Home

Just Julia

Ramblings

Julia

juliaforum's to-do list juliaforum's memories Tell a friend about juliaforum Search juliaforum Nudge juliaforum

View

Navigation

Advertisement

June 26th, 2007

Quilt Turning

6/26/07 07:05 am
Add to Memories Tell a Friend
I attended my first quilt turning last night as Day 1 of the quilt workshop I am attending at NCCAT. I was stunned and amazed at the number of quilts and the variety and history of the quilts.

What is a quilt turning? When you attend one you find yourself seated around a bed. On it are lots of quilts with the top one upside down. Each quilt is then shown and the history of the quilt is told. This one started off with about 20 or so antique quilts. These were not quilts with the new definition of 25 years old or older but rather quilts ranging in age from about 60 years old to over 100 years old. Most were made in the mountains and had hand carded cotton as batting. You could read the label on one of the sacks that made up the backing evening. This category was necessity quilts. Many of the quilts were made from scraps of cloth and whatever you could find to use. Some of the older ones had bindings that were frayed and weak and different colors that had thinned. You could tell where someone made a quilt and one particular color was weaker than the rest. One had a thin layer of muslim applied over the top of the weak piece so you could still see it but to reduce the possibility of further deterioration.

The next section of quilts were shop quilts. These were ones that were designed to be on display in quilt shops to tell you what was available. The variety of quilts with different uses were amazing. There were a lot of quilts that were designed for things like table runners, mantel pieces, wall displays, in addition to bed toppers and full size quilts. It definitely gives you time to think about the variety that is out there and what you can do with different types of material to make a quilt.

The last section was almost exclusively quilts made by the group that made the presentation. There were examples where as a group they had each done a particular type of quilt and then assembled them to their own desires. The quilts could look completely different from the same set of directions. In addition we saw where they would trade squares and using the same squares come up with completely different designs. It was wonderful.

I am guessing that there were over 60 quilts that were shared. Each of the quilts came with a story about who owned it, who made it or where it was found, and the history behind the quilt as well as a description about the era when that type of quilt was made and what was used to make the quilt.

All in all, this gives us a very humbling introduction to the art of quilting. I am looking forward to continuing on my first quilt and designing future quilts.
Add to Memories Tell a Friend

June 25th, 2007

Prius Mountain Driving

6/25/07 08:48 am
Add to Memories Tell a Friend
After driving my Prius for two years I had my first real test of how capable the car is when tested against the mountians. I was not sure how well it would hold up and if the battery would completely drain. I have had a couple instances in the past when the battery has drained significantly. Each time it has involved one of the car washes where the car rolls through and I neglected to turn off the AC, lights, radio, and everything else that can drain a battery.

I traveled across North Carolina on Interstate 40. I filled my tank up in Hickory and then drove across the Eastern Continental Divide and on past Asheville and down the other side to Cullowhee. When I reached the highest point I was down to 42 miles per gallon. By the time I had arrived on the other side my average was 48 miles per gallon. Going straight up a mountain I traveled at 20 MPG for the lowest noted mileage. Of course, this balanced out on the downhill side at 99 miles per gallon.

This test was very important for me as next month I will be driving the car fully loaded. This trip it was with no passengers but loaded with suitcases, sewing machine, and other things to fill the very back end. The next trip will completely fill the back end with cartons and paper for a seminar. I will be carrying four large boxes that will take up most of the back end. The extra weight should impact the mileage significantly.

This Prius is the 2005 model which does not get the 60 miles per gallon of the new ones. It is suppose to average around 50 miles per gallon and I am usually at 50 or a bit higher. In fact, traveling from the coast to Hickory I averaged 53 miles per gallon.

What is my reaction to the Prius? I love it. I have been driving it for 25,000 miles. I carpool and when it is my turn to drive my friends say they have just as much leg room as in the SUVs that they drive. I consistently get great gas mileage. A few times in the winter I have dropped down to 46 MPG but usually I am still at 50 or better. I would say that for the total miles on the car I have probably averaged around 51 or 52 MPG. This is a combination of highway driving and city driving. I primarily drive routes with 50 MPH speed limits or higher and just about 5 miles per day slower. It continues to perform well. The maintenance (all scheduled maintenance has been performed) has been relatively simple and inexpensive. The only problem has been tires. I have had to replace one tire twice. One time was do to picking up nails and the other time I had a blowout to a certain degree. One minute I am driving down the interstate at 70 MPH and the next I hear a whop, whop, whop sound. I looked up to see if there was a helicopter. No signs of a helicopter so I pulled over and found a completely flat tire. There was a very soft spot on the side of the tire. I had no handling problems throughout this and luckily I managed to avoid trashing the rim. I was impressed that the car stayed right on the road and did not veer at all. I was so surprised to see that it went from normal to flat in less than a minute. This tire was a replacement tire and not one that came with the car. I do think that do to the small size of the tires that they go flat much faster than the old style of tires.


All in all I am extremely happy with the performance. To give you an idea of how pleased I am I believe my hubby plans to buy the 2008 model when they become available.
Add to Memories Tell a Friend

April 17th, 2007

Traveling in Cancun

4/17/07 05:13 pm
Add to Memories Tell a Friend
We took our big vacation to Cancun this past week. It was a wonderful trip. Hubby and I went on our first vacation in 25 years that did not involve family, running, moving, or a conference. We should definitely do it more often.

In my last entry I talked about Me Cancun, the hotel where we stayed. Today I will discuss getting around Cancun and money. There are a number of things to keep in mind if you have not visited another country before.

