tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80088138381943166042024-03-18T13:55:26.755-05:00fear, fun and filozWHAT COMES TO MIND - see also my site
(short link) "t.ly/fRG5" in web address windowBillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10112390801652433002noreply@blogger.comBlogger5211125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008813838194316604.post-79787009313386343022024-03-18T13:54:00.001-05:002024-03-18T13:54:55.187-05:00Stolen!<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:large"> <p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-a1e1c158-7fff-4461-6f85-00fe729a560d"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">My sister explained. She had a burglary. They came through a window. They stole her brain. I actually didn't believe her. Turns out she was referring to less speed in her memory retrieval. I sympathize with her but everyone I know who is over 80 has similar experiences. What is the name of that actress? I always like her. She was quite popular. I know I know her name but I can't get it to come to mind. It is on the tip of my tongue. I think she had an affair with that actor. She was the mother of what's- his-name.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">I told my sister that there are moments when my lunch friends, all retired professors, are all sitting at the lunch table with their heads tilted back, gazing upward. They are trying to make brain juice run down to their tongue, enabling recall.</span></p> </div></div> Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10112390801652433002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008813838194316604.post-20842745320183508452024-03-17T16:07:00.001-05:002024-03-17T16:07:50.507-05:00"A" instead of "the"<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:large"> <p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-8fd6639f-7fff-1831-d543-13540fa986b3"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">When listening to a statement, a plan, a defense, an attempt to persuade, I am often taken with the idea of changing a sentence that includes the word "the" to the word "a". </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Many people in the US are naturally drawn to whatever is exciting, outstanding in some say. I guess it is a natural psychological tendency. It is difficult to state a superlative without using the article "the". Which book is your favorite? Which team will win? Which artist did you like </span><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">THE</span><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> most?</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">I am impressed with the more relaxed, less argumentative feeling that comes along with change in the little words. Which book did you like? Which team will do well? Which artist did you like? Having played with this sort of change, I have learned that it doesn't take much to invite broader, more open thinking. If I add plurals, as in Which artists did you like?, I open the door to different sorts of liking: dramatic, original, memorable, etc.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">We practice being "right" with good reason. We want to be a source of useful, solid information. When I ask what book is your favorite, you are asked to scrutinize your reactions and tease which author, athlete, date, subject, food REALLY is your favorite? You have to unlease your careful comparer and weigh carefully. So you can't answer until you have carefully weighed your reactions to "Oppenheimer" and to "Barbie". </span></p> </div></div> Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10112390801652433002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008813838194316604.post-42701775874046909282024-03-16T15:46:00.001-05:002024-03-16T15:46:18.885-05:00We are pairing in our colds<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:large"> <span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap" id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-b6f644f2-7fff-0b37-9927-54109e6077ce">We have often been united and we are getting united in our afflictions just now. Is that romantic? We have vitamin C, sudafed (I had to show my id but I don't plan to learn how to use it to make "meth") and a renewed supply Kleenex. I haven't been as sleepy all day as I was. Just give us a while and we will be back to normal.</span> </div></div> Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10112390801652433002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008813838194316604.post-43026852429396452852024-03-15T17:06:00.001-05:002024-03-15T17:06:43.452-05:00Sick<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:large"> <span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap" id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-e4e37bf1-7fff-b761-91ee-d29f0fd4b969">Two nights ago, I found that I was coughing and stopped up. Today I mostly slept. I am slowly getting better.</span> </div></div> Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10112390801652433002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008813838194316604.post-12423995557019459212024-03-14T14:19:00.001-05:002024-03-14T14:19:59.590-05:00Living<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:large"> <p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-acbcb3da-7fff-0908-e64b-16f154259f95"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Many books, videos and other tools aim at helping people develop a helpful attitude toward life and difficulties</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">.</span><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> I recommend developing an attitude based on a life as a path of adventure. When we awake in the morning, we are beginning a day that has never been lived before. If you want, you can emphasize similarities between what happens one day and what happens another. Some people hope that the basic list of daily events doesn't change and that the quality and details of the day stay very much like what happened on other days.