Spring 2014 April 6 Sunday

46 degrees this morning, but seems to be warming up faster.  Also, trees and grass are greening up and the early trees and flowers are ballooning.

Ate our normal breakfast at "Steak n Shake" this morning.  We have eaten breakfast there (if I remember right) at least once per week on a regular basis for about 10 years.  We usually go on Sunday morning now.  We know the Manager, most of the personnel and even many of the customers who have the same patterns.  It is kind of like a small town restaurant.  The food is good, the service is usually great and it is relatively close.  The cooks even know to start preparing the "Gluten Free" environment when Aliene walks in!  (The grill has to be  cleaned off for her eggs and bacon.)  The Manager is great, and somehow doesn't  go nuts supervising young adults, most of whom are working at their first jobs.    We eat lunch or supper there occasionally, but we almost always eat our Sunday breakfast there.  For awhile, we ate their both Saturday and Sunday, but for some reason settled on Sunday.  Probably due to the Manager as much as anything, it is a great place to eat.  The Manager actually manages three Steak n Shakes in the area.  I like it so much several years ago (around 2008 during the downturn) I even bought some Steak n Shake stock for my IRA.  It did well, a huge percentage increase, although not much in absolute terms since it wasn't a lot of money.  Steak n Shake is now part of a company kind of like Berkshire Hathaway (Warren Buffet), so I own a few shares of that but it's not as much fun as directly owning Steak n Shake.  Maybe they will spin it off in the future.   The strawberry shakes at Steak n Shake are great, second only to Braums.  However, the nearest Braums to Memphis is about 280 miles (exit 13 off of I-40 in Alma, Arkansas).  Actually, for health/weight reasons, I rarely eat strawberry shakes anymore, but when I do, it is really a special treat.

Braums only goes as far as one of their trucks can deliver (supposedly so everything is fresh) so most Braum's are within 8  hours of Tuttle, Oklahoma, which is slightly southwest of OKC..

Finished "Lincoln's Boys"  (about Lincoln's Private Secretaries).  It was a good book.  Haven't decided what to start now, need to catch up on some magazines etc. The book was good, it shed some light on other reading I had done by them.

I am going to tty to set up a VPN (Virtual Private Network).  It apparently provides more security when you use the internet from a public place (like Starbucks or some hotels) plus, the main thing, is so I can access some websites that are blocked in China.  It appears simple, but.... I found a web site that has a very good description of how to set up a free one, but somehow "simple" to them isn't "simple" to me.  I may try it tonight or at least this week.  I have my first Apple Computer, an iMac G5 that I can't part with and it is still humming away in the front room.  It is probably 9 years old, and I think it is a about 7 generations old.  My "new"one is two generations old!  Of course, they released a "New" generation about three months after I bought it, so it was obsolete in three months.

I quickly learned to check the web sites and find out when NOT to buy Apple (and other products) based on when a new model was coming out.  So far it was worked well for my iPad Nano, iPhone(s) and my MacBook Air which I bought about a month after release.  I actually try to buy my computers on "sales tax free" weekend, which may be a poor reason but it makes me feel good.  Actually I use my Discover Card for 5% off and then get 9.25% tax free, so it's not bad.  I need to buy a computer every three years to maintain my "1 to 1" membership.  I'm due to buy one this year, but I'm not sure what I need.  Maybe a MacBook Pro., or the new edition of the MacBook Air, which I consider the best computer made.  The ten hour battery (actually more, since I turn it on at 3 a.m. and put it on the charger at 10:30 p.m. and it is almost never completely down.  Of course if I use it continuously the battery will run down about 7 p.m.

It is funny how the forest in back of our house looks so sparse in Winter, and so full in Summer.  The leaves on the trees really hide the forest.  Kind of like some people I know.

I think I'll get out my remote control car and try it out (maybe after I do the VPN), that is operated by an iPhone.  I had a little problem explaining that to Aliene, except that I had a $30 off coupon for it.  

Got the recall package for the Fitbit Force.  I love it, but since they are recalling it, it probably means I could never get it repaired.  

That's it for today.

Spring 2014 March 30 Sunday

37 degrees this morning.  The cool weather continues.

Life seems to develop it's own patterns, and I still follow the patterns of doing certain activities on the weekend, especially Saturday.  Even though I could do them on a weekday, and probably with less hassle and crowds,  I wait for the weekend.  When "every day is a Saturday except for Sunday", it seems the patterns would be changed somewhat.  Even though I am keeping my general schedule (I get up at the same time, exercise etc. 

Signs of spring and summer are appearing and I except soon will be here.  Can't be too soon as far as I'm concerned.

My picture of Marilyn Monroe feel and broke the glass yesterday.  Fortunately we were able to save the picture itself.  Actually it is a signed poster of the Marilyn Monroe stamp.  I really didn't realize it had glass like that in there.  I pick up odd pieces of art here and there and I checked our other paintings etc. to make sure it didn't have similar glass.  

Reading "The People of the Book", trying to at least get some of it read before Book Club meets on Wednesday, to at least get the spirit of the book.  I didn't know what I would think of it based on reviews and some comments I had read, but it is interesting enough to keep me reading.  I am reading it on my iPad.  I happened to read a review and summary before I started reading the book, which helped m understand a relatively difficult book to understand what was happening.

Turned out to be a beautiful day, a little cool.

With the elimination of the Tennessee women basketball team, the only teams left are the ones I watch hoping they they will get beat, with an emphasis on Kentucky getting beat, hopefully as bad as possible,  if I watch it at all.      

We actually watch almost everything on tape so we can watch when we want to.  Also, I can skip over the "talking heads" and the "analysis", as well as the commercials.  

