Logo of The Computer Spirit
The Computer Spirit's Home...
In This Issue
Comfort Around Transitions
Not a Mac User - Yet!
What Do You See When an Email Address is Clicked?
Using a WordPress Child Theme
A Little More About Joyce & Spirit
Schedule
The current schedule of Websites and Coffee Workshops and Labs is posted online. To register and to learn more,
visit Websites and Coffee.
Joyce S. Kaye
Joyce S. Kaye
The Computer Spirit
About Joyce
Joyce S. Kaye, MSW,
The Computer Spirit (known as The Computer Therapist in a prior lifetime), is a computer geek and people-person who understands business and computer applications and thrives on the challenge of communicating that understanding clearly. Specializing in Constant Contact e-newsletters and "living" WordPress websites, Joyce brings her creativity, love of people and Spirit*, and computer expertise together to empower individuals and assure them they are not alone. 
-----
sidebargodword * Read a little bit more about Joyce's meaning around such words as Spirit, God, The Presence.
My Philosophy
"Give a person a fish
and they eat for a day.
Teach a person to fish
and they eat for a lifetime."
- Old Chinese Proverb
Click here to learn more about how we work...
I'm here to empower you - not just get a website or e-newsletter done.
I work with clients one-to-one, host computer labs where learners can work interactively on computer projects, teach workshops, and facilitate project teams.
 
Contact me to explore working together...
WordPress and coffee 
Websites 
and 
Coffee 
Interactive, hands-on workshops to empower you to create and control your own WordPress website.  
 
To learn more,
Inspiration and Contemplation
Inspiration & Contemplation
"By three methods we may learn wisdom:
First, by reflection, which is noblest;
second, by imitation, which is easiest;
and third by experience, which is the bitterest."
- Confucius  
Constant Contact Partner


Questions?
Missed Some of My e-Newsletters?
 

Our Archives
Contact Info
JOYCE S. KAYE
P. O. Box 2207
Sedona, AZ 86339
928.301.7292

Homes on the Web:
and
Drop Shadow Accent Image
Vol. 2, Issue 10 | October 2013
Drop Shadow Accent Image

Greetings!   

   

Well, it's Halloween, and with the wind howling and the leaves flying, I am reminded of the power, as well as the goodness, of Nature's elements, even when they might appear adverse.

In one of its earlier missions, scientists of Biosphere 2, an Earth systems science research facility near Tucson, AZ, were shocked to discover that mature trees were falling down. Conditions were perfect, yet trees were toppling once they reached a certain height. Researchers discovered the Biosphere was missing one very necessary element of Nature, the wind.

Without the wind, the trees did not have a chance to grow strong roots. It is the wind, tossing trees back and forth and allowing them to adapt to it, which helps them grow strong. Similarly, the caterpillar struggling to make its way out of the chrysalis is able to mature into adulthood and emerge as a beautiful butterfly.

And, so it is with human life. Challenges are growth opportunities, making us stronger, more resilient, hopefully more mature, and wiser. The hardship we may endure might last a while, but the strength we gain from the process will last a lifetime (or more). Everything is good, to everything there is a purpose.

 

Blessings,

Joyce's signature 

Newsletter - Dance Drop Shadow Image
Spiritual/Personal
Comfort Around Transitions

Earlier this year, I co-founded the Threshold Singers of Sedona, a chapter of the Threshold Choir. Threshold Choir is a network of a cappella choirs of primarily women's voices, and a community whose mission is to sing for and with those at the thresholds of life (death, birth, serious illness).

When we get together to learn and practice music, it is so much more than a rehearsal - healing occurs in our very own circle, connections are made and strengthened, and we learn more than just music! Knowledge and experience are shared about life, death, hospice, family, and peace.

When we gather at bedside (usually in groups of 2-4 singers), we sing melodies (many in round or three-part harmony) that are non-denominational and non-religious, yet people find them to be spiritual and deeply soothing to the soul. The person, as well as loved ones, often feels a sense of calm and comfort. I am grateful, for it is an honor and a blessing for me to serve in such a capacity - my colleagues feel the same way.

