As I write this, snow is falling outside my window and I consider the outdoor activities of the season  shoveling (a rather distant relation to my beloved digging, at least it gets me outside) and xcountry skiing -- as mere placeholders til gardening season starts. I dip into NE Gardening on GW about every other day in the cold months. I constantly admire the cheerleaders of posting for trying to get us slugs to respond. I do read blogs, mostly garden blogs, but a few every day, and I have been doing this for years. I have favorites, and I try dipping into links to these. Some become keepers, others one would never want to visit again. A blog is an experience of one individual  when you read blogs consistently, you get to know the person (gardener) and his/her garden and style. Photos are also an integral part of blogs. I have given some thought to why I read the blogs I do, and it really comes down to how good the writing is, and mostly because I share some of the same sensibilities as the blogger. Also reading blogs allows you to follow the continuity of something. One thing that I have noticed is that all the blogs I read are in cold climates more like our own -- there is a big garden blogging community in TX, but I havenÂt been tempted to follow anyone there, or in California either. But on GW, one feels like a contributor, not an audience. And itÂs fun to see how all of us different people respond to the same topic. Sharing and gathering Info, yes, but giving commentary and experience too. Sometimes I just want to know what others more or less around here have to say about a particular thing. We are a community too IÂm not on FB (and never will be) nor on Twitter  I personally think this is more of a generational thing. At Xmas also, I saw my 20-something daughter discreetly check her Blackberry periodically. I read the New York Times every day but in my department at work it is only us fifty-somethings who actually read the paper version. My assistant, like my daughter, both read it online. I think the internet is so big that there is room for discussion forums and social networking and blogs and research sources of all kinds. And then there is browsing for shopping. I adore going thru my catalogs, but I have found unique websites of very specialized nurseries whose catalogs I would never have received in the mail  actually they probably donÂt mail catalogs out. And now all we have to do is wait til awful winter is over, and the ground calls to us.

Yacheryl, I was having a hard time also to find virus protection for a couple of my older computers. I now have "Avast" on my ME laptop (128 ram) and it works great. I put "Avira AntiVir" on the 98 computer and it works fine.

UPS's constantly monitor the battery and have a small charger built into them to keep the battery juiced perfect. They charge up their batteries after they run down, unless of course the battery has reached its end of life cycle. Some battery types are good for two years, some for longer. Its not a real fast charger, just a little trickle job. The UPS offers surge protection even with a near dead battery. Mine beep like the dickens when their batteries get about 5 years old and one cell dies, as a reminder to go buy some new ones. At power failure every few seconds they beep here - I have several.. its funny - a beep from here where my laptop ac adapter is,, a beep over there on a desktop server, others from behind a door, still another from the router area. Almost like synchronized music that drives me nutty Power failure in the dark of nite - there's so many flashing lights you dont need to worry about bumping into walls.

I don't know if there is a "net sitter" that will totally protect your child. If it were me, I would be purchasing some software packages (many available for different ages)and installing them on the computer. It is very easy for a child to get confused, and if your net sitter isn't up to snuff, you could be asking for trouble. I would not have given my DD access to the internet when she was 7. We had several software programs available for her use. The selection is amazing. I have an 8 year old nephew who uses software and doesn't access the internet. He is perfectly happy with the selection and doesn't even realize that he's not on the internet Honestly, I don't think he really knows what the internet is, or for that matter, old enough to understand the safety issues. When DD was your son's age, she received different software for holiday or birthday gifts as these programs are not inexpensive. At about age 12, she was given a software program (I believe Cosmo) that let you put your picture in and it allowed the user to change their hairstyle, color, etc., very interactive. I thing there are many better choices available than internet. The benchmark in my mind is when your child is old enough to understand that using the internet is a safety issue, and is not without a down side. If you are insistent on the internet access for your child, I would contact the school your child attends and speak with the computer or IT person there to see what they have equipped the school computers with. Even at that, when your child begins using the computer at school which does access the internet, you have to sign a release form to let him participate. Essentially you release the school from any liability. It just raises a red flag for me since your son is so young, and I have seen so many negatives of the internet access and young children. Best of luck!