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">But if you are old enough, you can remember what happened five or ten years ago. It may be obvious that these days are quite different. You can compare today or yesterday with days just after you were born, or as you started school or in the first days after agreeing to marry your partner. </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">There has never been another you with your body, your hopes and doubts, interests and fears and there never will be. </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Being you is an adventure!!</span></p> </div></div> Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10112390801652433002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008813838194316604.post-16907581571067139332024-03-13T15:38:00.001-05:002024-03-13T15:38:37.844-05:00Talking together<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:large"> <p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-88c7fd10-7fff-a25f-7c56-697136f6243a"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">I attended a L.I.F.E.round table of open discussion today. I think a rectangular table is okay. My lunch group of all retired men used to sit at a round table and after we moved to a location that didn't have one, there were some mild complaints and wishes to find one again. My hearing is worse than it was and too many statements and comments sound like the speaker has a mouthful of muffling mush. If I ask about a word I didn't get, I usually get a calm, polite repetition but I know that can get annoying.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">I suspect a criminal gang, a group of scientific researchers or a family facing a monetary shortfall sit and talk in somewhat similar ways. Small groups talking together are one of humankind's main tools for solving problems and lifting spirits.</span></p> </div></div> Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10112390801652433002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008813838194316604.post-87350676783541565122024-03-12T15:32:00.001-05:002024-03-12T15:32:29.267-05:00Immediate<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:large"> <p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-5bf9ac58-7fff-6496-b985-2b6765d5025d"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">I was born in the US a while back and I am now rather old. I have been abroad some, but basically I am an American. That means in addition to my natural basic impetuosity and male readiness, I learned that a fundamental measure of life proceeding as it should is </span><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">immediacy</span><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">. When I type, it should be FAST! When I cook dinner, I should prepare it FAST! When I calmly sit back and enjoy the day, the moment, my life, I should get deeply in such enjoyment FAST! </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">I am confident that seeking, promoting immediacy has its limits and downsides. I learned from the very helpful book "Incognito" by David Eagleman (only $7 in Amazon ebooks or borrow from a library) that there is far more to me than just my mind. The important parts of me, the parts that are needed to keep alive, are often unconscious. A stethoscope can detect my heart rate and other devices can measure this or count that but many essential processes are not directly detectable nor controllable.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">It is fully true that respiration, balance on just two feet, digestion and processes I am not aware of all matter to my old, wrinkled body. There are sort of inbetween factors that are mostly outside my mind but are still quiet influencers that exert some control that is difficult to notice and very difficult to modify like habits, unconscious effects of hormones, levels of fatigue. </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Despite all that, not everything needs to be immediate.</span></p> </div></div> Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10112390801652433002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008813838194316604.post-11267843175924481862024-03-11T13:01:00.000-05:002024-03-11T13:02:05.597-05:00CNN Photos of the Week<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:large"><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/07/world/gallery/photos-this-week-february-29-march-7">https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/07/world/gallery/photos-this-week-february-29-march-7</a></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:large"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:large">Bill<br></div></div> Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10112390801652433002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008813838194316604.post-86776160318639263862024-03-10T15:28:00.001-05:002024-03-10T15:28:52.156-05:00Playing, looking directly, describing<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:large"> <p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-19722d7d-7fff-1086-6c8d-c0b7fcc0c075"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">At a half-time show in 2004, Janet Jackson had a moment when her left breast was exposed. I didn't actually see it happen but I heard about it. I was impressed by my first experience of hearing the incident called a "wardrobe malfunction." Something came loose, something broke and oops! Pants fell down! Breasts were exposed! Try to relax. A great many of us are males. We can "see" you without any obscuring fabric all the time. Don't purposely engineer an exposure but don't be too embarrassed either.