Saturday, October 12, 2019

I’m drafting this on my new iPad to expand into the IOS world. Typing is challenging on a small keypad which won’t easily accommodate my usually-speedy fingers. Although ignoring a few clicks and cues, my first paragraph is moving forward.

Yesterday, I dashed to the Verizon Store after my Apple Watch suddenly stopped and completely disassociated itself from the iPhone. My usual Verizon helper wasn’t working and another person restored my watch which reconnected to my phone. This person seemed not-enough familiar with Apple products, but anyway, there’s time to work through all this. The purchasing process allows two weeks before new equipment becomes non-returnable. This morning begins my day-3 with Apple products.

If asked now whether I prefer droid or IOS, I’d still favor droid. For IOS seems less flexible. Here’s an example, the apps on iPhone screens can’t automatically be alphabeticalized. This forces a close examination of each app on several screens to spot and move certain ones. Sure, apps can be adjusted, but only individually. It takes lots of dedication to move and reorder manually many apps on various screens.

I’ll probably ask my friend, Buzz for help. He’s totally into Apple products and could guide me through this confusing process and make going forward easier. Oddly enough and only yesterday, I remembered that several years ago I decided to drop my droid, and did select an iPhone. While trying out the new phone, I disliked it and opted for a familiar droid. That old choice still seems a reasonable option.

My struggles to change and learn recall my failed foray into ham radio. On an impulse, I studied for a series of ham tests, and passed them to achieve the high-level ham license. In local ham clubs, I discovered that most hams while growing up had learned ham radio technicalities from their dads. Radio electronics became their second nature. Those fellows were welcoming and kind, they spent time trying to explain radio, but as I listened, they might as well have been trying to teach how to understand Mandarin.

This time, the choice of Apple products was less impulsive, and instead, in appreciation of Apple’s emergency capabilities. These offer peace of mind while I’m working on rocky acreage or playing with and caring for large animals. Although my attempts to become a ham weren’t all positive, the reassurance of passing tough tests has suggested that anyone can learn anything by getting into the right mindset and studying with diligence.

Good news! This earlier-drafted article actually flew across space, moved from IOS to droid, and correctly opened on my laptop. Moving ahead!

Dear Friends: My ongoing interconnected theme might be, “never give up”. Diana

Friday, October 11, 2019

Since early yesterday, I’ve been studying YouTube, to learn the workings of my new bundle of Apple products, including the iPhone, Apple Watch, and iPad. My first time with something besides a droid universe is a slow-going transition.

These components have an unique Apple app, that lets a wristwatch wearer who happens to fall, through his/her phone, call or elect not to call for assistance. It always worries me in working with horses that while “dancing around” with them (horse-folks will understand), it’s possible to trip, hard, over something. For years, I’ve researched wearable devices with push-buttons that call for help, but none meet the needs of one who frequently handles horses.

That is until recently, when my friend who’s an avid Apple guy, explained Apple’s watch-to-phone capabilities if the user suddenly falls. The watch has position and velocity capabilities that recognize a quick, horizontal, hard-landing. The watch allows several seconds, for the alarm to be turned off, before it signalls the iPhone to call for help from back-up contacts and rescue (police) persons, and to provide a GPS-precise location.

To me, switching from droid to IOS is akin to moving into another world. The iPhone has the droid capabilities and much more. It’s technology is amazing, and if I wind up using only part of what’s available, that’ll be a big win.

Right now, I’m not alluding to the phone’s three cameras! YouTube demonstrates that nearly all the other iPhone apps are adjustable in many ways. Even the phone’s outer-case, its push buttons are multi-function. To a wowed newbie, the settings and possibilities seem endless.

All will come together, and meanwhile, though I’ve never tripped badly, I feel more comfortable wearing a cool iWatch. Besides my horses, there are dogs that circle my heels, a cat who “figure 8s” around my ankles, and other unexpected things that may interfere with a hurrying person. Now, if it’s ever necessary to need help, my equipment is right. Besides easing my minute-to-minute mind, the watch/phone might boost my confidence.

