TUESDAY MORNING NOTES - January 24, 2012

Tue Jan 24 13:15:02 MST 2012

TMN submittal:
http://cals.arizona.edu/extension/tuesday/form/submittal_form.html 

Tuesday Morning Notes 

January 24, 2012

eXtension WEBSITE UPGRADE-VOLUNTEERS NEEDED:

eXtension is beginning the process of redesigning its public website
(http://www.extension.org).  To help get started, they are recruiting
Cooperative Extension workers to participate in a 30-minute telephone
interview to gather some initial feedback about the public website to guide
and inform them  on its redesign.  Interview participation will be kept
strictly confidential with a third party conducting these interviews.  We
would like to have local agents/educators, state specialists, program
assistants/office secretaries, volunteers, and administrators across the
major program areas participate in the interviews.  The interview
participants must be familiar with the public website and have used it to be
able to answer the questions appropriately.  If interested, go to the online
Volunteer Form and provide your contact information.  Volunteers chosen will
be contacted by eXtension staff to set up a date and time for participation.

TECH TIP OF THE WEEK:

By now you should know that having a secure, strong password is an essential
part of computer and Internet security.  There are different methods of
creating passwords that are both secure and easy to remember, but beyond
following the basic rules, how do you know your password is good enough?
Increasingly, Websites and Web applications employ built in strength testers
to provide instant feedback on your password and there are freely available
testing tools.  Here are some sites and how some passwords fared:

*	How Secure is my Password ( <http://howsecureismypassword.net>
http://howsecureismypassword.net) - 'It would take a desktop PC about 928
years to hack your password'
*	The Password Meter ( <http://www.passwordmeter.com>
http://www.passwordmeter.com) - 77%, with a strong rating
*	Test your Pas$w0rd ( <http://www.testyourpassword.com>
http://www.testyourpassword.com) - Strong
*	Strength Test ( <http://rumkin.com/tools/password/passchk.php>
http://rumkin.com/tools/password/passchk.php) - Reasonable; fairly secure
passwords for network and company passwords

SOCIAL MEDIA SURVEY:

Have you been using social media?  Why or why not?  Please take a moment to
participate in the Social Media Survey
<http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/8RR77QY> !  The survey is short, and your
responses are greatly appreciated. 

POSTAL RATE INCREASE:

Beginning this past Sunday, January 22, postal rates went up again.  The
first ounce (or First-Class/ Forever) stamp is now 45 cents.  Additional
ounces are 20 cents (no change), postcards increase to 32 cents, letters to
Canada or Mexico increase to 85 cents, and letters to other international
destinations increase to $1.05.  Prices also will change for other mailing
services, including Standard Mail, Periodicals, Package Services and Extra
Services.  

WEBINARS AND PUBLICATIONS:

Below are a number of learning opportunities that may be of interest:

*	The Environmental Protection Agency is offering a year-long webinar
series on the second Thursday of every month from 2:00-3:30 PM MST.  The
series is titled Improving Children's Health through Federal Collaboration.
On January 12 the subject is Coordinated School Health:  Clean, Green and
Healthy Schools; February 9 the focus is Obesity Prevention.  Other webinars
focus on communities working together for better health and healthy homes.
To learn more and to register, go to the webinar series website
<http://rurallisc.createsend1.com/t/r/l/itsukk/tiyuduer/f/> .  
*	The Center for Rural Entrepreneurship will present a three-part
webinar series on Energizing Entrepreneurs beginning February 22.  The fee
for the series is $185 and participants will receive a resource toolkit and
PowerPoint handouts.  For more information and to register, go to the
webinar series website
<http://rurallisc.createsend1.com/t/r/l/itsukk/tiyuduer/e/> . 
*	The 2012 Good Jobs, Green Jobs Conference will hold four regional
conferences in Atlanta-February 23-24, Los Angeles-March 15-16,
Philadelphia-April 3-4, and Detroit-May 10-11.  The regional conferences
focus on networking opportunities and showcase the best and most innovative
ideas and strategies in the public, private and nonprofit sectors.  To learn
more about these events, go to the conference website
<http://rurallisc.createsend1.com/t/r/l/itsukk/tiyuduer/s/> .   
*	Designing for Healthy Communities:  Active Living and Comprehensive
Community Development is a paper from the Institute for Comprehensive
Community Development.  It offers a summary of empirical evidence that can
be used by community developers to add a public health component to their
work.  To read the paper, go to their website
<http://rurallisc.createsend1.com/t/r/l/itsukk/tiyuduer/yh/> .  
*	Aging in Place:  A State Survey of Livability Policies and Practices
is a report by the National Conference of State Legislatures and AARP that
suggests State policies, such as land use, housing and transportation, home
services, etc., that are needed to help seniors age in place.  To get a free
copy, go to the report link
<http://rurallisc.createsend1.com/t/r/l/itsukk/tiyuduer/jr/> .  
*	Supporting Sustainable Rural Communities is a report from the U.S.
Department of Agriculture that identifies how the federal government can
help rural areas be economically vibrant and environmentally sustainable.
To download a free copy, click here
<http://rurallisc.createsend1.com/t/r/l/itsukk/tiyuduer/jy/>  (52 pages -
takes a while to load).
*	The impact of healthy food access on rural and urban communities is
discussed in Policy Link's Healthy Food, Healthy Communities: Promising
Strategies to Improve Access to Fresh, Healthy Food and Transform
Communities.  For a free copy, click here
<http://rurallisc.createsend1.com/t/r/l/itsukk/tiyuduer/ji/> .

Kirk A. Astroth
Interim Associate Dean and Director
Arizona Cooperative Extension
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
PO Box 210036
Tucson, AZ  85721-0036
520.621.7205
520.621.1314 (fax)

To submit tips, suggestions, ideas for changes and anything that could help
us be more effective, use  the "Director
<http://extension.arizona.edu/state/directors-suggestion-box> 's Suggestion
Box" - all submissions are anonymous.  

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