Airport to Hotel: The first issue will be getting to your hotel. As you walk out of customs you will be stunned by the number of folks looking for your business and taking you to your hotel. If you have done your work in advance, you will have a ride waiting on you and can walk right past the throngs of folks to your ride. If you have arranged your ride, walk right on out to the sidewalk out front. All the vans and buses taking folks to their hotels pick up pre-arranged rides out front. Mine was all the way to the front of the sidewalk. It cost about $16 for the two of us to our hotel. We walked out to the front, connected with our agency, waited about five minutes and then we were on our way. They stopped at one place before ours so it did not take long at all. Once we arrived at the hotel and checked in, we went back down to the lobby and verified with a representative the pick-up time for our return trip. On our return trip, we were the first picked up and then we rode while two other families were picked up. We still arrived in plenty of time for our flight. The drivers do expect to be tipped. The driver to the hotel hinted that $5 was appropriate. He did this by putting a $5 under his sign about tips.

Bus: If you want to go places from your hotel, walk out front and look for the bus stop. They are every few hotels along the strip, if not closer together. It cost 6 1/2 pesos -- the equivalent of about $.60 each way. The signs on the front of the bus tell you if they are going downtown, to the hotel strip, or to Wal Mart. Just get on the one that works for you.

Taxi: The hotels usually have taxis sitting out front. Check with the hotel to find out what an appropriate fee would be for where you want to go. Then negotiate that fee with the taxi driver before you get in the taxi. There are no meters or pre-determined rates. It is an area where negotiating is expected.

Walking: Walking is cheap. Look at the maps and see how far it is to where you want to visit. Sidewalks seem to run through the entire hotel strip. If you are in good shape, it is nothing to walk around downtown, around the Mercato 28, and over to Wal-Mart without riding a bus. From our hotel we walked to La Isla each night for dinner and down to the Flamingo Shopping area. Both were less than 1/4 mile away. Even at night, security did not seem to be an issue. The only issue was uneven sidewalks and the klutz factor of yours truly.

Money: Money will be a primary concern. I had read to take about $100 in ones for tips. I came home with a good chunk of that. At the airport, walk right past the American Express booth and out to the ATM machines to get pesos. The American Express booth gives the lowest exchange rate around. We discovered that all shops would take dollars. Most gave the same exchange rate as an ATM. You would get your change back in pesos, however. When we traveled away from Cancun, we used pesos exclusively.

When prices are printed on receipts or given, a single line through a dollar sign means pesos and two lines means dollars. If you don't keep that in mind you will be concerned when you see an extra zero on your receipt. If you are near La Isla, their ATMs are located in the hallway towards the parking garage on the end by the Cinema. Make sure you pay attention to the difference for pesos and dollars. I thought I was requesting $200 but instead I got 200 pesos - or about 20 dollars. My bank said they charge the current exchange rate with a one percent fee added on for foreign transactions. You pay the fee whether you are paying in dollars or pesos. That gives you a better rate so check with your bank before you go!
Add to Memories Tell a Friend

April 15th, 2007

Me Cancun

4/15/07 04:47 pm
Add to Memories Tell a Friend
Cancun is a fun town to visit but there are so many choices to make! It makes you dizzy just to pick out a hotel. What you get depends upon what you want and your budget. I was looking for something upscale, not American, and with a comfortable bed and quiet rooms. That is a tall order. After going through all the reviews and looking at what people had written on sites such as expedia I knew it was a very tall order. I finally decided to give Me Cancun a try. The one thing going against this hotel was I could find zero reviews of it. I did look at their web site a lot and the parent company's site. I liked what I saw.




This could very well have been taken of our room. Everything matches. It was unbelievable how posh the hotel was. A few details about the hotel.

1. The loby goes on forever. It is very long with lots of places to sit and visit or just watch the ocean.
2. There is artwork everywhere. They had two sculptures in the room. One on the shelf in the bedroom area and one in the bathroom. There was even sculptures on our 9th floor by the elevators. Attention to detail is everywhere.
3. The hotel smelled good. As I walked in the first day I caught a whiff of a scent tht led me to believe they had some type of automatic air freshener in the lobby. I never noticed them again but had no problems with smell anywhere. Nor did I have any allergy problems.
4. They have three pools out back. There is a large "kiddy pool", a circular adult pool, and another adult pool suitable for swimming laps. There were plenty of chairs and recliners around the pool. You could reserve a cabana if you wanted but I never had an instance where there was not something available that suited my preferences.
5. Everything was very clean. Maid service came to our room three times a day. In the morning they cleaned and replaced towels and bedding. They even moved furniture each day as they cleaned. In the afternoon they come back and replace towels as needed and remake beds as needed. In the evening they do their turn down service with a chocolate left on each side of the bed. I watched them clean one day. They were efficient and thorough. They worked hard.
6. You can hear people talk in the hallway and close doors. You won't notice it much though unless it happens while you are trying to go to sleep. After the first night I never noticed it again during the night. If you want ultra quiet request a room at the ends of the halls.
7. There are zero noisy neighbors around the hotel. La Isla is a sort walk away but this is a family area - not discos and bars. Construction is going on next to the hotel on both sides. They do not work at night and it was not disruptive even during the day.
8. They actually have free internet (I picked up a signal on my PDA on the 9th floor) and they have eight computers by the Internet bar. You can pick up a small cup of coffe there for under 50 cents. They even steam your milk for you.
9. Expect to use bellboys coming and going. It is just a part of life. They will be given your key to show yoy to your room on the first day. On the last day they will babysit your suitcases from when you come downstairs until your shuttle arrives. That leaves you free to enjoy your last remaining time while there.
10. The bathrooms come stocked with Aveada products. They provide bar soaps, liquid soaps, shampoo, conditioner and lotion.
11. They also provide a hair dryer, make up mirror and a bathroom scale. The shower comes with a rain shower type head in the ceiling and another shower head on the wall that is the kind you can detach and hold. You can run both shower heads at the same time. I recommend you turn the water on for five minutes before you need it because it does take a while for the hot water to arrive. Once it arrives, it lasts.
12. The room safe requires you use your room key the first time and program it with wht you want twice. Then it works just by entering the combination you selected.
13. Ocean temperatures are nice. Watch out for the water in the ocean. You can come home with pets from the ocean.
14. They do have a table near the Internet area where they ask you to sign up for a tour. They will reward you in one way or another. Get specifically what you want before you agree. I heard some radically different rewards for listening to their 90 minute presentation. Once you tell them no they leave you alone - they seem to be able to sense when it is your first day there and your first trip.
15. The bus stops out from on either the left or right side of the hotel. A grand total of 6.5 pesos gets you a ride. This is about $.60. Very cheap. You can catch a bus up and down the hotel row, to the old part of town or to Wal Mart.
16. I had a maintenance request. It was fixed in 10 minutes. It was something they had not caught from where they had opened a few months before.