Dear Friends: Sure, I’m eager to “get into” those cameras, but first-things first. Diana

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Yesterday, I dropped into the nursing home to visit my sister, Elaine. She was in a quiet mood but very alert and we had a long talk. Of course, much of the time while she talks, the key subjects are movies, actors, dancing, and music. That’s where she prefers to keep her head most of the time, as an appreciator or critic. We also spoke some about our mom and dad, well mostly she did and shared some memories.

She’s repeatedly told me how much our dad loved plunging into the polar plunge at Sulpher Springs, OK, not far from the small town where my family lived. The family’s frequent getaway trips to the plunge occurred before I was born. Elaine tells me about accompanying his dives into freezing water when she was six or seven years old. When I wonder how that felt to her, she quietly says, “The water was cold.”

Yesterday, she continued, saying that afterwards, the family (our mom and eldest sister were in the group) piled into the car and traveled to Weewoka, OK, also not far from home, to eat fried chicken. The Weewoka restaurant always closed on Sundays, but it’s owner, a close family friend, always opened for a couple of hours to provide the swimmers with wonderful chicken dinners.

Elaine describes that fried chicken like a child ready to lick her lips. For many of her adult years she strictly was a vegan, but remembering those childhood special events seems to move her words closer to the action. She’s spoken of the polar plunge a few times, and only yesterday added those chicken-trip endings.

The family lived in Seminole, OK, where I was born, and whatever I’ve known about those years were the bits and pieces that my two big sisters described. Just weeks after my birth, our father died in an auto accident, and growing up for me was very different from my sisters’ early life experiences.

These days, I can hear differently Elaine’s words and cherish her reflections. It’s lifting to picture more our family’s early days. At this point in my sister’s life and mine, we can share instead of battle. I relish her best memories and will hold onto our good moments.

Dear Friends: It’s about adjusting to the inevitable, and saddening beyond words. Diana

My fingers feel too stiff to work these keys after failing to thaw adequately while encircling a mug of coffee. Outside, in brrr 20 degrees, I’ve already traveled to the barn and back. No surprise to find the horses’ water troughs iced over, and so, it’s time to drain them and install heating devices. Soon, of great interest for this keeper of horses, the grasses will freeze, which means that my animals may graze to their hearts’ content without gaining weight.

The overcast sky hid this morning’s moonset which made me unhappy. As often happens, I was awake and reading, super early, and saw the moon up high through a bedroom window. There it was, a glowing 3/4 shape, soft and huggable, a photographer’s dream, except for the surrounding too-dark night sky. Maybe the dawn would offer a chance to capture the moonset, but alas no luck. Anyway, sighting it is a pleasant memory.

I began searching high and low for my Kindle and couldn’t find it. Not long ago, it seemed impossible that I’d ever read another book on it, hadn’t used it in years. Maybe I went ahead and tossed it. Anyway, my phone has a Kindle app that’s easy to use. While rumbling around, I found that a little-used tablet also has a working Kindle app. I read from the tablet’s larger screen.

Online reading is working out satisfactorily. I’m finding it possible to read quickly, remain focused, and retain information. As one who’s always cherished print books, I’m surprised, but also feel encouraged to download several more books to read. The Kindle versions are less expensive and arrive in seconds. The downside is that it’s hard to remember what’s in my library when I want to transition to another title. Although one can go to the Amazon Kindle Library and see the titles available, it’s easier and more fun to read the spines of books stacked on a nearby table. Well, I’ll get better at handling Kindle because familiarity with technology does change us.

Oh yeah, as an aside, I understand that computers are getting much faster and more accurate at translating voice to text. Thoughts about this make me wonder if manual handwriting eventually might drift into history–say like, Sanscrit.

Dear Friends: Lopsided moon, frozen fingers, 20-deg thoughts, oh dear. Diana

Tuesday, October 08, 2019

This must be short and sweet. I’m battle sneezing fits and chronic tiredness. Odd thing, all this began the day after I received this season’s flu shot.

