Celebrating St. Patrick's Day - Lifestyle - Butler County Times Gazette

Dear Readers: Today is St. Patrick's Day, named for St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland -- a day to celebrate the legacy and customs of the Irish. Celebrate with green pancakes shaped into shamrocks, or pop some green food coloring into any food or drink! -- Heloise

DONATION NATION

Dear Heloise: I'm annoyed by all the social media birthday fundraiser requests people promote. Is it safe to donate money to them? -- Candace C. in Illinois

Candace, I understand your frustration. However, rest assured, the recipients of the donations have been confirmed as legitimate (vetted) by most of the big social media platforms (SMP).

The SMPs ensure that the charity is a nonprofit organization and that they are registered with the Internal Revenue Service. Also, your credit/debit information should be safe; the biggest SMPs utilize encryption, which guarantees the agency will not see your card information.

Not up to giving cash? Consider volunteering for the charity to honor your friend's birthday -- that's always needed. -- Heloise

TECH TUESDAY

Dear Heloise: When it comes to computers, what's a hyperlink? -- Fred in Florida

Fred, a hyperlink, or simply a link, is a portion of text, an icon or a graphic within a document, and it may appear bold or a different color, usually blue. When you click on the hyperlink, it will typically open another browser window on your computer and take you to a new document or website, presumably to a subject that is referenced in the initial document.

Methods can vary, but to create a hyperlink in your text document, highlight the word where you want the link to be, right click and select hyperlink from the dropdown menu. You can then select another text document as the linked item or look for the globe icon to link to another website. -- Heloise

BOOKMARK IT

Dear Heloise: I wish people would stop bending the pages in the library book where they left off! It's so easy to make a bookmark from pretty greeting cards or gift boxes. It also would be thoughtful to leave a bookmark in returned books. -- D.J. in Poland, OH

SIGN YOUR CREDIT CARD?

Dear Heloise: In today's electronic age, signing a credit card serves very little purpose.

No one verifies a signature when the card is:

* Used at a self-checkout card reader.

* Below a certain dollar amount.

* Used at a gas pump.

* Online or by phone.

* At a restaurant.

So, there is no harm, of course, signing the card, but there is little identity theft deterrence value. -- Tim D., Kettering, OH

HOT WASH

Dear Heloise: When my kids were little, I would clean many of their plastic baby toys in the dishwasher. I never had any problems with the plastic toys melting or fading.

This was easier than hand-washing, and I could do it overnight when they were sleeping. -- Ruth, Dallas, TX

The temperatures in the dishwasher tend to get hotter than hand-washing -- great for a good clean! -- Heloise

Dear Heloise: What is it with people today? My husband and I got married four years ago, and people keep asking when we're going to have a baby. We're not. Neither one of us wants children. We're both in our mid-30s and enjoy a nice lifestyle, have careers we love and don't want kids. We don't hate children, as so many people think; we just don't want any. Not every woman is "mommy material."

My in-laws keep saying we're being selfish, but we feel anyone who tries to pressure us to have a baby is the one who is being selfish. After all, they wouldn't have to raise that child; we would. We must each decide the life we want, and for some couples children are simply not part of their plans. Leave us alone. We're happy with our choices. -- Nickie in New Hampshire