The main point of all this is "Would I stay here again?" The short answer is yes. The long answer is Yes, I would stay here before I stayed anywhere else in Cancun. We loved it here and found it to be very relaxing and enjoyable. Things we did not check out though were the two restaurants, the fitness room, and the spa. The staff is extremely pleasant, they have a good command of English, and they are eager to please.

This is a shot of the view from ocean view rooms:
Add to Memories Tell a Friend

March 5th, 2007

Duct Tape

3/5/07 06:28 am
Add to Memories Tell a Friend
Duct tape is such wonderful stuff. I just used the old standard duct tape to seal off a tear in the cover for the hot tub. It got me back to thinking of my most creative use of duct tape. Now that we are no longer limited to gray, it has even more uses than ever.

Two years ago I was driving my daughter's car down to her college to leave for her upon her return. Just half an hour after I began my journey south, some small creature darted out across the road in front of me in the dark. I can't think of the name of the creature but it resembles a rat but has a fancy name and thrives in the marshes. I continued on all that day and upon arrival I checked out the front bumper. Down underneath close to the ground is a decorative bar that runs across the front of the car well below the bumper. It was completely broken in half. As I unloaded the car I found my daughter's clear duct tape.

Can you guess the result? Of course, what would any normal gal do? I duct taped her bumper back together. It has been almost two full years now and nobody has noticed it unless I have specifically pointed it out to them. I'm sure it would cost at least $1000 minimum to replace the whole bumper section and probably closer to $2000. I figure that $2 worth of duct tape has worked just fine. I'm even picky about how my cars look but this is so unnoticeable that it does not bother me. It just goes to show that duct tape can be a gal's best friend as well as man's best friend.
Add to Memories Tell a Friend

February 24th, 2007

The Sprint Saga Conclusion - I hope

2/24/07 03:00 pm
Add to Memories Tell a Friend
Can you believe that Sprint told me my return box would arrive in 3 to 5 days and when I called 8 days later they said "It's going to take 3 to 5 business days." I then explained that it was significantly over that. They went and searched and could not find any tracking on it going out.

I received a promise of a phone call the next day with the status. No phone call of course. But I did go home and find 2 return packages. Can you guess it? Yes, they both had the same postmark date. Anyone playing any games there?

I immediately packaged up the phone and called to have it picked up. It went out yesterday. Anyone want to hazard a guess as to whether or not they process it without billing me? I'm afraid to see what happens next.

Hopefully this is the end of it all and life can return to normal. I'm not placing any bets though.
Add to Memories Tell a Friend

February 17th, 2007

Sprint Customer Service, Part 2

2/17/07 07:07 am
Add to Memories Tell a Friend
Can you guess the continuation of this saga? You bet! Approximately 6 days later I went out my front door to get my morning paper. What did I almost trip over? A phone from Sprint. It appears they decided to ship the phone after all. To top it off they opened a new account for me! Then they assigned a phone number from halfway across the country from where I live. I guess they meant that when they cancelled the phone order, they meant they delayed that overnight delivery by almost a week. How sad.

Now I sit waiting for the return box so I can send it back. The latest promise is that I will not be charged a thing for this phone. Can you imagine?
Add to Memories Tell a Friend

February 6th, 2007

Sprint Customer Service

2/6/07 05:29 pm
Add to Memories Tell a Friend
Ever have one of those phone calls that starts going downhill right after you dial the number?  My phone call last night ranks up there as my all time worst experience with "customer service"!  When I started the call little did I know I would be on the line for one hour and 16 minutes and 38 seconds.   It reached the point where I was fearful of the consequences should I give up and hang up.  Here's the abbreviated version:

Phone call to Sprint:

Me:  Good evening

Sprint:  How can we help?

Me:  I would like to replace a phone.

Sprint.  We have many models to choose from.

Me:  I want the Samsung 600 model.

Sprint:  Very  nice model.  Good selection.  Let me help with that.

Me:  There's one catch - it depends upon the price.

Sprint:  Let me check the records to see if you qualify for replacement rebate.

Me:  I only qualify for $75 until August when it goes to $150.

Sprint.  We can fix that.  Phone is $299 with $150 rebate and $75 rebate if we add a new line.

Me:  I already have five.  That's the max on a plan.

Sprint.  No problem.  We can fix.  Why you no want new line?

Me:  The fifth line I added a year ago is still being billed wrong.

Sprint:  We can give $50 credit to lower price and fix bill.

Me:  Ok.

Sprint.  We must record.  Let me read my five minute script in very singsong rushed English so you can not understand it.

Me:  Ok.

Sprint........  Reads script, finishes job.  I now transfer you to account services to fix your phone bill.

Me:  Ok... Listening to music for five minutes.

Sprint:  Let me help you.  You can not have a sixth line - you can only add another plan.

Me:  No thanks.  That's a deal stopper.  I do not want another phone.  Please cancel request for new phone.

Sprint:  No problem.  Let me fix things in order so we don't miss anything.

Me:  Thinking to self, someone who wants to fix things right.

Music playing:   One half hour later of being on hold for five minutes at a time as problems worked on.

Sprint.  Now that we have fixed that line I am afraid I must transfer you back to sales to cancel the order.

Me:  Please tell me you can fix it.

Sprint:  I  am sorry but you will have to go back to customer service and you probably won't get Tammy this time.

