What A Difference A Year Makes

 

When we are younger, years come and years go. We often don't give them a second thought. As we age, each additional year of life is a gift.  As such, I think we are less likely to take time for granted. We also tend to reflect more. I'm not sure that last year was much different from other years. It seems there are always wars, political upheaval, natural disasters, terrorist acts, and notable deaths.

On a worldwide scale, 2013 will be remembered as the year a new pope was chosen, a prince was born and a South African icon died. There were typhoons, building collapses, bombings, meteor explosions, nuclear testing and bailouts of entire countries. Those were newsworthy events in what seem like far off places. Some may have touched us personally.


During this past year however, many memorable events have also affected us closer to home. Who can forget the terrible tragedy of the train derailment in Lac Megantic killing forty seven people?  What about the continuing saga of Rob Ford? Then there were the weather events like flooding of major cities. How about the ice storms, fallen trees, and power outages which kept some people in the dark and cold for weeks?

For me personally, it’s now been a full twelve months since I began writing a newspaper column. I remember one of my first pieces which contained a rant about my new cell phone.  I complained that I would not be using the device for looking at email, checking Facebook, Googling or watching movies on the teeny tiny screen. One year later, I do all of those and more. Well, maybe I don't watch movies but I have been known to look at the occasional youtube or video clip.

It’s surprising how much change takes place in a year. My daughter, Ingrid came home for Christmas after having been gone since January. She was shocked by our new money. She wondered where our the pennies went and asked whether it was really possible to photograph and deposit a cheque into a bank account. She looked at store aisles in disbelief. She had forgotten how fortunate we are and all the goods which we have available to us compared to where she now lives.

We too are often unappreciative of what we have and take things for granted. Perhaps not time, as much as our surroundings and conveniences.

So another year has gone. Friends and acquaintances have become sick, some have had accidents, and sadly, some have passed away. We are thankful for those who have recovered from illness and we hope to spend many more years enjoying their company.

As I said in the beginning, each year is a gift. Let's put the gift of 2014 to good use.

New Year, New Toys - Part 2

Well, I have my e-reader going (January 2, 2014 blog). It took some effort on hubby's part, a few hours to co-ordinate everything. He's so smart. I have purchased three books from the internet and am giving it a chance. This is fun. I could buy books all day. They have my credit card info. All I have to do is point, click and it shows up on my e-reader...a shopaholic's dream. It doesn't even feel like spending money. Fortunately, I have some self control.

I am now giving this technology a fair chance.

First book is kind of strange I thought. It made no sense. How could it make no sense? Then I realized I had in fact started part way into the story. Hmmm....how to get back to the beginning? No amount of clicking on the buttons gave me any clues so I started to scroll backwards on the back up little lever thingy. I wondered what page I was on, I clicked and I clicked and scrolled and scrolled until about 10 minutes later, success, a title! I figured out how to enlarge the font for senior eyes and I was off to the races. Wow...I've never read whole pages so fast before. It sure goes quickly when there are only twelve words to a page. Interestingly enough, the book still makes no sense even though I started at the beginning. ***Note to self - Do not recommend this book to anyone. Perhaps when I get to the end I'll figure out what it was about. I wonder how many chapters and pages this book has. Is there some way of solving this mystery or does one just read until it runs out?

I have learned some things. Here is a comparison of e-reader reading and paper book reading.

1.  If you fall asleep while reading a regular book, it falls on your nose and you lose your page. If you fall asleep while using an e-reader, it shuts itself off and retains your page before falling on your face. Advantage - e-reader.

2.  Taking a book into the tub can be a bit risky. Pages might buckle, particularly if it's a hot bath or a steamy novel. Falling asleep is a potential problem which could cause the book to fall into the tub. Place book on rad to dry out pages and except for a bit of warping, it's good to go. Taking e-reader into the tub is no problem. There are instructions on what to do if it gets wet. I have decided not to take the chance. I read my Kindle whilst perched on my left rib cage and holding e-reader over the edge of the tub. That way, if it drops, there's nothing but the toilet nearby. ***Note to self - Make sure toilet lid is shut while bathing. Advantage - neither, unless you happen to be two years old reading one of those vinyl paged tubby books.

