2016 Fall December 5 Monday

36 degrees this morning.  Walk 35:43 minutes.

Consumer Reports actually had a report on “Smart Watches” that I didn’t see until yesterday.  Strange, I normally never buy anything without checking Consumer Reports first.  I didn’t even think about them doing a report on Smart Watches.  

Anyway, it is always good to have your  opinion reinforced, the Apple Watch I bought was the highest rated of them all.  And probably also the highest price, but it is well worth the extra money, in my opinion.  (They didn’t rate the really expensive Apple Watches.)

I also wrote a review of the Apple Watch.  I mentioned the only drawback was I wanted to wear my other watches sometimes also!  

I believe all of the Apple Watches were the highest rated.  Of course, I don’t consider it a negative, but it does take an iPhone to get full benefit from the Apple Watch. 

I always approach Consumer Reports with some hesitancy sometimes since they always point out the negatives of a product and they are normally right! If I already have my mind (or heart) set on something, I hate to read of it’s negatives!  

Of course, I do read the negatives and then can decide if i want to live with the negative aspects.  

What is worse is to buy something without thinking about Consumer Reports and then reading the product you bought is a lemon, or has some unacceptable weakness or safety problem!  

Still working with the Apple Watch although it is smaller advances now. One thing I keep doing is hitting the “indoor cycle” when I walk.  It drives me nuts, because while I get the time of my walkI don’t get the other information correctly, like the pace, the distance etc.  

Usually I can see the Watch face very well, even wit glasses, but I need to take my walk with glasses!

Working more with the “Nest Thermostat”. 

Overall a nice weekend. Attended a child’s  birthday party, which is always fun. 

Yesterday, I read a trashy novel, one of the ones I get “free” once a month from Amazon.  It kept my attention, but it definitely does not qualify as “literature”. I”m not even sure if I’m going to write it down on the “list of books read”, I”m not sure if I want a record I read it.

I say  “trashy”, but there wasn’t anything at all really bad about it, probably as good as some of the best sellers, maybe better.  

I actually read it on the $50 Kindle Fire.  Not bad, although it unfortunately is basically just an ordering and advertising machine for Amazon.   

Worse yet, they seem to find a way to send you a humongous number of junk e-mails based on the “free” book I selected.  Anything you do with Amazon will result in e-mails forever and the product ads following you for years on Facebook etc.

I realized I am getting so many junk e-mails it is interfering with me getting my regular e-mails, sometimes I see an old e-mail and realize I haven’t responded to it.  I am going to start sending “unsubscribe” on a lot of e-mails and make sure I have a “junk e-mail” address for all of those company's who want an e-mail address they can send you sales pitches with.

Start of another week, the first of the month is always fun for me because that is when all of the new accounts come down, so I am busy

That’s it for now, Monday, December 5, 2016.

2016 Fall December 4 Sunday

44 degrees this morning, no walk, rain

Continual light rain last few days.  Part of the season I guess.  It may sleet and get really cold later this week.  

The first day I miss walking, it is kind of like a break. The second day I start to feel a little anxious about missing it.  It is a ritual that I enjoy, not only for the physical exercise, but also to listen to my book, music or whatever.  

Learning more about the Nest Thermostat.  It is an amazing device.  Some things I hope they change, like the display being able to show more than one thing.  I”m going to call if there is a way to do that.  

I guess they need a “modular” face like the Apple Watch has.

I have basically leaned to set a schedule, although actually I really don’t need to since the Nest “learns” from your actions and will automatically establish a schedule based on your actual settings.  

We don’t have that many changes since there is someone here almost all the time, so the “learning” is basically at night.  

However, when we are gone for any length of time, we can adjust it from our phones, which is nice.  

We can even set it up so that it will recognize when our phone is out of the house and it will reduce/increase the temperature to a more economical setting.  I’m not sure if it is “smart” enough to recognize the phone is getting closer and start the  temperature back to where you like it, but I doubt if there is really a way to do that. 

What is somewhat discouraging is that we are just getting started in this, and there is actually the capacity to run your entire house (including the lawn) somewhat “automatically”.  While it isn’t necessary that we do that, it would be interesting to try.

We will start small with the Nest and kind of go from there.  I think it should be fairly simple to set up the lamps so they can be controlled by the iPhone etc.  

Anyway, I will do like I do a lot of things and try to be aware of what is out there that we can do, and then when we need it done I can figure out how to do it

I remember long ago, I had a hard time learning Excel, because I didn’t really use it for anything other than minor projects.