Me:  Thank you.

Sprint:  (Talking through a tube from another country) Welcome to Sprint Sales.  How may I help?

Me:  I can't hear you.  Would you please talk louder.

Sprint:  I help you.

Me:  I can't hear you.  Please speak up.

Sprint:  I no talk louder.  Volume all the way up.

Me:  I need to cancel the phone I just ordered.

Sprint:  I can't do that.

Me:  I need to cancel the phone I just ordered.

Sprint:  You want new plan?

Me:  Please cancel the Samsung 600 I just ordered.

(Repeat above dialog for ten minutes.)

Sprint:  I must transfer you to account services.

Me:  Thinking to self, here we go again.

Sprint:  I understand you want to disconnect your phone xxxxxxx.

Me:  No I want to cancel the order for a new phone.

Sprint.  They said you want to cancel this number.

Me:  No that is husband's number.  Please don't.

Sprint:  What phone do you want to cancel?

Me:  The Samsung 600 I ordered 102 minutes ago on this same phone call.

Sprint:  That order did not process.

Me:  What if it shows up anyway.

Sprint:  Impossible.  But if it does, call and we will send you a free shipping package to return it.

Me:  Ok.  I guess I will have to take your word for it.

Sprint.  I promise you will not receive a phone.

Me.  Ok.

Sprint:  Have I resolved your problem today?

Me:  I hope so.

Sprint:  Thank you for calling Sprint.

Me:  Groaning and curling up under the covers as it is now past my bedtime. 

And if that was not enough, the next day:

Home answering machine:

I need to speak with Julia.   This is rumble, rumble rumble sing song undistinquishale blur from Sprint.  I need to discuss your order for a phone with reference number...........  (Me groaning because that is the confirmation number before the cancellation).    Please call me at this long distance British Columiba numnber: 604.xxxx.xxxxx.

Hubby's cell phone:


I need to speak with Julia.   This is rumble, rumble rumble sing song undistinquishale blur from Sprint.  I need to discuss your order for a phone with reference number...........  (Me groaning because that is the confirmation number before the cancellation).    Please call me at this long distance British Columbia number: 604.xxxx.xxxxx.

Conclusion:

Now without caller ID I would have no idea of the phone number.  I have no idea of the name.   What do I do/? I think I will sit and wait for the package to arrive and then call to return it.  What do you think the odds are that the canceled phone willl arrive?

To top it all I logged into their website tonight and looked at my agreement.  They took the phone where they had overbilled me for the past year and extended the contract for two year's from today's date.  How is that for nerve?  That means it will cost me $200 if I cancel it after the original contract date.  Yikes!

And to think they have me listed as a preferred customer due to history and long term business as well as credit rating.  I wonder how they treat the business they don't want.  
Add to Memories Tell a Friend

January 16th, 2007

The Future of Libraries

1/16/07 10:48 am
Add to Memories Tell a Friend
Are our libraries doomed?  What is the future of libraries in America?

As I was growing up the library was someplace where I would ride my bike to go visit.  It did not matter that it was 3 or 4 miles to the library.   I was there at least once every two weeks and would take home a stack of books.  I must admit that today I do not visit the library that often.  any time I am going on an extended road trip I swing by the library and check out books on CD.  That gives me something to listen to on the road.  I tend to buy books online because our local library has a very limited selection of books in my interest areas.  I have tried donating my books that have been read once and are current releases but they simply put the books out for their book sales and never consider adding them to the books on the shelves.

Research for classes was always done at the library.  Where is that research done now?  I'm sure you have guessed that Internet sources are now probably the primary source of reference material for articles.  What's worse, most students don't understand the difference between cutting and pasting and summarizing to put it in their own words.  It takes more work to read something and put it in your own words than to pull it from the internet.  Then again, you have to check the validity of your sources and stop to look to see where they obtained their information.  How many folks take the time to do that?  Not as many as you might think.  When I taught classes on Internet research methods I always made the students list all their sources and send me the report electronically so I could click on the links and compare easily when it did not look like their handwriting.

When I go into the local library, where do you think I see the most people?  I'm sure you guessed correctly.  I always see all the computers in use and a line of folks waiting to use them.  I will see a few in the aisles looking at books but most of them are senior citizens.  I just polled my students and only one student had visited the library this year on his own.  One student that reads a lot indicated he had not visited the library in a long time! 

Colleges are now focusing on computers and not the actual stacks of books.  Think of all those books going to waste for lack of readers.  I'm sorry but it is just not the same thing to pull up a book on a computer as to curl up with a good book.  The joy of reading for pleasure is disappearing being replaced with televisions, video games and computers.  I enjoy all of those things but they really can not replace the knowledge gained through reading.  There have been many reports out there about the difference in vocabulary of children who read and those who don't read.  It is amazing. 

If we don't get our youth hooked on the joy of reading then I think libraries will become a seldom used resource unless they adapt to the computer age.  Computers as the center focus of a library is not what I want but it appears to be successful.  A friend sent me an [info]articletoday about the Austin libraries.  The article requires registration to view but the main point I gained from it was that kids were flocking to the library - but it was to play video games, cruise the internet, and such.  It does mention that they have books but the focus was the games, computers and a safe place to hang out.  Hopefully there are folks there steering them towards the books.  I imagine this type of library is what the future will be for successful libraries. 


Oh to curl up with a good book!
Add to Memories Tell a Friend

January 14th, 2007

The Future of Computers and Operating Systems

1/14/07 12:26 pm
Add to Memories Tell a Friend
It appears that Vista has finally reared its head and made itself known to the world.  Something very strange is going on here.  I can't think of anyone I know that is racing to get it.  I know they are doing the releases in stages but I don't know anyone planning to go out and buy.   I think those that are going to stick with Microsoft are waiting until they buy there next computer.  Perhaps I am jumping the gun here?  I don't know.