3. Books have those annoying unrealistic colourful covers. They are a distraction. If it's a love story one feels compelled to go back and stare at the title page just to burn the image of the unrealistic, half clothed characters into one's head. The male hero is almost always shirtless. The e-reader provides no such opportunity. It has a screen saver or something similar, in my case, slanted gray lines with alphabet letters on them. Going back to review the potential image of the protagonists is futile. Instead, it requires using one's own imagination. Challenging, but probably a good thing since there's no unrealistic, preconceived notion.  Advantage, unsure.

4. Books have pages and page numbers. I love page numbers. You can tell how far into the plot you have gone and how much more of the book there is to read. Sometimes it is satisfying and gives a feeling of accomplishment. It's also convenient to see how many more pages in a chapter and if it's possible to complete those few pages before falling asleep and said book results in problem #1 above. With the e-reader, there may or may not be a page feature. I have not yet discovered one. Besides, when there are twelve words on a page, there's probably a long way to go in a chapter. Advantage - real book.

5. Books can be easily given away or traded with a friend. If you have read something which you've particularly enjoyed, for example, "The Help" or "The Hundred Year Old Man..." , you can pass it along to someone else. I am unclear what happens to books on the e-reader once they've been read. Do they stay there ad infinitum? Do they disappear once you've gotten to the last page? Do you give your e-reader to a friend and hope you get it back once they've read and perused your collection? Advantage - real book

6. If you are in public, on transit and the like, everyone can see what you're reading if it's a paper book. Using the e-reader, is more private. Apparently, that was the reason given for the record numbers of "Fifty Shades of Gray" (Sept. 5, 2012 blog) downloads. The only thing to worry about in public is theft. Who would steal a paper Harlequin Romance? Technology on the other hand is always a big ticket item. Advantage - unsure

7. If you are stuck indoors for any length of time, because of weather conditions or poor health, and you are unable to get to a thrift shop or library, you can easily order books for your e-reader. That is, provided you have electricity, know how to use a computer and internet, have a credit card, have an e-reader and so on. Advantage - e-reader.

8. If you are left handed, you have little choice but to turn the pages of a paper book with your right hand. If you own an e-reader, you can move forward and backward using the buttons on either the left or the right of the reader. I discovered this last night when I must have accidentally tapped the left buttons and the story became even less sequential than before. Advantage - e-reader.

So there you have it. These are my conclusions thus far. Now I'd better get back to my e-reader. I'm on page ? of the story, chapter? with ? sections to go. On the bright side, I am fully able to visualize the characters without a cover picture. I saw the first two installments of this book as movies and I have no problem imagining Hugh Grant shirtless. Can you guess what third book of a series I'm reading?
                                                                          

New Year, New Toys

I received a Kobo e-reader as a gift a few years ago, and I even took a library course on how to borrow e-books. I was clearly too old for this technology because it went back to the store. Whereas my friends had been reading books on their computers, tablets, e-readers and other devices, I couldn't get used to the idea. I liked real books. In fact, I have a pocketbook collection of items amassed from thrift shops. These cost about fifty cents and I can take with me wherever I go and leave them behind or return them to thrift shops for resale when I'm done. Besides that, if I've read them before which I often discover once I get to about the second chapter, it's no loss. That's my rationale. No charging of batteries, no internet, no shopping for e-books online, no worries.

Last January or thereabouts, I found myself complaining about my new Samsung Galaxy cell phone. I said things like, "I'll never use it for anything but telephoning and texting." I complained that phones are too small to play games, check Facebook, email, watch movies and the like. I am eating my words....well, except for the movies although I must confess I've watched a few youtube videos.