Then one day I had to do a city budget on it, and I learned it easily because it was actually something I used, not just a theory.

For several years, I took computer courses in different programs.  It didn’t do me a lot of good right away, but when it did come time to learn the programs or get them (such as Exchange), I understood enough that I learned it fast and, perhaps more important, I already knew the concept.

Another dream, this one is short, but it was one that took me a while to realize it was just a dream.

12-3-16 Dream

Dreamed I had checked into a large hotel area and I parked my car.

The next morning I couldn’t remember where I had parked my car and was wondering all over the hotel and areas trying to find my car.

I went into a lot of different areas looking for my car, including strange areas.

It was a very large complex, with a number of large Motels and other industrial buildings. I never did find my car before I woke up!

That’s it for now, Sunday, December 4, 2016.

2016 Fall December 3 Saturday

46 degrees this morning, no walk (light rain)

Got the “Nest” thermostat somewhat connected last night, with varying degrees of frustration and wonder, and maybe a little blue language to help. 

I thought it was rather strange that it referred to “24/7” help, but no number or e-mail.  There are plenty of YouTube videos, but I really don’t do videos that well, unless I have time to watch it several times and note the key points. 

I am much better with slide shows that show each step and then stop and let you do it, or even written instructions with displays.  

I do have it set up to where I can control it from our iPhone (and iPads I assume).  Like my Apple Watch, I will do one new thing every couple of days and kind of adopt an “experience” learning curve. I do much better that way.  

It is rather fascinating how many different items you can connect, literally you can run your entire house (and yard) via spoken instructions if you connect a Dot or Siri etc.  I’m not sure what you do if you lose wi fi, which does happen occasionally.

Currently I have two wi fi systems, I always have to remember to set the same wi fi!  (Actually I have the cable internet with a cable router and than an Apple time machine with sets up another wi fi point, not necessarily a different system).  

One thing about the Apple Watch I wish they would highlight more (it took me a little time to realize it) is that the “modular face” actually is best for really getting the most out of your watch.

For example , right now I have the time (of course!), the weather (temperature, location I am in, high and low and whether it is cloudy, showers, clear etc.), an alarm time (if set or not), appointments for that day, my “text messaging” and an activity app so I can directly go to each activity from my watch face.  All on one concise glance at my watch!  Neat!

I can also put my phone, pulse, music, battery, “breathing app”, Date, “find my friends, Heartwach, Home (for controlling things like the Next thermostat, security etc.), e-mail, maps, various apps, moon phase, sunrise/sunset, reminders,, Shazam, sleep watch, Stocks, stopwatch  etc. on the phone.  Amazing!

It is limited to six items, but it is easy to change.  

Probably he modular watch face is the most valuable thing about the Apple watch and why it is so addictive.  I don’t like to use the word “addictive”, but I mean it in a positive sense.  

The Mickey mouse watch face is fun, but you can (in most cases) have only one other item on it, instead of six. 

Of course you can change them at the flick of  finger.  

Quickly, need to note my dream yesterday. 

12-2-16 Dream

Dreamed (the part I remember), I had bought a paper was was waking through an alley when a man in front of me started talking  to me. My impression was he was “homeless” or close to it.

We walked what looked like to the edge of inside of a moving truck over a  deep area and I was worried about getting out.

Someone was sitting under the bed, smoking a cigarette.  I could see the cigarette, but not the person.  He yelled, “just jump”.

The person I was on the truck/ledge with started to grab my newspaper, he said he had something he wanted to see.  I wanted to go, so I advised him I had to meet someone and I would bring the paper back.

He pulled out a cell phone to look at it and see what he needed to see in the newspaper. I kept looking at my watch (it was 10 till 7) and getting more nervous.

At that point I woke up and gradually realized it was a dream.  It was a very strong dream and took me several moments before I realized it was only a dream.

That’s it for now, Saturday, December 3, 2016.

2016 Fall December 2 Friday

38 degrees this morning, walk 35:14 minutes

Dec. 2, which means it has been almost 2 1/2 years since we moved, a little over 2 years since I started work.  In a way it seems like a lot longer, in a way simply a blink of time.  

Just saw a quote by Stephen Covey, “There are three sure things in life, change, choice and principle”.  

If you think about it (and I may get a little tongue tied here), there will always be change, but you have a choice on how you react to the change, and it is important to have (and follow) your principles when you make a choice.  

I always thought Stephen Covey’s concepts were interesting and probably correct, incorporating it into your daily life isn’t easy.  Like anything, it is difficult to put concepts into daily practice.  

