Spring 2014 5 23 Friday

70 degrees this morning.  Trying to sit on the patio, but there is still a slight coolness in the air (sigh).  Normally Memorial Day is about the time it really starts getting hot in the morning, so hopefully this weekend is it.

The Veterans Job Fair went well.  It was very professionally done and while I really wasn't suited or interested in many of the jobs offered, (there were a few which made it well worthwhile going, if nothing else just for the experience) and the organizations/businesses there were very open to questions and providing information.  They even offered a lot of "freebies", which I skipped except for a "string backpack" that I use when I bike and normally break about one every three months.  However, the one I am currently using has lasted for a long time, maybe even a year.

Trying to get my iPhoto library organized.  The most frustrating part has been getting ride of "duplicates, thumbnails and the "faces" that Apple uses that somehow duplicated to about 14,000 images.  The Apple Store staff has been very helpful in helping me approach this.  I'm not sure where Apple recruits for their store, but they hire a lot of really great people.  (They hire a good variety of ages, etc. also, which makes me feel good about the company.)

I don't quite know how my iPhoto library got so disorganized (probably through years of "tu it" delays!), but I am intent on getting it organized into albums and then stored somewhere.  I am actually learning a lot, it is interesting.  Apple apparently added more "1 to 1" staff, which is great, until everyone else learns about it and then it will be hard to get an appointment again!  They have a lot more appointment times available for the "1 to 1 personal", which is either 30 minutes or an hour of direct "1 to 1" training, which is great, because I always learn a lot.  "Open Training" is for when you have a project that you don't need continuous help, but you may need some assistance to help you over  hump and that  is also great.

 I noticed I am just scanning Facebook more and more as more "sponsored" ads and junk are in the "news feed".  Hope I don't miss anything I world really like to see, but I only have so much time. 

Looks like it will be a great day.  I even have another appointment at the Apple Store this mooring, hopefully can break through the problems on iPhoto.  I don't mind spending the time on it, I just hate to waste time.  The time on the patio this morning has been good, even if a little cool, it is good to be back and see the trees, hear the wind through the tress and the birds.

We no longer have our bird feeders.  It just got too messy.  We miss the birds, but it was a continual hassle fighting the squirrels, raccoons and other varmints as well as we weren't sure what type of pests were in our lawn to eat the discarded seeds.

We will try to go to a Redbirds baseball game (or two) this weekend.  That is always fun when the weather is nice. 

Just looked at my gmail account spam folder, I had over 200 spam in the last three days!

That's it for now, Friday, May 23, 2014

Spring 2014 5 21 Wednesday

70 degrees this morning. Should be a great morning on the patio!

Still some "jet lag" effects on sleeping patterns, but otherwise reentry has been good and the jet lag effects aren't that bad.  

Thinking some more about the Front Line program on solitary confinement, I had never really thought before the effects of total mindless rage, to the point that a person slams themselves against a steel door for hours and bleeds and other.  I was actually stunned by the program.  There are some actions that even writing can't really get across the overwhelming rage that someone feels.  I have seen it in residents who feel they have no say in a situation, and perhaps I vaguely feel it for brief moments about the way the spoiled brat professional politician and the board of fools are destroying Lakeland.  However, I can move, the resident normally gets some response (maybe not in the current Lakeland), but the prisoner has absolutely no say or even any response to his or her focused anger.  I'll look more at this.

One of the aspects of China I noticed I miss is the sound of the language itself.  I expect if I could understand it, I wouldn't notice it,but the musical nature of it is intriguing, with there being major differences in men and women speaking it.  I actually also enjoyed most of the food, much more than I expected.  

Sitting out on my patio again.  I guess I am pushing it, it probably is just a little too cool yet for early morning patio.  (The rest of the day is fine, but enjoy the early morning the best.)  I am going to sit out here for a while, but probably will give up and go in.  

I have a "virtual coffee"  (through FaceTime) later this morning.  I wish I had invested in a headphone/microphone combination for this, I'm sure it won't be the last one I have.  

At the last hotel we stayed at, they had walnuts to put in your oatmeal (this was the "western" breakfast buffet of course).  I liked it so much I am adding walnuts to my oatmeal, along with the cinnamon, blueberries and honey!  Pretty soon, I'll wander where the oatmeal went!  I eat that and an apple with peanut butter every morning.  I may need to delay the apple and peanut butter to later in the day, it is becoming a big breakfast.  

Evernote-I keep hearing about how good it is and I have been a "premium" subscriber for years.  I just recently have really started to use it, organize my notes etc.  I think I can use it to replace some database programs I pay more for.  It is so hard to get assistance on it.  That is a major reason I like Apple products, if nothing else I can go to the Apple Store and get assistance on anything Apple sells.  I'm not aware of any other product that does that.  

I wish Apple would buy Evernote!  That would really be a fascistic combination.  Evernote just has such a long learning curve and they have very little support, although eventually someone responds to me.  However, either I don't explain myself well, or they are that familiar with the program themselves.  I think they have a "in the rut" type of thinking on what the program should do and they don't envision what I am trying to do.  For years, I basically just listed the books I wanted to read (so I could refer to it) and my car mileage and occasionally some other things.  I learned the "notebook/note" system and now hopefully learning the reminder system.  I am also keeping articles in it instead of on my computer.

I really enjoy the "online" USA Today (I think it is the best on-line paper), but it is so hard to retain articles (other than on the iPad itself).

I am attending a "Veterans" Job Fair tomorrow.  I have never been to one, so it will be interesting.