Greetings and Happy 2009to all of you! The theme of "The On Ramp" this month is "The Toolbox"! While this may seem like an odd theme for and Internet newsletter....actually...THAT is what the Internet really is:  A Toolbox.

The Internet is an endless resource for 

News
Research
Shopping
Socializing
Communication
Entertainment
Money Saving

The list is truly endless.  Whether you are researching a college to attend, or attending college...it can be done via the Internet.  Banking, recipes, communicating with friends and family, settling a bet on who's right, paying bills, fixing a thermostat, checking whether the schools or roads are closed, planning a vacation, looking for and buying the perfect gift, training your cat to stay off the table, checking the headlines, looking for a quilt pattern, and the list goes on.  What the Internet is to you is as unique as YOU.

I have included articles written by our staff regarding their favorite Internet Tools and how they use them.  I hope you find this information helpful and enlightening.  I welcome your comments and additions to the newsletter! Please email me at editor@bmi.net

Here is a sandwich that would be a delight for any toolbox, lunch box or just a brown paper bag. Help them eat healthy:
Veggie-Stack Pita Pockets 

Holy Cow! 2008 is already over. Can you believe it? What seems like a couple of weeks turned out to be an entire year. I really hope that 2008 was as good for all of you and your families as it was for me and mine. I truly am appreciative of all I have and those I have to share it with.

So, it's wintertime and in many parts of the country, we have snow and really cold temperatures. Sometimes, too cold to play outside. I know if my kids are in the house for more then about one hour I hear a chorus of "I'm bored". So I have a few ideas to keep them occupied.

Did you know that you can save time and keystrokes by using some "shortcuts" that require no installation or software?  That's right:  YOU ALREADY HAVE THEM!

Press the  for the following results (when 2 keys are shown, press them simultaneously):

 F1 for HELP
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Here are a few fun tools built in to the Google search engine that I use regularly:

 define: If you want to know the meaning of a word like nadir, type "define: nadir" into a Google search box. You'll get results with the word's definition in them.

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