Mostly, my colds start off like one-day wonders and sometimes the symptoms last only one day, but more often they continue and transition into week-long miseries. Early in this one’s stages, it’s struggling about giving-it-up or moving full-blast toward an event.

In this fall season, many Central Oregon afternoons still are warmed nicely by abundant sunshine. According to a friend, who’s portable and anxious to leave the area before it’s really cold, by mid-next-week local temps will drop into the teens. One day prior to that, he’ll pull out and head somewhere around Las Vegas and will meet up with others. I think of them as “turtle folks”, storing their worldly goods in oversized vehicles for making spontaneous moves from one place to another. My friend’s usual route takes him over familiar roads and weather-friendly locations. His job lets him transition to various cities and return to Central Oregon to work during its cool summers.

Our warm afternoons dry-out nasal passages enough for me to continue winterizing. Today, I’ll try to be outside stringing electric wire over horse fencing. Last night, the wind blew heavily, and early today, looking toward the horizon, I could see natural warnings about changes ahead. The mountains are clouded over, the sky looks suspicious.

Dear Friends: Many “turtle folks” love their travels and meet-ups with buddies. Diana

Monday, October 07, 2019

I’ve been wielding a hammer and hauling a reel of wire around the dry lot where my horses spend their time. After stringing wire horizontally, I also strung vertically by going onto my knees in the dirt. Who ever knew I’d be out there, tool-laden and dirt-covered, to electrify fencing! And now, my horse has strolled alongside and is nudging over a box of plastic insulators!

All this is because the horses have been chewing on the fence, not just a bit but enough to narrow dramatically the wood diameters. For awhile, it’s been apparent that electricity isn’t flowing adequately through the fence’s “hot wires”. This has freed the horses to gnaw. I’d been unable to find a handy-person knowledgeable enough to fix this problem, and myself know next-to-nothing about hot wires.

The horses don’t engage in this behavior because they’re “cribbing” as horses often do. Mine don’t seem to need to crib, more likely they’re just bored. It’s hard to blame confined animals, but they’re not who shells out for new fencing if current posts collapse. Recently, a fencing pro’s estimate for a big fix left me gasping. So, I went out to get “stuff”, and started figuring out what to do.

Long story short, now a new wire (and it’s hot) is stretched across horizontal post sides where the horses did most of their chewing. I’d been focused on the top posts, and not until I was out there with hands on noticed that they’d chewed many vertical support posts. Next, I stretched hot wire from the horizontals down the length of the verticals. I switched on the electricity and checked the whole fence. It’s loaded!

That took care of part of the fencing, for the overall job requires more work. I’ve learned that my originally-installed pretty and plastic-clad wire (more visible than bare wire) carries electricity less effectively than plain wire. So tomorrow, if the nice daytime weather holds out, I’ll start re-stringing all the fence wire, changing the pretty for the capable.

I’m a city-gal retiree, who gleefully moved onto a small acreage to relax and enjoy a few horses. Through the years, all this has developed into a new and unpaid career. For example, if the handyman who’s coming this week isn’t capable of repairing my damaged guttering, I’ll probably climb a ladder and try to figure out how to make the fixes myself.

Dear Friends: We can work out most anything by just getting up and trying. Diana

Sunday, October 06, 2019

Yesterday evening, CNN offered series of episodes, and served them up over several hours, covering the rise and fall of Richard Nixon. The whole series, entitled “Tricky Dick”, consisted of actual film and tape footage and at-the-time reporters narrating events, and for all key players their actual voices and words. The series includes scenes and words newly revealed by current technology and presented for the first time.

The picture becomes a chilling backwards inspection of the 60s and 70s, a turmoil of high-stakes politics. It reveals the extent to which Nixon was willing to create a distorted reality to achieve his political goals. Included are his key supporters with their willingness to to dip into waters of evil. I watched several episodes before reaching a point where it became impossible to process more evidence of Nixon’s, and his minions, dismissals of decency and mercy, their blatant dishonesty.