For this year, at Christmas, I was given a Kindle. I appreciate the gift. Lots of people seem to have them. Many say they love them. Apparently, you can store and take fifty books or more on vacation with you on this device. If I had time to read fifty books, I wouldn't need a vacation, but that's another story. In the past, I've been fortunate to have completed one or two pocket books while on holidays. Nonetheless, I feel that I will give it a try, particularly since there's some kind of light up, reading in the dark under the bed covers feature...like when we were kids and had flashlights and...well, books.

I've been a bit busy and haven't "played" with the Kindle too much yet. I charged it last night. I figured out which of the buttons actually turns it on. I even managed to scroll through a few instructions after I discovered that no amount of sliding my finger across the screen would cause anything to move. That's where I currently stand. I don't know basic information that every ten year old has in his/her repertoire. I have no idea how to connect to the internet to potentially purchase books. I don't know what to do to make the font different or in my case larger. I do not really know how to turn pages or make the screen brighter. Right now, my brain has not advanced any further than it was a few years ago. Will I be able to get books for fifty cents on this device?

So, hopefully, the Kindle will be like my cell phone, second nature by next January. We'll see. Anyone out there got any helpful hints?

Technology, Pins, Usernames, Passwords and When Did I Get So Old?

I'm almost ready to throw in the towel. This is exhausting. I have expressed my thoughts about technology innumerable times.  I've attempted to keep up with the latest and I've been hanging on by a thread. My brain is currently on overload. I think life would be much less stressful if I just quit trying.

I know of people in their forties and fifties who have given up. They don't own a computer and some don't even bother with cell phones. I've seen older people at banks trying to use interac and being taught by bank personnel. Technology comes easily and seems commonplace to the young, as it once did for us. As everything becomes more complex, it is increasingly challenging to keep up. I'm currently being challenged.

From what I can see, my new, larger cell phone performs the tasks of my old one, only less efficiently. The "apps" have not yet endeared themselves to me. I have not had a sudden urge to google, look up my hotmail, investigate facebook, do my banking, or watch a movie on a teeny tiny screen. Nor do I feel compelled to use this device at church, in a restaurant, while visiting friends or in the WC. On a recent car trip, I fiddled with the phone until I located traffic reports. By then, hubby had already heard them on the radio.

Everything nowadays needs to be done online. Not that I have a problem with using a computer, but on the rare occasion when you need an actual person, it's impossible to speak with one. Example, I recently discovered that there are government offices which have been closed except for the one employee hired to sit at a desk in front of an elevator and inform people that the office is closed. "Do it online".

I also found out that there's some magical mystery way of emailing money. Note to self...go to the bank, find a person (I know for a fact they still have some) and learn out about this. How does one email money? How does aforementioned emailed money know into which account to deposit itself ? Is this anything like the emails I get from countries far abroad saying that I have received a gift of a million dollars? Another senior mystery. I'll report back.

Every time I turn around, it's necessary to have a new pin, username or password. Get a cell phone, need a password. Try to retrieve voicemail, need a password. Get an email account or try to register for anything online, need a username and password. Get a satellite dish, need a password. Open a bank account, need a pin number. Three bank accounts? Don't even get me started. What about those credit cards that get mailed along with a secret number in a separate envelope? Don't write it down. It's not safe. Shred it, or better still, eat this paper after memorizing your four digit code. Oh, by the way, you can change the code anytime you want...to another pin. Do not use, 1234. Do not use your birth or other significant date and definitely, do not use your telephone number! Experts warn that you shouldn't use the same pin for all your accounts and credit cards. Your identity could get stolen along with your many dollars. Most likely the ones that have been sent in your email.

"It's no problem retrieving passwords either is it?" I ask sarcastically

It's not as simple anymore as "what was your mother's maiden name?" You have the option of making up your own question, or responding to one of a myriad of potential offerings designed to keep potential crooks baffled. How would a thief ever know what your first car was? I don't even know what my first car was...a question clearly designed by the male of the species for the male of the species. My first school? Well, let's see. Should I select the first one I attended? The first one I attended in Toronto? The first one in which I taught? It doesn't matter. No matter which one I pick, it'll be the wrong one when it comes time to retrieve my password. What about ridiculous choices of questions like "What's your pet's name?" Yeah, right. Like that's top secret information. And of course, it is always recommended that you combine upper and lower case and at least one numeral. Good luck with that.

