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Tech Tips From the Hive

Happy New Year! Still trying to come up with a New Year’s resolution? How about committing to using secure passwords this year? The beginning of a new year is a great time to clean house of all the old and often used passwords and start fresh. This applies not only at work, but also for all the personal accounts we use (think Facebook, Twitter, online banking, credit cards, etc.). A secure password is at least 8 characters long, doesn’t contain your username or real name, doesn’t contain a complete word, is different from previous passwords, and uses all of the following: uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters.

‘Twas the Night Before Christmas Safety:

Answers to ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas Safety photo:

 

1.      Unattended fire – never leave a fire unattended

2.      Stockings near the fire – keep combustible material away from fires

3.      Sharp hooks – don’t use sharp items to decorate if small children will be near them or attracted to them

4.      Missing fireplace screen – no grate or screen to shield from ashes, embers, and heat

5.      Dry Christmas tree – dry trees are fire hazards

6.      Broken lights – malfunctioning lights pose a fire and electrical hazard

7.      Obstructed doorway – large items (rocking horse) is blocking a fire escape pathway

8.      Frayed cord – electrical hazard (note: no more than 3 strands of standard size lights on each surge protector)

9.      Toxic snow – artificial snow is toxic and should not be left out in the reach of small children or pets

10.  Unextinguished lights – Christmas lights left on extended periods of time

Tech Tips from the Hive

Have you ever received a new work computer, bought a new computer for home, or had a hard drive fail and wondered how you would migrate all of your browser settings (Chrome, Firefox) to the new computer?  Both Google Chrome Sync and Firefox Sync allow you to bring your bookmarks, saved passwords and other browser settings to any computer you use.  Both features require you to sign in to the application, but once signed in you can then enable sync to any device you use.  We’ve created Tutorials to help you with the process.  Click here for the Firefox Sync Tutorial, or click here for the Google Sync Tutorial.

Need to access your office computer and work files from home?  Install the UK Cisco VPN client and use Remote Desktop to access your work whenever you’d like without coming in to the office.  The Hive has created tutorials to walk you through the process of downloading and installing the VPN client, and accessing your work machine using Remote Desktop.  Have a look at these tutorials to get started:

Tech Tips from the Hive

Welcome to the first installment Tech Tips from the Hive. Tech Tips will be a regular feature of the staff newsletter where we hope to provide you with useful information about technology for both work and personal use. We will also use this space to answer technical issues that our support staff sees regularly in the College. Additionally, we’ll try to provide information on programs, apps, technology, etc. that you may find useful at home or at work.

Did you know that as a member of the staff at UK you are entitled to access all the latest versions of the Microsoft Office Applications at no cost? You can install Office apps on up to five devices (PCs, Macs, or mobile) via Office 365 for Education. Each UK Office 365 account also includes one TB of Microsoft OneDrive Cloud storage. To access your Office 365 account and download the latest versions of the Microsoft Office Application suite, go to http://office365.uky.edu and login with linkblueid@uky.edu and your linkblue password.

Meet Nick Thelen!

Nick Thelen

I was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in Bethesda Hospital, but my family resided in Northern Kentucky at the time (and still does). I grew up playing in the backyard with my sister and our animals—sometimes a dog, sometimes cats—and reading fantastical stories like Harry Potter and A Wrinkle In Time. My father encouraged my interests in sports, mainly soccer, while my mother cultivated my artistic side. We are a close family growing closer as the years push on, and one day I hope to be as helpful to them as they were to me.

I chose UK for a few reasons, one of which was the scholarship I had received. The second reason would be that, when I walked out of the Visitor Center and looked at the steps leading further, I envisioned myself taking those steps. I liked that feeling very much.

Meet Jennifer Allen!

 

Jennifer Allen

Co-Director, Hive. Director of Communications & Creative Services

 

1. What do you like to do in your spare time? I love to hang out with my husband, Ben, and our boys (ages 10 and 8) and see what adventures we can find – hiking, baseball, swimming, camping, etc. I love photography, reading and crafting. If I have free time, you’ll usually find me crafting, sewing, baking, reading or planning a birthday party! I can’t forget about movies – we are also a family that loves watching movies.

2. What is your favorite movie or book? I can never pick just one favorite of anything. I’m an avid reader of a wide variety of books. My favorite would be fiction and lately I’ve been into dystopian novels. I just finished reading “We Are Called to Rise” and “The Giver.” I’m now reading “Station Eleven.” “The Martian” is my favorite movie I’ve watched recently.

Leadership Forum Notes 2015

My Dear A&S Colleagues,

Please, feel free to use or pass along my notes from the 2015 Leadership Forum talks that were streamed last week.  Many of you may have attended, but for those of you who were unable to attend or watch the live-streams, I hope this is helpful!  The talks were very interesting and relevant to the work we do.

Most kind regards,

Erin Norton Miller, Department Manager, Appalachian Studies, UK Appalachian Center, Arts & Sciences, erin.norton.miller@uky.edu, 859-257-4852

 

UK Women’s Forum Conference

This year I was urged by two mutual friends at UK to make sure I signed up for the UK Kentucky Women’s Forum Conference.  Just getting started in a new role, I was concerned I wouldn’t have time for an entire day away from the office, but I signed up and made plans to go.  Boy was I glad I did! The day was wonderfully orchestrated with a keynote speech from our own Kirsten Turner to start things off.  The theme was “Memoir” and Kirsten stayed on theme as she relayed an impactful “moment in time” to us and encouraged each of us to seek and be ‘network resources’ during times of crises.  It was especially heart-warming to hear from our own Chief of Staff as she expressed her heart for fitting work into our busy, complex lives.  Another A&S staff member in attendance, Jacqueline Burke said, “I really enjoyed Kirsten Turner’s key note speech.  She is so good at connecting with whoever she is speaking with, one on one or to an entire group.  It really spoke to me as a working parent.  Two thumbs up!”

Meet Linda Elmore!

Hi Everybody!  My name is Linda Elmore.  I am the Financial Coordinator in the Patterson Office Tower IBU.  I grew up in San Jose, California.  I taught elementary and Middle School out in the desert near Palm Springs for 9 years.  I moved to Kentucky looking for a new adventure.  I met my husband and we were married a couple years later.  We enjoy watching movies, eating out, walking, gardening and traveling.  We have three crazy cats that keep us busy.  I came to UK in 2012 after working at Urban Active in their accounting department for 9 years.   I originally worked in the UK Medical Center in Pediatrics with their grants and came to Arts & Sciences when my position was eliminated because of an IBU reorganization.

 

1.       What do you like to do in your spare time?

I like to read self-help books and work on my family genealogy.  I have 700 people in my family trees that I have identified so far.  It’s time to travel to France, Germany and Ireland to find more records of my ancestors.

2.       What is your favorite movie or book? 

Student Staff Spotlight

My name is Kimberly Kuharik and I’m a non-traditional student majoring in Business Management. My husband, Christopher, and I have lived in Georgetown, KY for ten years. I was born in Augusta, GA, but I’ve lived in several different states: Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Louisiana. My father worked in the horse industry for a while, and we travelled quite a bit. When pressed about my childhood home, I answer Charleston, SC because most of my happier childhood memories involve that city. I love animals, all kinds, and we have two cats, Tigger and Calhoun, who we adopted from animal shelters. My hobbies are varied and depend greatly on my mood. I’m a very creative person. I’ve experimented a bit through the years: painting, knitting, singing, writing, jewelry-making, cooking, woodworking, etc.

I chose UK because my husband is a UK Alumni, a graduate of the College of Engineering. I felt by choosing UK, I was creating a family tradition.