Of course, like I always think, the only way to learn to do something is to do it, so you just need to incorporate it into your daily living.

I believe in this case, if you consider choice and principles in small, daily decisions, you would be ready to make he big decisions.  

Probably one of the hardest things to actually grasp (even though you can say you believe it) is that change really is happening, like it or not.  The key point is how you react to change and using your basic principles when reacting to change.

Probably a prime example now is how to react to a disgraceful, lying, bigoted, buffoon clown of a president.  Instead of getting better, he is getting worse, and is a disgrace for America. 

Rather than get angry about it, I just need to accept that we are going to have a clown, liar and bigot  as president and hope the congress develops some principles.

Of course, he doesn’t make it any better by appoint bigots, unethical “businesspeople” who victimize low income  people and steal their houses etc.  THESE are going to be “leaders”?  Disgraceful.  

I need to make the choice not to get mad or upset about it, just ignore it as a sideshow which I can’t do much about.  

I haven’t  set up the “Nest” yet to regulate temperature etc., although it is working now.  I will do that today. 

I have found in projects like this, I do a lot better if I read the instructions, take my time and don’t get in a hurry.  

Also, I have learned don’t hesitate to ask questions!

With my Apple Watch, I took my time, read parts of the manual, and then tried to accomplish that phase.  So far, it was worked well, and there are only a few functions I need to finish up, although I expect there will always be “one more thing” to learn about the watch or try!

I had good advice on the Nest (which I will follow), to “start off simple and do the enhancements over time”.  I have learned from experience I don’t want (or need) to do everything that something can do.

Friday, looking forward to the weekend  The week has gone fast, considering that we had a 4-day weekend!  

That’s it for now, Friday, December 2, 2016.

2016 Fall December 1 Thursday

31 degrees this morning, walk 35:24 minutes 

Our new “furnace blower” is installed and apparently working.  It is nice to know it is in, although it never got that cold in the house.  Apparently the other heater basically warmed the house, at least to a minimum amount.  

Not quite sure how that works since I kept the door closed and I always thought heat rises.

We also installed a new “Nest” thermostat.  It looks nice, now I need to learn how it operates!  Usually I can figure it out by reading the instructions or going to Google if I get stuck.  

When I was buying it, people in line were telling me how much they loved it etc. and I think the “would buy again” rate is about 98%, so I have high expectations for the Nest.

At least things started off right with it, I went to the Lowe’s about a mile away and it was on sale for $50 off (I thought).  The clerk told me it was “my lucky day” since someone had not removed the tag.  I (somewhat!) protested that I would pay the regular price, but they gave me the “sale” price anyway.

In addition, I received a 10% “veterans” discount, so it made it a real bargain.  

We didn’t realize until about a month or so ago that Lowe’s gives veterans (at least for residential use) 10% off, which is why I want to Lowe’s in the first place, plus it is so close and is a very nice Lowe’s.  

This state puts an American Flag on your Drivers license if you are a veteran and a clerk at Lowe’s noticed it and mentioned about the 10% off.

It is strange how your allegiance  to stores develops. We always liked Lowe’s better than Home Depot.  Nothing against Home Depot certainly, it is just their stores are always so hard to get to and appeared to be more cluttered than Lowe’s. Probably just one of those  beliefs that develop.  

Probably the same reason you tend to drive the same brand of car, buy the same kind of appliances etc.  

Anyway, back to the Nest, I don’t know how to operate it, but I really like the way it looks and I am sure I will be able to operate it without any problem.

The people in line said they also had the Nest smoke detecters etc. and they really liked them also.

December of 2016 is actually here.  Somehow, I have found, time goes on in spite of how we fail about it.  

Winter is only about three weeks away, but it means that Spring and Summer are coming also!

Weather this morning during my walk was wonderful.  While it was cold, it was one of those clear, still mornings and I could see the stars in the sky so clearly.  There was no wind, so it was a nice walk, although I prefer it when the moon is up.  

Still listening about Ernest Hemingway and specifically “The Sun also Rises”.  There is certainly a lot of references I missed it when i read it! 

That’s it for now, Thursday, December 1, 2016.

2016 Fall November 30 Wednesday

36 degrees this morning, walk 35:13 minutes

The last month of 2016 starts tomorrow, time flies!

Our furnace still isn’t fixed, wrong type of blower motor (of course). Oddly enough, it hasn’t gotten that cold in the house.  I don’t know if it is insulation, or somehow the furnace for the “bonus room” is heating the entire house.  