What I am seeing happen all around me is folks rushing to Macs.  Perhaps I am more sensitive to Macs than I was in the past but I do not think that is the case.  Folks I know that have lived in the PC realm there entire lives are adding Macs.  I have become a Mac household.  We have one tired, Windows shuttle sitting on a shelf.  I fear it is gathering dust.  At least I have a feather duster to go around and dust it once in a while.  Hubby does not want to let go of it but he has not turned it on since two weeks after he got his iMac.   I think he really enjoys that things just work and he does not have to know anything about the computers.

That basic fact is the difference between a Mac and a Linux computer.  Linux computers are to sooth our exploring geekiness. On the other hand, Macs are for those that don't want to be worried about a ton of updates.  We all know that updates are a part of life and no program is perfect.  However, that does not mean that we want to be bombarded with updates.  Nor do we want to be forced to buy a new computer because our OS is now obsolete. 

Three years ago I would not consider anything but a PC and Windows.  Then I discovered Linux.  My love affair with Linux lasted a couple of years.  I had fun spending hours installing programs, trying different distros, picking my favorites and supporting them.  Now I find that my computer is a tool I use to have fun playing games, cruising the internet, contacting friends.  I don't find myself spending any time however maintaining or updating my computer.

What that means quiet simply is I have rediscovered how to have a full life without the computer as a focal point in my life.
Add to Memories Tell a Friend

September 4th, 2006

My Mac - One month out

9/4/06 06:00 pm
Add to Memories Tell a Friend
Now that I have been a Mac User for one month, it is time to reflect on what I have learned and how I feel about my Mac. It was pointed out to me that I have not done a review of it yet. So here it is – all in one.

As most of you are aware, I agonized for a few short minutes to decide which MacBook Pro to purchase. There was no doubt in my mind that i wanted the MacBook Pro. Part of my reasoning has flown out the window but that's okay as I am having fun. I went with the 15” version as that was a screen size I find to be quite comfortable without being too bulky. It is wide enough for anything I want to do. I have looked at the smaller sizes and been left without any desire to go small. I also just could not find a real reason to justify the larger 17” version.

Once I had decided upon the screen size, it was a simple matter to decide upon the processor speed. I obviously went for the fastest I could afford – the 2.16Mhz. I have had absolutely no qualms about the speed of my Mac. It does just great. I have yet to feel like it was lagging in any area related to processor speed.

That left the decision of RAM. I always want the most you can get. Practicality won out. I went with the single stick of 1GB. This gives me an empty slot to add in another stick to get to the maximum allowed. I have not found a need for another stick yet but I plan to buy it anyway. I can pick up that second stick for around $100 versus the $300 Apple wanted for it.

Performance:
The performance has been great. I have had one or two glitches where an application froze. I was able to go in and use the activity monitor in utilities to stop the process. Each time it was related to beta software I was running. The one in particular that has given me problems is Audacity. I have tried two versions of Audacity – both the 1.3 version and the newer version are in the trashcan.

I had some issues with sound. I was getting a static when I tried to record my voice. It was overpowering. It was in both Audacity and GarageBand. I bought a new headset – despite it being inexpensive it has taken my music enjoyment to a whole new level. It was a basic version of the Altec Lansing over the ear microphone/headset. It took care of 95% of the background noise so I don't know if the rest is hardware or software related.

Learning Curve:
The learning curve has been slight. I feel like I am using Gnome in Linux with the banner menu across the top of the screen. I have had to learn to make sure I close applications using this and not by clicking in the upper left corner of the application.

I have also had to learn about the delete key. It is located where the backspace key belongs and works the same way. My problem has been seeing the label and wanting to use it to delete to the right of the cursor. It does not work that way.

Another part of the learning curve has been the right click. I have found new ways to do things other than the right click. I learned you can put two fingers on the pad and click with a third to get a right click. That does not always work.

Learning to use the Apple key rather than a control key took all of about two nanoseconds. I am finding that key combinations do take a second or two to adapt. One of my biggest ones is the send email combination. The help menu shows what resembles a backslash key and the apple key along with the letter d. I have tried everything I can think of and can not figure out what that almost a backslash key is trying to represent. :( That is really very trivial.

Software/Programs:
This has been one of the easiest things to figure out. I have found a lot of open source software that meets my needs. I am learning to use GarageBand rather than Audacity. NeoOffice is a the Mac equivalent of Open Office. I purchased the MS Office for Mac but have not had a need to install it yet. I installed X-chat Aqua to do my IRC chat. I use the iChat that came with the computer to do instant messaging. I was using Trillian before and they are very similar. I have alternated between Firefox and Safari. Right now I think Firefox still has the edge. The email program is fine. I have no real beefs with it. My only concern is the lack of a text only setting that I can find. Since this is a Mac this is not the concern that it was in Windows.

My Address book did an acceptable job of importing addresses once I figured out to use cards to import rather than the other options. I do have a bunch of blank addresses where it turned an entry into two. Someday I will sit down and convert those.

PhotoBooth has been fun to play with. My daughter and I have posted dueling flicker pages of PhotoBooth images. It is fun to do at neighborhood gatherings and then post on flickr. And where would I be without my iTunes. Although I was able to copy all of my iTune files over I had to reregister my iPod and reinstall all the songs to be able to use the MacBook Pro as my primary device. That too is ok because I already had a DVD with all the songs on it. My library remained intact on my laptop, it was just a reinstall to the ipod.

Weakness:
There is one area that I find the Mac to be weak. That is the wireless connection. I have not located the source of the problem yet. I am not sure if it is hardware, operating system, Safari or Firefox. There are times when it just seems to stall out despite the wireless manager indicating I am connected and at full strength.