I never thought I'd be the kind of person who would reminisce about "the good old days". There's a lot to be said for technology. I admit, however, that I do sometimes long for a time when one gadget performed one function, when there were no passwords, usernames or pin numbers and when people were not at the beck and call of their electronic devices. Life was simpler then.

Please Don't Squeeze the Garmin

Some modern gadgets are so helpful to our daily lives that they have replaced our need, desire and even our ability to figure things out for ourselves. Schools are now required to teach the exact same thinking skills which excessive and mindless use of technology have in some cases taken away.

Having said that, I believe that many of the new inventions are brilliant. I can't imagine how we would have ever located a certain hotel in the suburbs of Chicago by night without our GPS. As with all technology, it needs to be used with some discretion and common sense. And, as with all technology, errors are a definite possibility.

A few years ago, I was riding in my cousin's car in Germany. I'm not certain where we were headed, but I recall that we were driving along side the Rhine River when the vehicle's GPS told the driver to "Make a sharp right NOW! Sharp right immediately." It kept insisting. There was no road turning right. We stared at each other, laughed at the absurdity as we realized it wanted us to drive into the river. We didn't.

Recently, I read an article in the paper. It was about a young woman who was rescued from the roof of her car after getting lost, thus driving into a swamp north of Kingston. She claimed that she was following the directions of her global positioning device. In light of the following personal story, I have no comment on this.

I am reminded of a road trip to visit family last year. There was an "incident" in the morning whereby our GPS device, was placed into the trunk for safekeeping. Also sharing the same tiny space were suitcases, Christmas gifts, an Easter basket, a pool cue, a couple of CPAPs, shoes, duty free refreshments, umbrellas, and more. By the time we remembered and retrieved it, the GPS was not only wedged, but semi permanently buried and squished into a corner.

Later that day, we drove past road signs mentioning the famed "Madison County". "I want to see bridges", I announced, stretching across the dash trying to programme the global position to create a detour toward Madison County. "I can't get this thing to work," I said in a whiney voice. (Whining is a handy skill I've learned from the dog). Sadly, it was quickly too late. We were well past Madison County or any roads likely to lead to this location.

My "nagging" curiosity about bridges resulted in hubby stopping at the next exit where I popped into a hotel to pick up some local attractions brochures. Excitedly, I located a "Bridges of Putnam County" folder. We programmed the GPS with the name of a town on the Putnam Bridge Trail. Despite the bicycle path appearance of the road, we faithfully drove the designated route.

My puzzled expression caused hubby to announce, "It doesn't always send you on the quickest route, often, it's the shortest one".

"Uh huh." I nodded as I looked at him even more quizzically.

The road took a turn, or should I say many turns, winding this way and that. Around it went, past broken down barns, piles of old wood and rusted propane tanks, past pick up trucks sporting gun racks, repossessed turquoise and pink trailers and the occasional horse or cow. Before long, we reached a forest trail which was in fact a continuation of our road. It was getting narrower and narrower and the towering trees were closing in. The GPS stood her ground and urged us on. Then the lightening began. Clouds dropped torrents of rain.

" We have to be getting closer. I see small concrete bridges," I said as we wove over several of these while crossing a small river. Finally, off to the side, a covered bridge! At this time we noticed through the downpour that the "Big Rocky Fork" bridge was not on our route. Besides that, it was shut down, in disrepair and desperate for a drink of paint. Disappointing.