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Elon Musk and his crew are about to launch a Space X rocket into space. They are hoping the launch goes more according to plan than the last try when their rocket suffered a "rapid unscheduled disassembly", exploding in an unwanted way at an unwanted time.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">I recently re-read Robert Frost's famous poem "Stopping by woods on a snowy evening". </span><a href="http://t.ly/ZsrHA" style="text-decoration:none"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(17,85,204);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">t.ly/ZsrHA</span></a><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> He describes driving his horse and wagon thru a woods and stopping for a moment to enjoy the scene and the sounds. He says his pony is a bit confused. They never stop at that spot. Why are they stopping? The pony shakes his harness and bells at the puzzle. That little moment of a shake has been immortalized, much like the rapid unscheduled disassembly and the wardrobe malfunction by some poetic thought and effort.</span></p> </div></div> Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10112390801652433002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008813838194316604.post-40134988506292250672024-03-09T14:58:00.001-06:002024-03-09T14:58:48.691-06:00Seven notes<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:large"> <ol style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px" id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-e824209c-7fff-02d9-d757-63816d70d622"><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:decimal;font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" role="presentation"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Getting deeper in the month - The days sneak into a good -sized pile very quietly. It is already nearly a third of the month gone.</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:decimal;font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" role="presentation"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Voice smart speakers - It seems that more people are finding smart speaking gadgets useful</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:decimal;font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" role="presentation"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Stephen Hawking - Hawking is the amazing British astronomer and physicist, told as a young man who developed ALS that he would die young, lived to be 76. An outstanding writer, as well</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:decimal;font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" role="presentation"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Kindle Unlimited magazines and books - I am surprised at the extent of the books and magazines that are available with Kindle Unlimited</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:decimal;font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" role="presentation"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">"Look what I found, Grandad" - when my oldest great-grandson was little, he wandered our house and tried surprising and pleasing us by his "fortuitous discoveries" of things around our house</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:decimal;font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" role="presentation"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Ufology and UAP - Ufology, the study of Unidentified Flying Objects is the 1st word I have seen combining an abbreviation and the ending of "ology". UAP is still another abbreviation in our increasing use of them. Do you know F.O.M.O.? Use Google.</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:decimal;font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" role="presentation"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Mouths full of mush - my hearing is deteriorating. Many conversations sound like all speakers have mouths full of mush.</span></p></li></ol> </div></div> Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10112390801652433002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008813838194316604.post-80569926754316787332024-03-08T13:07:00.001-06:002024-03-08T13:07:11.637-06:00Thanks to unknown guides<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:large"> <p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-4e991043-7fff-291a-52a0-4211855fa228"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Both my wife and I are in book clubs, hers all women and mine all men. These two groups operate a little differently but both propose to their members to read a particular book a month and meet in one of their homes to discuss the book and their experience and thoughts reading it. </span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">We have been married for a long time. When we first married, we were both interested in the crazy novels of Peter DeVries. I wanted to know when she got to a certain pivotal moment in the story so I read her the book aloud. That way, if I could read a passage clearly and not giggle or garble the words, I knew when she realized the joke or the shocking revelation. We have kept the habit of my reading aloud for a bit of most evenings. </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">If she has a book discussion coming up, I often read the scheduled book to her. If I have one coming up, I may read the group's selection to her, unless I have something else I am more interested in paying attention to. </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">I have gotten interested in seeing what recent books have made an impression on me or gotten a strong reaction or made what feels like a lasting memory that I would not have even heard of without our two reading groups. "The Bell in the Lake" by Lars Mytting is a good example of a book I liked that I read because she needed to hear it. Of course, in the case of that book or the current one (Eighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elisabeth Billand's History-Race Around the World), I wouldn't know about it without some unknown person in her group:</span></p><ol style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:decimal;font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" role="presentation"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Reading the book</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:decimal;font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" role="presentation"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Liking the book</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:decimal;font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" role="presentation"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Taking the time to attend the group's procedure to recommend the book</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:decimal;font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" role="presentation"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Joining with others to vote the book onto the list</span></p></li></ol><br><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Thanks, </span><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Unknown Book Supporters</span><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> in both of our groups!</span> </div></div> Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10112390801652433002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008813838194316604.post-45990164214823068672024-03-07T13:49:00.001-06:002024-03-07T13:49:15.520-06:00Trying to be clearer about yesterday's post<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:large"> <p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-3cc39cb6-7fff-1151-8e3e-ba24c571997c"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">I didn't do a good job explaining yesterday. I was trying to say that IF you are selling me something, I won't do business with you by buying your product unless you subscribe to me as a shopper. A subscription to me as a customer costs $8.99 a month. I gave a fake web address for the location of a fake window to use to logon and buy such a subscription.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Every time I turn around, I find some other business that I have dealt with in the past offering a time-limited service that will only be good for a limited time, after which another payment will have to be made to keep me as a customer. I was offering in a fake way to reverse the situation and have business buy a subscription from me for my attention and purchases.</span></p> </div></div> Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10112390801652433002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008813838194316604.post-33723985618564189422024-03-06T13:50:00.001-06:002024-03-06T13:50:15.585-06:00Get one now!<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:large"> <span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap" id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-c297b5d1-7fff-cf89-98e8-bde18ad02c2e">I have found that everyone seems to be creating a subscription so I am, too. If you want me as a customer, go to <a href="http://xxx.xxx.com">xxx.xxx.com</a> and log on. A subscription to my custom in the US is $8.99 a month. </span> </div></div> Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10112390801652433002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008813838194316604.post-88240625074638452602024-03-05T14:15:00.000-06:002024-03-05T14:16:02.798-06:00Tending my electronic garden of devices<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:large"> <p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-40aca314-7fff-bcdd-9b64-d65588234594"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">When my daughter expressed an interest in what is now called a tablet, the Apple iPad, I got interested, too. I found I used the very portable device quite often. As time went on, I had developed a strong enough habit of using the iPad, a mini version, that I tried to anticipate when my iPad was getting too old and bought a 2nd one. At that point, I had my first one, which still works despite my anticipation and the larger newer model. </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">I very much liked the idea of ebooks and I have a large collection of them. I didn't like getting tempted to look at the news while reading on the Ipad. I bought a KIndle reader. Then I bought another. Then I bought a third.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Sometimes, Lynn is using our office for a Zoom or Facetime meeting that I am not part of. A full-sized keyboard and a nicely powered laptop computer are my favorite computing tools but I don't always like to interrupt her to get my office computer unplugged and moved to the living room or basement. So, I have a backup in the living room and in the basement.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Just as Lynn waters house plants, all these devices need charging, too.</span></p> </div></div> Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10112390801652433002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008813838194316604.post-65368755081944785902024-03-04T16:48:00.001-06:002024-03-04T16:48:27.283-06:00My typing<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:large"> <p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-ffd85e90-7fff-c937-1b1b-d61e39aa9a41"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">In 8th grade, I had a typing class. I discovered I am not a good typist. Oh, I can type at a high speed and since keyboards and electronic simulations of them are everywhere, that is a plus. However, in the class, we lost points for each error. I always had plenty of errors. I still do. I fat-finger, hitting two keys at the same time. I reach out and over-do the reach or under-do the reach. I accidentally drag a finger tip across several keys, inventing a new but useless word.