Changed Plans:
Can you tell I am happy with my new MacBook Pro? My intentions were to dual boot with Linux but I have changed my mind on that. With the Unix based OS I am finding no need to install Linux. All of my favorite open source applications also have Mac versions. It would be redundant to install a Linux distro on my laptop. That does not mean I did not try to run a live CD. That was another adventure. It would not work without some missing files. Maybe I will try that again later. At this point, I have no interest in running BootCamp or Parallels. I do plan to pick up Quicken for Mac and Turbo Tax for Mac in December once the sales begin.

Outlook:
Can I see myself going back to a PC? No I can't. I can not see any reason that would take me back to the PC. The initial outlay for my Mac was a bit more than my last tablet. That's ok because I have needed less software. Everything is working great. Even though I teach Windows I find that I am happier running my Mac. I don't have so many issues to deal with. I would definitely recommend anyone new to computers that can afford it to go with the Mac rather than a PC based computer. It is just easier to operate. Even installing software is easier. I mean really, can it actually get any easier?
Add to Memories Tell a Friend

August 10th, 2006

A Mac in the House

8/10/06 06:12 pm
Add to Memories Tell a Friend
A Mac in the house may eat the ice cream. I bought a Mac. I did not think it would be this much fun. My preconceptions were way off in many respects. Did I have too high of expectations? No! If anything, they were too low. The main area where I found the Mac to be very different from what I expected was software.

Software

I have two perspectives on software. One is the Windows perspective. The operating system comes with a basic set of programs that won't do much of anything for you. You then go out and buy about everything you need for your computer from games to an office suite to web publishing and photo editing.


The other perspective is the Linux one. Your operating system comes with a basic set of everything you need. You can then go and download what you want and have many different choices.

I thought the Mac would be closer to Windows than Linux. I don't know why I thought this. I expected to need to buy a ton of software. I knew that the Mac OS was very simnilar to Linux. I guess I did not think this through to realize that the availablity of open source would be similar.

My Mac came with one of everything. It came with the Safari browser. Cool. It is a good basic browser. It was missing the finer touches I like so I simply downloaded the Open Source Firefox.

The email program is called Mail. It meets all of my needs. It is a little funky in dealing with a few of my emails I receive on a regular basis. Those are the ones I don't have control on whether or not they are sent in html or plain text. Folks that know me are aware that I prefer plain text to keep it clean and safer.

At this point I have not needed to purchase any additional software for my Mac. I have installed osme open source software. I added X-Chat Aqua for IRC, Firefox for browsing, NeoOffice for an office suite and Audacity to do converting for podcasting.

I was able to import all of my address book by using the vbc import capability.

Which Mac?

What Mac did I go for? The most I could justify. I picked the Macbook Pro with the 15.4" screen. I have the 2.16Mhz processor and 1 GB of RAM. I have every intention of adding in another stick and going with 2GB total. That should be a real sweet spot. Then again, I could not see paying the higher price to have the 2GB installed initially.

What is my overall impression of my Mac? I love it!
Add to Memories Tell a Friend

July 8th, 2006

These boots are made for walking?

7/8/06 08:53 pm
Add to Memories Tell a Friend

I had to laugh this week.  I had my boots from when I was in the AF that dated back to the late 80’s.  My niece likes military boots and wears the same size. I told her she could have mine since I never wear them anymore.   She put them on and started walking to work.  She managed to get about ½ mile down the road.   She looked down to her left foot and noticed the sole was flopping on her boot.

 

She turned around and started walking home.  By the time she arrived back to the house she had two boots on her feet and two soles in her hands.  We laughed like crazy over this.  Since my boots from the 80’s and 90’s did not hold up, hubby handed her his boots from the 60’s and 70’s.  Would you believe his boots held up? 

 

So his boots were made for walking and that’s just what they did but my boots were obviously not. 

Add to Memories Tell a Friend

June 30th, 2006

Family Holidays

6/30/06 09:53 pm
Add to Memories Tell a Friend

Family Holidays

Isn’t it great when we can gather together with family and friends and enjoy some “quality” time?  I look forward to the 4th of July each year.  It is great to celebrate our nation’s birthday, but it is even better to have an excuse to gather with family and neighbors and spend time at the beach, charcoaling on the grill, and just visiting with each other and enjoying each other’s company.

In our neighborhood we started hosting a neighborhood 4th of July party about 10 years ago.  It has become a major socialization event of the summer.  The formula is simple:  we take the summer residents of three houses, add in anyone else we can invite and have a BBQ on the driveway with the neighborhood and friends.  The charcoal is lit at 7 p.m. and dinner is usually served by 8:30.  This gives just enough time to drive down to the beach after dark and shoot off our own fireworks as well as watch the displays up and down the coast as far as the eye can see.

Everyone in the neighborhood knows it occurs each year.  We usually have about 25 brave souls here and it is always a time of good fellowship. 

Isn’t it great to know that we live in a country where we are free to gather together and visit with each other without fear of prosecution?  That we can afford to go to the store and buy what we need?  That we have enough time to prepare food and not be exhausted from a day of work?

I can think of no other country with the freedom we have and made of such great people.  Then again, because we are Americans, this is the culture we call normal.  I have been privileged to visit other countries and enjoy their customs.  Most countries have some form of an independence day.  Hopefully everyone feels that their country is great. 

Enjoy the 4th and enjoy spending time with family and friends.  I know I will. 

Add to Memories Tell a Friend

June 27th, 2006

Triage Vacaton Style!