Threshold Choir has more than 100 chapters nationwide, and welcomes requests from family members, caregivers, and friends of those who would benefit from our soothing and loving singing; our services are provided for free. And, if you are interested in singing with us, you'll see that we sing quietly together, blend well, and focus on love and healing.

Feel free to contact me for more information - especially if you're in the Sedona area. And, I invite you to explore the national website of Threshold Choir to learn more.
Newsletter - Dance Drop Shadow Image
General Computer
Not a Mac User - Yet!

I was surprised to find out that this month marked the death two years ago of Steve Jobs, American entrepreneur, marketer, inventor, and co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Apple Inc. It just hadn't seemed that long (time flies by faster with each passing year).

I have been a solely a Windows user since I left the land of DOS, although I've actually helped clients with Macs! Nevertheless, I think the time is drawing nigh when I will own an iPad... We shall see.

In the meanwhile, I do appreciate Jobs' creativity, and his pioneering the personal computer revolution as well as transforming a number of industries, from computers and Smartphones to music and movies. And, I appreciate his being a visionary and one who had been seeking spiritual enlightenment.

"There is something beyond what you see everyday... It's the same thing that causes people to want to be poets instead of bankers. I think that that same spirit can be put into products..." - Steve Jobs, Lost Interview
Newsletter - Dance Drop Shadow Image
e-Newsletters
What Do You See When an Email Address is Clicked?

You can choose what subscribers will see when your email address in your Constant Contact e-newsletter is clicked - and, you do not have to know HTML code to create it!


Having info in the subject line automatically populated is beneficial to both the sender and the recipient: the sender doesn't have to type a subject line, the recipient reads a subject line that is informative (and consistent). It's fun to create, too! Here's how...
Newsletter - Dance Drop Shadow Image
Newsletter - Dance Drop Shadow Image
Website Development/WordPress
Using a WordPress Child Theme  

Thanks to my business colleague Paul McNeese, who through OPA Author Services provides services that every self-publishing author or small publisher will need in order to transform a manuscript into a printed book, I recently worked on a robust - and fun - author project. For Karyn Rashoff, M.S., I created a website, an announcement e-newsletter, and a one-sheet for the launching of her first book "Parents in Highschooland: Helping Students Succeed in the Critical Years."

Choosing to use WordPress' TwentyTwelve default theme, I created a child theme. A WordPress child theme is a theme that inherits the functionality of another theme, called the parent theme. It allows you to modify, or add to the functionality of that parent theme. A child theme is the safest and easiest way to modify an existing theme. Instead of modifying the theme files directly, you can create a child theme and override within.

I think one of the best reasons for using a child theme is that if you modify an existing theme and then it is updated, your changes will be lost! With a child theme, you can go ahead and update the parent theme and still keep your changes.

In the case of Karyn's website, I created a child theme to modify such things as the:
  • site title and subtitle's font family and font size
  • amount of white space between the subtitle and nav menu, and between the bottom of the header image and the top of the page content
  • sidebar titles' font size and font color
  • font color on links, and on page and post titles.
To learn more about WordPress child themes, including how to create your own, visit wordpress.org.
Newsletter - Dance Drop Shadow Image
Newsletter - Dance Drop Shadow Image
Well, I have to admit that I'm not into Halloween, but for those of you who are...



Yours in Spirit, 
Joyce's signature





Joyce S. Kaye
(AKA The Computer Spirit)
Logo SW

 

 

 

bottomgodwordJoyce "came to believe" in a Higher Power about 23 years ago. Thanks to hearing the novel idea that one could choose their own concept of God - and name too - and the workings of synchronicity, Joyce embarked on a new way of thinking, a new way of living, a new way of being in the world and with others. Since that time of commencing her conscious spiritual journey, she has endeavored to remember The Presence in all that is, all whom she meets, and all that she does - including working with others and their computer projects!

 
 
e-Newsletter designed, developed, written, and published by The Computer Spirit