The bonus room is upstairs and we keep the door closed, so I doubt if it is hearing the entire house, especially since heat rises.  

One of the fun things about owning a house, finding someone competent to do necessary work, and then getting someone out. At least the one doing this work shows up on time etc.  

Definitely going to get a “Nest” Thermostat, not looking forward to the lead time necessary to learn the programming, but that is part of it.  Also concerned about getting it installed.  

The term “anyone can do it” doesn’t apply to me when it comes to mechanical ability.   I have none, even though I like to think I have some, especially if I closely follow the instructions.  However, electrical is where I draw the line, unless there is no electricity in the installation. 

In any event, I know better than to try to start the installation of something like the “Nest”.  If it wasn’t winter, I might try it, but it is.

Listening to my “Great American Literature” lectures, I am currently on Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises”.       

It is a very interesting discussion on the various characters, Hemingway himself, and his writing style.

The lecturer mentioned that Hemingway managed to “say a lot in an empty space”.  That was an interesting thought.  I’ll have to mull that over.

Another dream.          

Dream 11-29-16:

Dream for some reason was in an area where there was a lot of trash.  

I was walking down the street and turned a corner which was very dark.  I was standing adjusting to the dark when a man in a wheelchair bumped into me and said “excuse me” and went on.

I tried to pull my iPhone out of the packet so I could use it’s flashlight, but i was wearing gloves and couldn’t pull it out. 

Another wheelchair game in, this time, the man got out, folded it out and handed it to someone living behind some rubbish.

It happened again.  

Tried to get my iPhone out sos I could see what was going on while thinking that it wouldn’t  be very good light.

The street was full of junk and debris

I woke up

Not sure where this dream came from.  The location appeared to be dirt streets and the dark street went up some.  It seemed to be a downtown industrial area.   

That’s it for now, Wednesday, November 30, 2016.

2016 Fall November 29 Tuesday

47 degrees this morning, walk 35:02 minutes

We woke up yesterday morning and somehow it felt colder.  Realized our furnace had gone out!  Fortunately, our house seems to hold heat relatively well, so it has maintained at around 74 degrees even though it is in 40’s outside.  

It was the blower mower, and hopefully it will be replaced at around noon today.  I did some research, and sometimes when it seems it is the blower motor it is actually something more serious.  Here’s hoping!

If worst comes to worst, our upstairs room (they call it a “bonus room” for whatever reason) has a separate HVAC system and we can just move into here!  

Actually, my workout equipment (weights etc.) is in he bonus room, and I normally write my journal and basically spend my early morning in the room in cold weather, so I am relatively warm right now!

When we bought the house, we bought a “home warranty” just to be safe.  We’ll see how good it actually is.  

This is the time of year I figure each good weather day is good since it isn’t a bad weather day!  I know there will be some “bad weather” days, but the fewer the better.  

Dream last night that I was swimming with my iPhone and then I suddenly realized it wasn’t waterproof!   I remember thinking it was water resistant but not water proof!  Of course, by then it would have been too late fro the phone anyway!  That is the only snippet of the dream I can remember.  Again, I have no idea what it means or why I was dreaming that way!

Read yesterday that a state director was getting a $15,000 per year raise.  This, while many state employees are paid not much more than that as their total pay!  

Of course the normal reasons were give (pay was lower for the position, hard to keep someone at the pay etc.).  You can say that about any state job.  Not a good idea.  In fact I find it hard to believe that they are allowing it.

The “Great American Literature” lectures have moved on from F. Scott Fitzgerald to Ernest Hemingway.  I never realized how much the same their basic concepts were.  

The time between Thanksgiving and New Year Day frequently seems to be almost a “pause” period.  Of course that isn’t really what happens, but soon I expect to start hearing the comment “After the Holidays….” in response to questions about projects etc.

Of course, soon it is “After the Holidays…” and the excuse for delay is no longer there!  (I try not to use the term!).  

I did enjoy the Thanksgiving holidays, it was a very nice holiday.  

“Office day” today (at least at this time).  Fortunately I can dress warm enough to be comfortable until eh heating blower is installed.  Of course, I always worry about the repair person coming back and having the wrong part, or something else is needed.

Now is a good time to move to a “Nest” thermostat.  I am going to start reading up about it. I think I can even control it form my iWatch!

Actually,I am surprised at the number of appliances that can be controlled from your iPhone and how simple it is!

That’s it for now, Tuesday, November 29, 2016. 

2016 Fall November 28 Monday

61 degrees, Walk 34:51 minutes 

Starting work again after a 4 day weekend!  Always a little tough, even if you really enjoy your work!