6/27/06 04:06 am
Add to Memories Tell a Friend
Living in a beach resort community we see all sorts of crazy things. When I went in for a rather routine appointment this last week I was amused by the number of folks that looked like they had watched too many medical shows on television. Since the practice is a combined family/urgent care practice and our population explodes in the summer it is necessary to just walk in rather than make an appointment. That gave me a couple of hours to sit and observe. It made me wonder how the nurses and folks working there keep their sanity.
One man came in with his entire head wrapped in gauze and a bag of ice on top. He carried on about how terrible he felt. Since there was no blood obvious on the bandage it did seem a bit odd. He came out with a small standard Band-Aid on the top of his head and one stitch. You would have thought he was near death.
A young gal in her teens was accompanied by two adults and two teens. She flopped all over everywhere and looked a bit pale. The group carried on talking on cell phones the entire time in the waiting room. When she had to go to the bathroom they propped her up and almost carried her there. It sure looked like your basic dehydration and too much sun. I just wanted to go get a glass of water from the dispenser and tell her to start drinking. When it was her turn to go back she carried on so much the clinic brought out a wheel chair to take her back. She came back out with the adult carrying on how terrible it was – she had heat exhaustion. Hmmm, all day at the beach the day before and not drinking water—what do you think?
Another adult (also not the parent) brought a young lady in about 10 years old. Her back hurt. She had been playing in the waves and crashed and tumbled. After they sat there and looked at the overflowing waiting room they asked me how long I thought it would take them to get back to the docs. I said probably 1.5 to 2 hours. Then they asked me, “Do you think we should give her some Advil and let her soak in a hot bath? We could bring her back after a couple of hours if she is not any better.” Off they went and they did not return in two hours.
Then there was a man that quietly came in with a tiny bandage on his eyebrow. He came back out with two stitches. I could not help and compare this man with his fellow head injury patient. What a difference in attitude and maturity.
Another man came in with his hand all wrapped up where he had been in a fight. He came back out with what looked like the exact same bandaging on his hand. He was a little upset about the incident (trying to break up a fight where a lady was being beaten) but not too much about his hand. The wife just carried on about how he is a master carpenter and what if he has done permanent damage.
The front desk staff took a lot of grief because they were collecting copay upfront since most of the folks there were only here for a week and then are hard to locate. You would have thought that asking for $15 before they see the doc was like asking for a million. This sampling of what I saw coming and going gave me an appreciation of our nurses and doctors and what they go through on a daily basis in a family practice/urgent care setting. My hat is off to all health care workers. Unfortunately they tend to see us all at our worst. After all, do you go to the doc when you are feeling great?
Add to Memories Tell a Friend

June 21st, 2006

Summer and Rejection

6/21/06 04:54 pm
Add to Memories Tell a Friend
It's official! It's summer!

Why doesn't it feel any different than yesterday? It already feels like my summer is slipping away from me. I feel the rush of getting things done before I go back to school. Actually I should feel unhappy today. I received notice that I was not accepted into a specialist program. Hmm. Maybe it is because it was not quite the degree I wanted. It just leaves me with the question of why was I not accepted. You would think that they would be eager to take my money. I guess that is what I get for looking at schools that are traditional instead of those geared towards the on-line student.

The only thing that I really liked about the program was that I could complete the first 18 hours on line. Even then, I did not like how long they stretched the program out. They wanted you to be a student forever. I want to go in, go full force and move on. I am now looking at another school. We will see what happens. The deadline for application there is just three weeks away. I had less than 2 weeks from, when I discovered the last school to when I had to have everything turned in. I would have thought having a masters from that school with a 4.0 would have indicated I had a good chance at succeeding in their program. Maybe they did not think I was articulate. I think I do a fine job of getting my point across. Was I lacking in enthusiasm? Did I miss using some magical word? Who knows? I don't.

Now I am waiting for a call back from another university so I can ask questions. Two on-line universities have been hounding me wanting me to enroll with them. However, they are extremely expensive. I can not see spending $60,000 for a degree. One of them grilled me about why I had waited so long in life to apply. They could not understand my answer that I just paid for my daughter's bachelor's degree so now I am free to go back to school. I guess debt-free living is not a concept they understand.

Meanwhile, back to summer. :-)
Add to Memories Tell a Friend

June 12th, 2006

Birthdays

6/12/06 07:38 pm
Add to Memories Tell a Friend

There is nothing like a birthday to kick back and enjoy life.  When you are young you think about the presents, parties, and school treats.  Then it becomes a time of striving to be an adult.  You look forward to the privileges that come with age.  You have the privilege of being able to apply for a driver's license, to make your own decisions, to be held accountable for your actions.   I think everyone looks forward to their birthday up until at least 25. 

Then something happens.  It becomes a cool day to celebrate.  Somewhere along the way it becomes a day to sit back and reflect upon life. Hopefully we reach the point where we look out from ourselves and to others.   Maybe I am just being sentimental on reaching the ripe age of 50 but I found my birthday to be one where I did what I wanted to (since it conveniently fell on a weekend) and one where I reflected on what I have done with my life.  I thought about ways to help others.  It was fun to send things to other folks instead.  I thought about how I would want to be known if it was my last day on earth, not that I was even thinking of it being close to that time but simply that it seemed appropriate to think about who I am, how I act, what I do, and is this how I want to be remembered?

I have been very blessed.  I have a wonderful family.  I have a supportive husband that let's me pursue my dreams and supports me no matter what I decide.  He has followed me all over the world in the past and has always been better than I ever deserved.  I have a great daughter that is working to find her own way in the world.  She is just starting to reach out and make major decisions that will impact her life and how she makes out in this world.

I have my faith in God.  I was very surprised when someone stopped me a couple of weeks ago and asked about my front license plate.  They were surprised that I was so restrictive as to think there is only one way to heaven.  I happily said that I was a hard core Christian and did not argue or debate.  Hopefully, my actions show who I am and reflect appropriately on me.

We move on in this life and we touch different lives every day.  We never know truly how we have influenced others.  The smallest things can have a lasting impression on others or influence their lives.  How have we been influenced by others?  I really look up to my wonderful step-father.  The thing he has taught me most in life is to go quietly (yes I am still learning) and let my beliefs radiate from who I am, not broadcast from my mouth.  In over 30 years I have yet to hear him put someone down or say something negative.  He always looks for the kindest way to say things and how to be a gentle soul.  I still have so much to learn from him.

I hope you reach the point in life where you can find a birthday to be a great occasion to reflect, to enjoy the richness life has given you, and in turn bless others. 