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">I tried electronic listening to my spoken word but the machine managed to misunderstand what I said and typed words I didn't even recognize.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">I find the spell/grammar checker in Google Docs is the best one I have worked with. It and I disagree sometimes but I always know best, of course. So, I tell the app to just ignore what it labels as an error. </span></p> </div></div> Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10112390801652433002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008813838194316604.post-87081295153550822922024-03-03T16:33:00.001-06:002024-03-03T16:33:19.671-06:00<p> <img aria-hidden="true" class="ajn" data-hovercard-id="olderkirby@gmail.com" data-name="Bill Kirby" id=":10n_14-e" name=":10n" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/a/ACg8ocKk6u_aEklxDnKHNK0mKTWbjh1I-e90zuGCo6zTHYJpHJA=s40-p" style="background-color: #cccccc;" /></p><div class="gs"><div class="gE iv gt"><table cellpadding="0" class="cf gJ"><tbody><tr class="acZ"><td class="gF gK"><table cellpadding="0" class="cf ix"><tbody><tr><td class="c2"><h3 class="iw"><span class="qu" role="gridcell" tabindex="-1"><span class="gD" data-hovercard-id="olderkirby@gmail.com" data-hovercard-owner-id="118" name="Bill Kirby"><span><br /></span></span> </span></h3><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></td><td class="gH bAk"><span style="font-size: large;">Photos by Lynn on our walk<br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><table cellpadding="0" class="cf gJ"><tbody><tr class="acZ"><td class="gH"><br /></td><td class="gH acX bAm" rowspan="2"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" class="cf gJ"><tbody><tr class="acZ xD"></tr></tbody></table><div class="gE iv gt"></div><table cellpadding="0" class="cf gJ"><tbody><tr class="acZ xD"><td colspan="3"><table cellpadding="0" class="cf adz"><tbody><tr><td class="ady"><div class="iw ajw"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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</div></div></div><div class="hi"></div><div class="WhmR8e" data-hash="0"></div></div></div><div class="ajx"></div></div><div class="gA gt acV"><div class="gB xu"><div class="ip iq"><div id=":1a4"><table class="cf wS" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="amq"><img class="ajn bofPge" data-hovercard-id="olderkirby@gmail.com" id=":10n_13" name=":10n" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/a/ACg8ocKk6u_aEklxDnKHNK0mKTWbjh1I-e90zuGCo6zTHYJpHJA=s40-p" /></td><td class="amr"><div class="nr wR"><div class="amn"></div></div><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></div></div><span data-is-tooltip-wrapper="true"></span><div class="nH"><div class="aHU hx"><div role="list"><div aria-expanded="true" class="h7 ie" role="listitem" tabindex="-1"><div class="Bk"><div class="G3 G2"><div><div id=":120"><div class="gA gt acV"><div class="gB xu"><div class="ip iq"><div id=":1a4"><table class="cf wS" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="amr"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div></div></div></div><div class="nH"><div class="l2" style="padding-bottom: 0px;"><br /></div></div>Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10112390801652433002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008813838194316604.post-67479403717840647172024-03-02T17:17:00.000-06:002024-03-02T17:18:07.862-06:00Musical evaluations<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:large"> <p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-99981478-7fff-73f0-e881-251cb6a8c477"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Both of my granddaughters are mothers of a daughter and a son. The eldest greatgrand child is in a different stage of life and to some extent, so is the youngest of the four greatgrandchildren. We find both greatgrand daughters very impressive young women. Lynn and I spent today at a local evaluation of music students interested in advancing through several contests for whole-state honors. The girl who recently exhibited in art contests also sang a solo. The girl who is an inter-state soccer player is also a tympanist and a drummer of every other sort of orchestral drum. </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">The artist solo singer received the highest score for her song. The many-skilled athlete got the 2nd highest score in four performances of singing and drumming that stretched throughout the day</span></p> </div></div> Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10112390801652433002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008813838194316604.post-20517995624193410992024-03-01T13:00:00.001-06:002024-03-01T13:00:15.888-06:00Found him!<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:large"> <p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-72e2f7f5-7fff-e8ee-24f2-bbb9041f3bbb"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">The British Psychological Society posed the question: Is your partner the most annoying person you know? I read that just after appreciating my wife, whom I consider my partner. So I rejected the idea that she gives me the most annoyance. I try not to be annoyed by anybody or anything, but I fail, sometimes for only a second and sometimes longer. I asked my mindful self who is connected to the most annoyance I feel. </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Turns out the answer is clearly "Me!" I have a broad streak of laziness in me so when I have time and opportunity to go to the store, or get gas for the car, or shelve that book I was reading, I don't. What is the matter with me? I have no good reason not to create the internal permission and motivation but I persist. </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">I have a memory that is chock-full (what is a chock?) of book titles and intriguing questions but I have to check what day of the week it is. It is right in this area of little items to remember that I get the most annoyance.