outlook Express

Here's a common complaint:
"Links won't work in Outlook Express. When I click on a link, nothing happens."

Clicking on a link normally causes a browser to open and take you to the Internet. If that isn't happening, it's probably because you have not selected a browser to open by default. Nearly everyone today uses Internet Explorer.

To make IE the default browser,
Click Tools>>Internet Options.
Select the Programs tab.
Click the box next to "Internet Explorer should check to see whether it is the default browser."
Reboot the computer.
You will receive this prompt: "Internet Explorer is not currently your default browser. Do you wish to make it the default?"
Click Yes.

If you want to use Netscape, you can.
Click Edit>>Preferences.
Select Navigator.
Click Set Default Browser.

Drawing a Line in Word or Outlook

You can create a line across the page of your Word or Outlook document with just a few keystrokes.
Type three consecutive hyphens and press Enter to get a normal line.
Type three underscores and press Enter, and you'll get a bold line.
Type three equal signs and press Enter, you'll get a double line.