Add to Memories Tell a Friend

June 8th, 2006

VA and Privacy

6/8/06 07:06 pm
Add to Memories Tell a Friend
How does the VA notify veterans their privacy is at stake?  By a letter sent one month after the fact with a "May 2006" date at the bottom.  Both hubby and I received our letters today:

"Dear Veteran:

The Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) has recently learned that an employee took home electronic data from the VA,  which he was not authorized to do so and was in violation of established policies."  Note they start off passing the blame.  :(  "The data contained identifying information including names, social security numbers, and dates of birth for up to 26.5 million veterans  (Don't you just love the exactness of this? )  and some spouses as well as some disability ratings.    As a result of this incident, information identifiable with you was potentially exposed to others.  It is important to note that the affected data did not include any of the VA's electronic health records or any financial information.

....

Out of an abundance of caution, however, VA is taking all possible steps to protect and inform our veterans.  While you do not need to take any action unless you are aware of suspicious activity regarding your personal information, there are many steps you may take to protect against identity theft and we want you to be aware of them. 

....

In accordance with current policy, the Internal Revenue Service has agreed to forward this letter because we do not have current addresses for all affected individuals.  The IRS has not disclosed your address or any other tax information to us."

Doesn't all that just leave you with warm fuzzies?  This is one more reason why we should have a separation of our social security numbers and various accounts.  The VA uses your social security number as the primary way of identity.  Everything you do with the VA involves using your social security number.  It is scary that they do not even really seem to know what was on the stolen "electronic data".  Was it a laptop, a CD, or a removable drive?  I'm glad to know it does not relate my disability nor husband's disability information but that is really the least of my concern.  My biggest concern is my financial information available through a social security number and a name as well as the possibility of identity theft.  A person could use that information to open credit card accounts and use my identity. 

After going on line and obtaining a copy of my credit rating information from one of the major companies, I am sure the persons involved could not get my credit report that way.  I could barely answer the questions correctly. 

Is there a good solution?  I don't know.  We all have way too much information available on the Internet as it is.  It pays to be prudent and to not disclose too much information.  Many of our young do not understand this.  Places like my space encourage them to give out way too much information.  It helps to keep things close at hand.

At least we know our government is diligently safeguarding our information.  :-D

Add to Memories Tell a Friend

June 6th, 2006

Blog Subjects

6/6/06 06:48 pm
Add to Memories Tell a Friend
My daughter looked at my blog today and said "That's what you write about?????"  That would be it.  Nothing real exciting.   Today was the last day of regular classes.  Tomorrow students take exams and then it will be summer for them at the end of this week.

Do you remember summer vacation?  I remember swimming lessons, Girl Scout  camps, Y camps, tennis, golf and anything else Mom could come up with to keep us busy.  Back then it was not transportation by "mom van" but by bicycle.  Nobody expected their parents to haul them around to the various places.  My siblings and I would get on our bikes and head to the pool or to lessons every day.  I never had a problem with weight.  I think it is because we got everywhere on our own and naturally had lots of exercise in the name of fun.

We can't expect children today to get to places on their own.  It just is not always safe.  There are more cars on the roads.  There are more worries with things like crazy folks out there.  I don't think our parents needed to worry about us then.  If we misbehaved, or if something happened, our parents would know as fast as anyone could pick up a phone because everyone knew us. 

Were you convinced that your parents knew every adult in town?  We were.  My daughter was,  She knew that if she did anything wrong it would come back to us immediately!  All kids should think that their parents know everyone in town.  It helps to keep them honest and to think about the impact of their behavior.

I think it's time to go take a walk and remember what it was like.  :-)
Add to Memories Tell a Friend

June 2nd, 2006

Cables, cables, cables!

6/2/06 04:11 pm
Add to Memories Tell a Friend

Martha Stewart brought up an interesting point to the CEO of Sony this week.   An article in the Wall Street Journal indicated that she pulled out a bag full of cords and asked why it takes so many cords to plug in all our electronics?  She wanted to know why Sony had so many different cords.

 Great question.  How many cords do you have lying around?  Adapters!  Have you looked at how many power adapters you have laying around the house?  Even if they are the same voltage they have different plug sizes between brands. 

 Case in point:  A flat screen monitor was donated to my classroom.  The adapter was fried.  I tried at least 20 different adapters and none of them would work.  I even tried ones that were the exact same voltage.  No joy!  What a pain.  The monitor has sat to the side in my classroom now for two years and will now go to the auction for used equipment because we can not obtain an adapter for it.

 Look at USB cables for cameras.  I was at a wedding shower two weeks ago.  A widow brought over her camera and asked how to get the pictures off the camera so she could take more pictures.  She had an SD card in her camera and I only had SD slots on my laptop.  She did not bring any cables with her.  Luckily I had grabbed cables to put in my camera bag and had brought both the kind she needed as well as the kind I needed.  When I left the next day I was able to give her a CD with all the pictures that were on her camera as well as all the pictures taken over the weekend.  Had I not had the right adapter for her camera, she would not have been able to use her camera.

 How do you plug in a printer?  Do you use a USB cable?  What size is it on the other end?  Or do you use an old parallel cable?  Sometimes you have a choice – sometimes you do not.  I cheat.  I have a wireless box for my printer and I use that to connect wirelessly to print copies.

 Have you ever heard someone talk about what kind of cable they need?  They say something like, “You know, the fat one that goes in back.”  So very descriptive. 

 I’m with Martha Stewart on this one.  Give me one type of cable that works.  Let me use a standardized USB cable or Firewire cable.  That’s it.  One type of power cable.  Give it the same plug and voltage.  Let’s simplify life and do away with the wires – all of them.  Can you image the money that would be made if someone found a way to send power to our devices wirelessly?  Then we could really do away with cables.  Let’s set up a frequency table and assign each device it’s own frequency (automatically of course) and forget all the cables!

Add to Memories Tell a Friend
Powered by LiveJournal.com