</span></p> </div></div> Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10112390801652433002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008813838194316604.post-89009875419962035662024-02-29T15:31:00.000-06:002024-02-29T15:32:06.544-06:00The prize for the winning corsage - We got engaged!<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:large"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhOoFbIlJN-bpemwr4taD9kSpOyAr2pfaPzTO24mEd6hs-ugVyd1wDxUnxcXfxe6j-9jVIt8YI5RBkyreUmmlTzVo1WQnQVvhuqSrvjZfg85-bhFN0yAhfgxSo-kA5R4K-YhERzK9-YetkpDalLZsoc451BliJoJLXy7hASasOaoXMFMM6Y3MYoVLoKS38"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhOoFbIlJN-bpemwr4taD9kSpOyAr2pfaPzTO24mEd6hs-ugVyd1wDxUnxcXfxe6j-9jVIt8YI5RBkyreUmmlTzVo1WQnQVvhuqSrvjZfg85-bhFN0yAhfgxSo-kA5R4K-YhERzK9-YetkpDalLZsoc451BliJoJLXy7hASasOaoXMFMM6Y3MYoVLoKS38=s320" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_7341139899498340082" /></a><br><br></div></div> Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10112390801652433002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008813838194316604.post-59927653277308812102024-02-29T14:42:00.000-06:002024-02-29T14:43:21.375-06:00Today is Sadie Hawkins Day<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:large"> <p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-e80e9832-7fff-bf57-7a6e-25efe3f86f1c"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Lynn and I went to the same college, where we met each other. The students there made a fairly big deal of "Sadie Hawkins Day." It is the day of the year where women can ask men to dance or go on a date. There was a dance on Sadie's day and Lynn made me a corsage. That corsage was a bit outrageous by normal flowers-on-or-in-the-recipient's lapel standards. The two of us recently disagreed about the ingredients and appearance of her winning creation. </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">I remember carrot greens and a ridiculously oversized bunch at that. She made it but says my memory is way off as usual. She says it was made from marshmallow peeps and long wooden stick stems. We both remember it won a prize for beauty and originality.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Anyhow, today is a fine day to communicate to someone that you are grateful to have in your life, even someone you are normally shy about.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Bye-bye, Sadie H Day! See you in four years!</span></p> </div></div> Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10112390801652433002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008813838194316604.post-23050730137384714152024-02-28T14:41:00.001-06:002024-02-28T14:41:36.053-06:00Wham! weather<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:large"> <span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap" id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-03c8f62b-7fff-de94-0a31-3034e920b003">We have been having a very unusually warm winter. The extreme yesterday was in the 60 degree range. Right now it is 20°! Plus high cold wind, new snow and ice. The joke is on us! It will be 9° tonight. (It is predicted to be 66° in four days. Stay alert!</span> </div></div> Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10112390801652433002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008813838194316604.post-77937511646912621452024-02-27T14:55:00.000-06:002024-02-27T14:56:07.019-06:00What did you say?<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:large"> <p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-faa5a566-7fff-790c-4835-f90219ec3302"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Whether it is a courtroom, a classroom or a cafeteria dining room, speech tends to fill the room. I am impressed with what talk can do. Sure, there are many other aspects of life: sports and action like dancing or exercising, cooking and eating and many others. I like to put questions that come to mind in Google. Whether some form of AI is being used to answer, I get interesting answers. I just asked When did human speech begin? and the answer is about 50,000 years ago. I am confident that the answer depends on what is meant by speech. Some of the answers said that early grunts and gestures were all that humans could manage 200,000 years ago, still in Africa and before the human expansion all over. But body forms and evolution, along with purpose and effort, those valuable tools, improved the ability to make exact and distinct sounds. </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Whether it is through the use of drums or riders with some sort of document or verbal message, or the telegraph or the telephone or the radio right up to texting, the use of speech and writing in some form has advanced human life. When I get a message that I have won a foreign lottery, speech or writing may induce me to provide the means for a scammer to take my stuff. But in general, speech and writing seem to be major roads to more joy in human life.</span></p> </div></div> Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10112390801652433002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008813838194316604.post-31892845042517198652024-02-26T15:14:00.001-06:002024-02-26T15:14:20.936-06:00Not like when I grew up<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:large"> <p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-14dd955f-7fff-2d51-e557-9ee05cae42a5"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">I have never been very impressive at drawing. So, I don't expect to pick up a pencil and draw a set of lines that remind people of you. I admired the ability of a camera to capture lines, lighting, important features and faces with one click. When I was in 4th grade, I had a darkroom where I could "develop" camera film. It was rather simple if I was careful but it was far from instantaneous. </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">The situation was far from today. Now, a smartphone can snap a picture without a trip to a store to buy "film" and immediately send it to a friend or a social medium like Facebook. Just as quickly and easily, today's smartphone can take a video that captures movement and sound, including speech, and send the whole thing to somebody or several bodies or a social medium like Facebook. Unbelievable! A Hollywood star recently said she had to be careful going in or out. "If I slide or fall, it will be on the internet in 10 seconds."