Different possibilities

It is a good idea to compare a computer to a smartphone and to a tablet no matter what software you are using.  The computer is more powerful but that can mean there are more options and tools available with a computer.  For instance, with Gmail, the interface (the layout of what the user sees) includes some handy tools that are missing on other types of devices.  You can see how many messages are in the Inbox, how many of them are "Unread" (unopened), immediately see if you have messages marked as spam.  I like to delete messages starting from the oldest ones in the Inbox when the total Inbox contains 1,000 or more emails.  That is rather quick and easily one on a  computer.

Meds and pills

My friend is a retired pharmacist.  I think he told me once that some term I used had been dropped.  I do see that "tablets", "capsules" and "chewies" are names that are used on the packaging of meds that we take.  I imagine that George Washington (1732-1799) and Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) did not take daily vitamins and meds.  

Our medicines were shipped to us by a firm that closed down so we were switched to another.  Just getting the names of her meds and my meds to the new supplier was a good-sized task.  

The little plastic pill containers with a pocket for each day of the week are very helpful.  I see that many of the things I have trouble remembering are repetitious.  When I try to remember if I took my morning pills today, just using memory can result in images from today and from other, recent days and I get mixed up as to what I am remembering. Just looking at a pill container straightens me out, so long as I know what day of the week today is (it's Wednesday, right?)

Too much thinking and questioning

An older, highly bookish, educated guy like me has plenty of time to think and to question - sometimes, too much. I think I may be getting better at judging when I am over-using my thinking.  Two or three possible questions to ask myself, to wonder about, maybe to look up answers to occur to me on just about any subject very, very quickly.  If I let myself get pulled into wondering, questioning, comparing judging, I can miss important deadlines and customary activities that I want to do, such as moving about, cooking, eating, putting out the trash at the right time, hydrating, shaving, etc.

Arts

Writing, typing, photos, videos, sound recording, web pages, email, text messages - those are eight tools to convey who I am or you are.  I have seen places that have maybe attempted to eliminate the name of the writer, typist, photographer, videographer, recorder, web page author, emailer, text author.  But somebody somewhere created such records and that person's judgment, attention, tastes, intentions often matter.

Visiting Gallery Q on Main Street in Stevens Point is a good way to see work in other arts.  Painting, woodworking, jewelry, photography, pottery, weaving, basketry are excellent sources of beauty and awakening but speech and writing are too.  The history of writing and of reading and literacy can be fascinating and eye-opening as to what and who humans are.

CNN Photos of the week 6/29/2025

https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/26/world/gallery/photos-this-week-june-19-june-26

My poor hearing

I can usually tell that a person is talking but I often cannot make out what exactly is said.  I am getting a bit fed up with this problem and have started trying to improve my understanding of options and treatments. This morning I found a TED talk by Juliette Sterkens, an audiologist who gave a talk I attended.

Susan Jeffers, Ezra Bayda

I like Amazon ebooks and I have many of them.  They tend to be inexpensive and arrive, ready to use seconds after I order them.  They are basically weightless and take up basically no space.  But, many excellent and helpful books are not available in that format.

Two such books that I am slowly reading in paperback form are "Opening Our Hearts to Men" by Susan Jeffers and "At Home in the Muddy Water" by Ezra Bayda.  I have found that readers enjoy and benefit from book suggestions.

Susan Jeffers died in 2012 but her books and common sense live on.  I read her book "Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway" way back, during my undergraduate years of college.  "Opening Our Hearts to Men" tends to show me the female and male sides of life very nicely, brilliantly.

Ezra Bayda is a counselor and Zen teacher.  His book "At Home in the Muddy Water" refers to the Zen idea that the lotus plant has a lovely form despite having to grow in muddy water.  The plant is a good model for those of us working on our ability to see difficulties as valuable parts of life.