In those days, the news media were all over the stories of brutal politics. The Democrat front-runners for president were Eugene McCarthy and Robert Kennedy. Kennedy seemed a surefire winner and this frightened Nixon, but we know how that turned out. In the end, the race between Nixon and Humphrey was close, and we know, too, how that turned out.

My point isn’t to compare the Presidential politics of those days and these days, although some are obvious. What interests me is the extent to which social media have changed the social order. Back in the 60s and 70s, we relied on print press and news figures, like Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather, and others who reported over radio and on television. These effectively informed most Americans of the Watergate episode, its key players, villains, and heroes. Americans knew about Nixon’s resignation from the Presidency and his subsequent pardon of wrongdoing by Gerald Ford.

These days, the internet’s many instant news and opinions fills us with information, reactions, opinions, options, and attempts to predict winners and losers. That crazy time of the Nixon era more or less came and went, becoming a figment of the past as we regained optimism through a gentler President Ford and our ensuing leaders. Well, almost, for there was that Iran-Contra business, and President Clinton’s misbehavior, but those are stories for another day.

Nowadays, social media expands every uttering and position of a public person to the ultimate. Many of these public persons aren’t even interesting, but they have moments in the spotlight because of their opinions and/or money. Our President and other key figures have words and moves publicized in social media frenzies. Daily, new pages or chapters evolve that ultimately will be spliced into series that give us looks back at the early 2000s.

Well, watching the 60s and 70s was tough enough with the footage and voices that have survived over the years. We only can imagine what it would be like in another 50 years, to look back over this era, and try to make sense of it within the-then bigger picture.

Dear Friends: So complicated! We acquiesce to an internet that gives us voices. Diana

Saturday, October 05, 2019

Never could I have visualized myself willing to read online. I’d leave that for x-gens, millennials, and geeks. For me, it’s been a lifetime of reading newspapers, magazines, and books, printed on paper. Here’s what’s best about books: If the writing is good, I enjoy holding it, turning pages, and occasionally pausing to consider and evaluate what’s being communicated. That’s who I am, give me hard-cover books and complex movies.

The avoidance of reading online began changing a few years ago after I made a tough decision to subscribe to online newspapers. They’re cheaper! I began reading articles, at first reluctantly, and finally, without realizing it just clicking and absorbing. There are many very good writers creating for major (and some less major) newspapers; there are fine contributors to high-end magazines. I’ll even admit these days to seeking online contributions of my favorite writers.

Reconsidering my earlier reluctance and what’s driven this change, it’s been a combination of current confusing national and world politics and a desire for explanations. News contributors supply details that may elaborate and help support or sway a reader’s perceptions. So now, I read online. But suddenly, there’s more.

I’ve downloaded to my Kindle a newly-published book. I don’t use a Kindle itself, but my phone’s Kindle app makes a book readable. For the first time, I’m starting to read a book on my phone. Unbelievably, it’s working. I can sit, read, concentrate, and with a touch of my thumb flip pages. This process hasn’t constrained my ability to concentrate and absorb.

Today, one of my subscriptions emailed that I’m eligible for a once-monthly free book. Encouraged by my phone-Kindle experience, I looked at the newspaper’s offerings, and bingo, saw a title I had considered ordering from Amazon. This new deal isn’t available for the Kindle app, and now, I had to install BookShout, another ebook reading app. It’s a little different and maybe less easy to read, but this is moving me beyond Kindle on phone and laptop.

My phone lets me read and listen (when it’s more convenient, like while driving or shopping). The main thing is, I’m making the switch from handheld print to online apps. That I am doing so begs the question, what’s next! For starters, I’ve long been interested in trying to learn code. A friend for many years has begun encouraging me to write for online readers and self-publish. These have seemed beyond my capabilities–like my stumbles in trying to create rope knots–but maybe if one tries everything’s doable.

Anyway this moment is about reading online–something once beyond my wildest imagination.