</span></p> </div></div> Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10112390801652433002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008813838194316604.post-74793770974876650642024-02-25T13:42:00.001-06:002024-02-25T13:42:46.180-06:00What did we buy?<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:large"> <p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-2da9ef3f-7fff-729f-db8b-cf98d4301a05"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><span style="border:medium;display:inline-block;overflow:hidden;width:624px;height:249px"><img src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/9UyV7WHywtGFsFclkjyiqZ5xdrNQF7GaLkqbqEpHiFukoVVV_P8PedHsfgTbM898uQTqIpAWjfgtFhaWBO4vSPBbTdV4p2t92K-puyXgGfT4XNUNQx1_Qr2P8O7BZwzeHgqt4HU8vxvF4znVnjedZGY" width="624" height="249" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></span></span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">We have been looking thru our collection of older electronic and smart-ish stuff. Lynn found a black box that said "Amazon" on it and asked me what it was. I looked it over but didn't know. </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">There was a model number on it. Looking up the model number got nowhere. I have nearly 3400 Kindle books and we have many other purchases with that company so I thought looking thru orders would not be very useful.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">I called their customer service. It begins with mechanical voices offering services and purposes you might have in mind but none of the choices seemed headed toward having them tell me what I had purchased. I find if I press "O" about 20 times, I will get to a voice that says "let me call a person." If they connect me to some young woman with a foreign accent, one with the energy to speak very quickly, I can only understand a random 19% of what she says. This time, I got a man! Once he understood my aim, he was obviously perplexed. I am confident that he doesn't get customers calling to ask what they bought. I thanked him and hung up.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">I tried putting the model number in Google Search and there it was! The object I had and the picture matched. It is for connecting a smart speaker to a landline. </span></p> </div></div> Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10112390801652433002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008813838194316604.post-4102378599093501252024-02-24T15:11:00.000-06:002024-02-24T15:12:05.197-06:00Changing world<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:large"> <p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-ca534047-7fff-2bcd-a45c-db20bc315d41"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Older people can sometimes be interested in how the world has changed over their own lifetimes. I was born as WWII was starting and that is a while back. When I began graduate school after teaching 5th grade for 4 years, computers were a new thing. After I got my doctorate, I got a job as an assistant professor in the UWSP School of Education. We moved to a smaller town far from people we knew. I had used the computer language Fortran in writing my dissertation</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><a href="https://sites.google.com/view/kirbyvariety1/dissertation-blog-issue-of-toward-the-light-links" style="text-decoration:none"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(17,85,204);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">https://sites.google.com/view/kirbyvariety1/dissertation-blog-issue-of-toward-the-light-links</span></a></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">There was one older professor who had a somewhat similar pattern to his work but I was basically alone. I wrote in the campus faculty newsletter that if anyone in any department wanted to talk about computers, I was interested. That note morphed into the side job of looking after and promoting the IBM 1600 that was being rented for faculty use. I was to inform and encourage faculty who might find the computer a useful tool for their research or teaching.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Sometimes, a faculty member would ask "What is a computer?" People today would probably not ask that question. You may be aware of "being connected", "being online" and other expressions that refer to use of the Internet. When I go to a campus weight room, it is often the case that every person I see, dozens of students, is using a smartphone or has a smartphone open and on, beside them. The internet, computers connected to each other, is a current BIG TOPIC. An emerging one is "AI", artificial intelligence.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">I found this article from Pew Research quite interesting:</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/02/05/8-charts-on-technology-use-around-the-world/" style="text-decoration:none"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(17,85,204);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/02/05/8-charts-on-technology-use-around-the-world/</span></a></p> </div></div> Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10112390801652433002noreply@blogger.com