I think my expectations of a good weekend were met.  It is hard to say what my expectations were, except for good food and good visiting and a change of pace for four days!  

Listening to the Lectures on “The Great Gatsby”.  It has a lot to say.  I don’t recall ever actually reading the book, but I will have  to put it on my to read “tu it”. 

In it he mentions the main character tries to “erase the past”  (maybe like “you can’t go home again” and, of course fails.  

Over Thanksgiving, for some reason I asked my daughter if she had ever read the short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” and she said she had read it in high school.

I was surprised to hear she remembered reading it in high school (although high school isn’t that far in the past for her.)

Then I realized that I still remember short stories and books I read when I was in probably the 4th or 5th grade, so they apparently had an impact on me!

I think what surprised me most of all was the fact that I wasn’t aware of a major short story, primarily because it wasn’t even taught when I was in high school and even college, it hadn’t been “discovered” yet as an important story.  

Sometimes I wonder how it is determined (and who determines it) if a short story, poem, book etc. is considered “important” enough to teach to students, many for whom what they learned in that class freezes their opinion or knowledge of what is “important” literature for the rest of their lives.  

Probably a good reason for requiring long-term education, I think too much of what I learned may not relate to the present all that much. 

On the other hand, you can learn from the past.  Certainly a knowledge of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy is an important lesson in today’s world of scapegoating and targeting of certain races, religions or classes of people as “its all their fault”, the “big lie” etc.   

I wasn’t surprised that the Attorney General of this state is being considered for a position in the national government.   Incompetent people appointing incompetent people . 

He wasted a lot of state funds on his own personal projects and hopefully will go to Washington DC and never come back.  

I am sure he will be happy trying to force his personal (and paid for) opinions on everyone else.

It is is rumored he is thinking of running for Governor in 2018, which would be a true disaster.  It would be interesting to know how much state money he spent on personal projects suing the federal government and how much money he took from special interests and then wrote an “opinion” on what the law meant.

A good reason that I learned you should never depend on “Attorney General” opinions, they probably reflect the opinion of special interests, not the actual law.  

Anyway, that’s my opinion!

That’s it for now, Monday, November 28, 2016.

2016 Fall November 27 Sunday

53 degrees this morning, walk 35:49 minutes

Although it is warmer than it has been other mornings, it felt cold this morning.  Perhaps it is my expectations, perhaps it is the way I dress for the walk.

Expectations have a lot to do with the actual experience, or at least the perception of the actual experience.  

I have known people who said they didn’t have any positive expectations so they were pleasantly surprised if things did work out right!

I can’t be like that, I think part of the enjoyment of an event or whatever is the expectations of the event or experience. If all of your expectations aren’t met, so what?  If your expectations are negative, you will have also lost a lot of enjoyment in the event experience!

Perhaps the best route is to have positive expectations, but don’t become so immersed in your positive expectations that you aren’t also realistic.  

However I feel positive expectations are important.  For example, if a person doesn’t have high positive expectations, it could mean you won’t work as hard in preparation because you really feel you are just going to be disappointed anyhow!

I also feel that high expectations can mean a more positive review of the event or experience, simply because you expect to enjoy it or have a rewarding experience  

Anyway, I had some high expectations of the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend, and so far I can say my positive expectations have been met!

Perhaps part of the process is also that you have positive expectations, but allow yourself to be flexible in what a positive experience is.  

The type of expectations also matter.  For example, if in my own mind, there is only one outcome that will make it a positive outcome, I am not likely to have a positive experience, then if I just felt positive about having a nice weekend!

Part of this concept of “expectations” may have do with my “expectations”  about my walk but part of it may have come from listening to the lecture about the “Great Gatsby” and some of the story lines, where “expectations” could only have been described as very high expectations..

Again, this morning watching a tape of “Formula One” reaction as I write this.  To one driver, it will only be a  success, if he wins, to another driver it will be a success if he gets a point!

To another it may be a success if he even qualifies for the race!

I was rather surprised to see that two of the four “LED” light bulbs is out in this room this morning.  Not sure if it is the fixture or  the light bulbs.  I’ll check.

Again, my expectations are that the bulbs were going to last for years, so I will be very disappointed if they lasted less than six months.  While they are “guaranteed” , ti would be difficult to determine exactly where they were purchased at, although I can determine where they were manufactured and complain to the manufacturer.  

Probably handling expectations is one of the toughest things for any company, manager or parent to handle!  

That’s it for now, Sunday, November 27, 2016.