Dear Friends: Despite ourselves, living pushes us toward new experiences. Diana

Friday, October 04, 2019

While my friends from Eastern Oregon were visiting, we began playing with bowline knots. The bowline knot dates from ancient times and is easy to create, it doesn’t slip and easily is untied. We played with tying this knot as a handy start to creating a temporary horse training halter to reinforce an animal’s ground manners.

The bowline originally was and still mainly is associated to the sailing world. This knot quickly can create a fixed loop at the end of a rope, strong enough to tether a floating vessel. I repeat, the bowline knot neither tightens or loosens and yet easily may be untied. My visiting friends who introduced it explained it’s usefulness in creating a temporary halter for routine ground work.

All that sounds good, but I found a catch–that one must be able to visualize the workings of a rope being manipulated before recreating an accurate version. This ability to visualize almost entirely has proved beyond my ability to comprehend. I’ve watched YouTube videos of this easily-made knot without being able to translate what I see to the action of my hands. Making things worst, the videos show various ways to create the knot and none help me.

The bowline is a simple knot. It’s even easier to construct by remembering a Boy Scout jingle explaining its formation: “The rabbit goes into the hole and gets frightened, so goes out of the hole, circles the tree, and then goes back into the hole.”

You’d think, wouldn’t you?

In the last week this has been a prime topic and I’ve made some progress. Sometimes while watching television and fiddling with my practice piece of rope, I manage to tie the knot correctly. But creating the knot with a loop has been beyond my capability. Alas, maybe my future with horses won’t include a simple, quick to put on and remove, training halter.

My frustration extends beyond this bowline. I’ve long yearned to create effective knots. Even my books showing simplified ways to create useful knots have failed to help me leap the gap between vision and hands. In the old days, I sighed and chalked my failure of comprehension to genetics. Now, not any more. Even if mine is a physical problem, a lapse between brain and motor skills, I’ll keep trying. This time, I’m determined to study illustrations and practice with my little length of rope, and finally, intend to untie this knotting dilemma.

Dear Friends: Does something so simple, it’s ridiculous, ever baffle you? Diana

Thursday, October 03, 2019

I live in a relatively small community with an average “permanent population” of under 100,000. True, the large amounts of tourists and family visitors make this place feel much larger than it is, especially when one tries to drive through heavy traffic across town. The last few years have brought vehicles lined at stoplights and crowded shops and restaurants. It’s the opposite to my earliest days here when one zipped across town in a few minutes, parked anyplace, wandered through well-stocked, uncrowded stores with quick check-out cashiers.

This community primarily draws a sports- and retirement-oriented population. So, there’s young and old with reasonably good medical options for a middle Oregon outpost. For hoards of retiring baby boomers wishing to remain active, this place has become a draw. There’s construction everywhere and of every kind from the most expensive to whatever passes as “affordable housing” (surely an oxymoron if ever there was one).

Besides traffic and crowds, my main problem is the construction, which consumes so many skilled crafts persons. It’s become nearly impossible for a not very handy or well connected homeowner to find help. Those tradespersons capable of repairs and services are for weeks-out busy.

The last big rainstorm impacted my gutters which need fixing before real winter sets in. Several weeks ago, I began calling for help, but you know, all over town gutters had been impacted, and I landed on waiting lists. Help never materialized and meanwhile winter has begun “springing up”. This week, I began looking up handyman services, took a chance, and called a guy with a couple of good reviews. He has a nice voice, says he can repair gutters and could be here early next week.

What’s a person to do?

I’ve been a victim of handymen who couldn’t or didn’t deliver what they promised and overcharged as well. Some have performed work well-enough that it passes as good on a first glance, with only later me discovering the errors, omissions, and needs for rework. I kick myself for not being able to assess better new repair work. Sure, I’ve learned and am maybe a little smarter, but still, today’s circumstances force me to trust another unknown.

Anyway, he’ll be here and we’ll move on. The acid test of his repair (if even he can do the job) will be our next big rain, or heaven forbid a big snow storm. When moisture loads weight on the gutters, here’s hoping they will be able handle it and remain fastened.

Dear Friends: A friend’s guy declares, “If you’re not handsome, be handy!” Diana