I was amazed that an old iPod Shuffle that I had given up for dead suddenly showed signs of life and now is holding a charge and acting like everything is fine!  This is one of the three "gumstick" iPod shuffles Apple made.  I think the 3rd generation.  I got them about seven years ago and they just keep on chugging along, with the original battery.  Actually, I have not replaced a battery in any Apple product i own (including a laptop purchased about 7 years ago that i gave to my granddaughter)  Super quality!  I ended up with three of these shuffles (two of them as gifts) and the battery is still good in each one.  I also have an iPhone 3 and 3g I use as an iPad Touch, I use them for music, books etc., and my original iPod is still working find.  My original iPad is still working fine, if a little old and cranky.  

Later....busy day, getting items boxed up, replaced the weed material and mulch in the area where we keep the trash carts.  I finished up with a bike ride, as it developed into a very pleasant day.  

Trying to develop the habit of keeping track of what I eat (and my exercise) on "MyFitness Pal" .  It does ell to keep track of what I eat, even if I estimate a lot.

That's it for today.

Winter 2014 February 16 Sunday

39 degrees.  Still seems colder than that, I guess the continued cold has gradually seeped into my  body infrastructure.  Or more likely, the 85 degree weather I enjoyed last Sunday through Wednesday spoiled me!

I had a problem with my MacBook Air, basically concerning use of iMessage and FaceTime.  I called Apple and was amazed at the time and care the Apple representatives took to resolve the problem.  I started with one and was transferred to a more experienced specialist (I assume).  He kept working on the problem.  After I advised him I had an appointment at the local Apple Store "Genius Bar" he asked me to contact him and tell him what the problem was so he would recognize it in the future.  I don't think it was an act, he felt a real concern that he couldn't solve the problem and it bugged him!    I went to the "Genius Bar" where the "Genius" worked on it in a very dedicated matter until he found the problem, which was a fluke type of cause (my clock time was set incorrectly due to me traveling to another time zone and the program refused to work since the time showed as the future, which didn't compute, or something like that!.  I e-mailed the Apple representative and advised him of the solution.

This holiday will honor my favorite President and historical figure, Abraham Lincoln.  I actually have an extensive library on him and have read a lot of books on him.  While in Washington D.C. last year, I went to his "country house", where he spent a lot of time by himself, or with friends, to get away from the White House.  I never tire of reading about him.  Partially due to my being in Tennessee, partially my reading about Lincoln and partially due to a wonderful tour of Gettysburg, I have also read a lot about the Civil War.

My newspapers arrived "on time" Saturday and Sunday so hopefully Friday was a one-time glitch.

Fall 2013 December 18 Wednesday

37 degrees this morning.  Felt warmer than that, maybe just used to the cold weather.

Another quote from "And the Mountain Echoed":  "That is what aging is, she thinks as she follows Isabelle into the store, those random unkind moments when you least expect them"  (This is a point when she looks into a store windows and realizes how old she looks).  Kind of like when I look in a mirror and wonder what my father is doing here. 

Another favorite quote of mine is also from a fiction book, I believe by Jeff Deaver (I'll have to check on that).  It is a point when a older woman who is a spy is caught.  She thinks to herself that this is the point that her life, which she enjoyed, will never be the same again.  I can think of several recent points like that.  (Including the "spy" angle, bur from the other side!).  Probably "moment" that you realize everything is changed and its will never be the same  hit Aliene worse then it did me.

I guess life is composed of moments like that, when a momental change is occurring and you may  or may not be aware of the gravity of it.  On the other hand, maybe life doesn't have enough of those moments, maybe that is why time passes and we suddenly realized the journey is going faster than we want or realize.  

Apple Store today.  Trying to get control of my e-mail, calendar and contacts (also reminders) while I can take a breath and do something with it.  When I look at my e-mail and see 29,000 e-mails I need to do something to get organized!  

Looks like it will be another beautiful day today, will be in the mid-fifities and sunny.  About as good as it gets this time of year.

Fall 2013 October 22

54 degrees, light rain (streets wet). Did bicycle due to wet streets.  I need to start riding on wet streets/in the rain some time, but... 

At the Doctors office yesterday, the Nurse asked me if I exercised (how often, every day); smoked (no); used alcohol or drugs (no); drank coffee (yes); how much (10 cups per day at least)-- A definite pause!  (I quickly noted I don't drink carbonated drinks of any type (due to GERD) and it is my "only vice"!  Always nice when the Doctor tells you to "come back in a year!

I don't know if peanut butter is a vice or not, I always believe moderation is the key, but I have problems being moderate in my use of coffee and peanut butte!

Apple unveils the new iPad, iPad mini and whatever else today!  

Eating "first" thing in the morning after my nap has really helped me control my "morning time", although too much dawdling is still a problem.  

Summer 2013 July 26

Very cool this morning, 66 degrees.

I really get tired of the computer companies making junk and then trying to charge excessive rates to "fix' their mistakes.

Latest case was a Google Matrix 7 that failed after 7 months.  Staples refused to honor the guarantee (even though I had an "extended warranty" and they admitted the battery hadn't lasted near long enough.  

Apple is just as bad.  I have an iPod Nano (7th Generation) which won't sync now.  Makes it a piece of junk.  I can understand why Steve Jobs called so many things "s**t".  He produced a lot of it.  Some excellent products also, but also some real junk that Apple Computers never took responsibility for.  What really upset me was the extortive rates they wanted to give me advise on the ipod, which is only about 7 months old.  

Glad it is Friday.  Seems like a long week even though I took Monday and Tuesday morning as vacation time.  Of course, I'm still catching up.  

I keep a list of books I want to read.  My list has grown to the point, I know I will never read all of them.  Doesn't mean I can't try!