The thunder and lightening cracked and flashed. "Make a right turn", she said in her programmed U.S. accent as we looked at each other skeptically. We did as we were told as the car wipers sloshed the water off the windshield at highest speed. Since we were now risking being washed away, we pulled onto a small abandoned looking trail where there were odd little buildings reminiscent of a resort town/spaghetti western mix...a historic mill, a chapel, fairgrounds, ice cream booths, gondolas but no people. Not a person in sight! There, in the middle of the fake store fronts we noticed it...another covered bridge! It was in a worse state than the earlier one, possibly even condemned.

We were told by "the voice" to take a few more roads we could not locate, so we decided to continue heading south toward our destination, where we finally saw the sun peeking through the clouds. Despite several hours of searching for dozens of bridges in Putnam County, we had managed to see two, just two very disappointing bridges, identical in their states of disrepair.

Shortly after we gave up, I was fairly certain that I heard a faint chuckle eminating from GPS 's suctioned spot on the windshield. I think I was also cured of my covered bridge curiosity...at least for a little while.

Flushed With Excitement

When did using a public restroom get so complicated? Once upon a time, there were toilets with handles that flushed. There were sinks with knobs that turned and there were a couple choices to dry your hands...a push button hand dryer and cloth or paper towels. Pull and voila, the next one popped out. These weren't always perfect, but they usually worked.

I'm not certain when I first noticed a change. It was probably one day when I attempted to flush a public toilet and couldn't find a handle or knob, but instead discovered a glowing red electric eye, peering at my backside from the shiny chrome. Flattered and yet slightly annoyed that aforementioned back side was apparently not large enough to activate the electric eye, I searched tirelessly until I finally located a tiny button which did the job. Following this, I went to wash my hands in the same facility, only to discover that there were no sink knobs. I waved my fingers frantically around the basin area imagining some elf like creature that would turn the water on as soon as giant hands came into view. Unsuccessful, I peered under the faucet as if the singular act of staring would cause it to release the clear liquid staple of all life. No luck. I observed enviously as one after, women simply placed their hands under the tap and out poured the water. Finally, one person announced that she didn't think that mine was working. Phew, absolved, I moved over to one of the previously used sinks and scrubbed off the germs. When I went to dry my hands, I realized I should have paid closer attention. Again, I waved my digits around what appeared to be an electric eye on a paper towel holder. I tried to turn the knob at the side. I pushed the lever at the bottom. In frustration, I pried open the lid and pulled a fragment of paper towel out of the top.

A short time later, I discovered another new fangled gadget at a road side rest stop in Ohio. It was an all inclusive hand soaper, washer and dryer. All you needed to do was put your hands in and short of rubbing them for you, the machine did the rest. Hands in, soap squirts, function delay while you scrub, rinse water, dry. Clearly, this was the way of the future...or was it? I noted that two of the three cavernous sinks had "out of order" signs posted on them.

My most recent surprise came when I was at the train station. The delapidated bathroom had normal facilities and sinks. The hand dryer however was reminiscent of a muff that ladies wore to keep hands warm back in the 1800's. I stared at it. I tried it. How many potential options could there be? Since there were no buttons, hands had to go in the top or hands into the sides. Although I don't remember the secret now anymore, I did figure it out. Once I did, I was blown half way to the CN tower by the force and noise of this new type dryer.

At a minimal cost to taxpayers of $400,000 Toronto now has a pay toilet. While downtown, individuals are able to locate this one seater facility, and enjoy its comforts for an entire 20 minutes. The price? A bargain at 25 cents. Not only that, it cleans itself! According to my calculations, it should make a profit in about 600 years. I wonder how many shocked foreign tourists there will be, since by all accounts, the door flies open after a designated amount of time. There is a countdown and there are warnings....all in English.

My all time personal favourite new age lavatory can be found in a certain Canadian travel clothing store. It is computer controlled and state of the art. Without elaborating too much, it has heated seats and a complex system with temperature controlled water and wash/dry/cleaning capabilities (and I'm not talking about washing your hands here). Although I have not had the nerve as yet to try all the functions for fear that given my history, something will go terribly amiss, I just might go for it one of these days. Now that's toilet technology to which I can relate.