Cleo's Corner (2.19.10)

Okay, tell the truth. Would you rather be anywhere else in the US today? Yes, we have wind. Yes, we have cold. No, we don’t have snow. No, it is not that cold. Alter your reality if you are having trouble keeping warm. To do this, go find a spot somewhere, anywhere, where the sun is shining and the wind is not blowing and hang out. My picture shows how I did it on the beach the day of the Hands Across the Sands gathering. Believe me, it works and can change your whole attitude and day.

Sprinkler System Problems
It can be hard to know if your sprinkler system is working effectively. The photos below show common signs of sprinkler heads that need adjusting. Why is it important to keep your heads heading in the yard direction instead of the street or sidewalk? Well, for one thing water on a street helps nothing. For a second, standing water creates mosquitoes. Do you know it takes one thimble of water standing for three days to produce ten mosquitoes? They generally stay where they are born, so if your sprinkler is providing wet or moist spots, you will have mosquitoes. Adjust the heads, and all problems disappear.

Please remember that if you are sprinkling the road, that water can land on passing cars and it does not do them any good. In fact, it is bad for the paint; so adjust those heads and enjoy a healthy yard.

Using the NEWS in the header of the stpetebeachtoday website
If you have never gone to this website, you are in for a treat. Want to know where the new Italian Restaurant, Su Ottavo, is? Want to know who does yoga, massage or facials on the beach? Want to see an aerial view of St. Pete Beach with all of the islands and bridges shown? No problem. All of these are easy to do on this website which was built with non-computer users in mind. No need to use the keyboard. Just click with your mouse and you can read the history of PAG, see photos, check out what is happening today or night, and much more.

One of the “much more” choices that I love is the NEWS choice in the header right under the St. Pete Beach Today banner. Click on this choice and you go to a wonderful collection of news—local, state, national and international.

On the News page you have three four sections. News Links on the top left takes you to a section that has, we hope, every newspaper that you could ever want to read (if the one you want is not listed, use the Contact Us button on the left and tell us the paper you want us to link to and we’ll do it!).

The newspapers are arranged from local papers first (Paradise News, The St. Pete Beach Insider and The Island Reporter). Then comes The St. Pete Times, Tampa Tribune, tbt.com and Creative Loafing. This is followed by Channel News 8, Bay News 9, abc action news, and Channels 10 and 13. Not enough? Keep scrolling down and you’ll find The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, NBC.com, and many more.

Want a different country paper? No problem. Keep scrolling down and you will find the BBC, The Jerusalem Post, Italy-news, France 24 and CNN En Espanol! Again, if the paper you want is not shown, just Contact Us and we’ll add whatever you want.
Now use the back blue button at the top of your screen and notice that under News Links is Calendar Highlights. Here is where special events are placed. In the center, St Pete Beach Today Headlines gives you every article published on this website since it’s beginning in June of 2009. When you get to the bottom, click on More Articles or Search Articles.

Searching for more is easy to do too. Simply click on Search Articles and type in Cleo. Every time my name is mentioned will appear in a box and you can click on any article you want to read. Couldn’t be easier we hope, but if it could be, tell us. We are working for you, so help us get it right.

Other St. Pete Beach Headlines on the right side of the NEWS Page is one of the most exciting parts of this News Page. Anything happening in Pass-a-Grille first and then St. Pete Beach, other parts of Pinellas County, the State and International is reported here via streaming news alerts. For instance, if you go to NEWS today you will see the headline Chihuly collection to St. Pete. This is very exciting news about a world-famous glass blower who is going to have his first and only museum and gift store right nearby in St. Petersburg.

Scroll down further on the right-hand side and you will find articles from all over the world that are top news stories at the moment. This is a great way to stay “tuned in” while you are traveling, so don’t miss it.

So there you have it, the NEWS in a nutshell. If you get lost you can always click on the NEWS button on the top again and you’ll be right back on your page.

That’s it for this week. Hope you find ways to enjoy this cold season—hot chocolate at one of the local restaurants, museum visits, movies…check the Events Calendar on our Home Page and find things that interest you. Then get out there and have fun!

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