Category Archives: commentary

Happy 2019

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Welcome 2019

Hi folks. I know I’ve been MIA but I have to say that the tail end of 2017 and most of 2018 were tough times for me and my family. We lost our Mom. The family is having challenges with the Big C and my hip finally hit end of life. I had a total hip replacement in December. We also added to the family with the birth of a new nephew so it wasn’t all bad. But it did put a damper on my posts. It was hard to write cheery. upbeat entries when everything seemed to be going wrong. I have even been considering giving up my time share and hanging up my traveling shoes. which brings me to my thought for today

outrigger canoes

Time to Channel my Inner Josh Gates

I may have mentioned before that my travel inspiration is Josh Gates, host of Destination Truth, Destination Unknown and Legendary Destinations. He’s always getting into “iffy” situations but he does it with humor and aplomb! When I had issues on the Road to Hana in Maui I held onto my composure by asking “What would Josh do?” Josh’s hero is Indiana Jones. I like that character too but since he’s fictional I’ll stick with Josh as my trail blazer.

Destination Truth, Memoirs of a Monster Hunter

I’m reading a book by Josh (Destination Truth, Memoirs of a Monster Hunter) and I was hit by a comment he made. He talks about how the more you travel the more you want, even need, to travel. That’s what I felt while I was jetting around the US but then my hip slowed me down. Follow that up with a DVT after a flight to Hawaii and I felt like I’d been grounded. At first I had withdrawal. I was so depressed that I couldn’t just take off and go but  the longer I had to put travel on hold the less I wanted to get back into that craziness again. I just wanted to curl up at home with a good book.

Re-thinking the Future

Reading Josh’s book made me realize the travel bug is still there. It’s just hibernating. It’s waiting for my body to recover enough to be able to enjoy my trips again. I’m still in recovery mode from my hip surgery but as soon as I’m cleared to snorkel with Manta Rays again or swim with sea turtles I’ll be back on the plane to adventure. Even the Bears of Katmai National Park are calling!

3 bears out for a stroll

Summer Is flying by but where have I been?

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Missing Summer

The summer is passing quickly and I’ve had nothing to share! This is so unusual. What is going on?

 

It’s not noteworthy

Life is still going on around me but my back and hip issues continue to worsen so my usual activities are severely curtailed. It’s enough to get through the work week. The weekends seem to be grocery shopping, laundry and resting. Throw in a weekly visit to the chiropractor and there isn’t much time left for adventures. I’m trying to get my body ready for another Hawaii trip. This one will include a trip on a Lava Boat tour. 

Lava Flows into ocean

Stock photo

Lava Boat Trip

Speaking of the Lava Boat Tour did you hear about the one that got too close to the lava and got hit by a lava bomb? One passenger broke her leg and 22 people were injured. Witnesses say the captain violated the Coast Guard’s 200 meter safety limit. Because of that incident the safety zone is now 300 meters (328 yards). At least they didn’t suspend them. Scientists say that Kilauea could continue erupting for another 2 years but I don’t want to take a chance of missing this. It’s a once in a lifetime event.

Accidents Happen

Speaking of accidents, I had the misfortune to be in one. A young lady ran a stop sign and blinking red light to run her SUV into the side of mine. My car was tied up for exactly 30 days while the body shop waited for parts. Eventually I did get me car back  good as new on the exact day that my rental allowance ran out! The police officers were super and even  gave me a ride from the accident scene to my work. 

What to do about my hip?

The hip problem is what is interfering with my posts. I just haven’t had the mobility to get out and do anything.  I may be a “senior citizen” but I’m not ready to throw in the towel. More information should be coming as I have an appointment with a knee and hip surgeon. we”ll see what he has to say and go from there. 

 

 

Getting Photoshop Back

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Photoshop LogoWhere’s Photoshop

One of the apps that Geek Squad couldn’t help with was Photoshop. The trick with Photoshop is getting the application on a new computer without being charged for the app again. Rather than downloading the app and then fighting with billing for a refund I logged on and went to customer service.

Photoshop Customer Service

The phones are closed on the weekend but they had a “chat option”. I took that. Thus began a very frustrating 1.5 hours. Part of it was my fault. I used a different email address when I originally set up my account than I was telling them. I kept giving the poor rep the wrong information and he/she kept telling me I didn’t have an account. We tried many, many different ways to find it. The credit card was destroyed (It was hacked) I couldn’t remember when the last payment was made and so on. I was more hindrance that help.  Finally I searched my credit card site and Voila! There was the charge. I shared that and they found  my account. Of course they had to give me a gentle slap on the hand for not knowing what email address I used.

Time to be transferred to a new department

The new representative sent me the link to added both Photoshop and Lightroom . He/she assured me that I was not going to be charged. I downloaded the file from the link and got a large zip file. I tried to open it but still couldn’t find the apps. Now I work with zip files all the time at work. I’m not totally computer illiterate but I was stumped. Back to the chat. 

Remote Access Saves The Dayphotoshop twirl

Completely frustrated I gave the chat associate remote access to my computer. I watched as the curser traveled around my desk top. Once the file was opened the download began again. It got hung up at about the halfway point. It was being blocked by my security settings. That issue resolved we began downloading the individual apps. It took a long time but finally I was back in business. All in all between the 2 chat rooms it took 3 hours to get the Photoshop and Lightroom transferred.

I did lose about 5 older files in the process but hopefully they are on a disc someplace in my archives. My fault, not Photoshop’s.

 

Technical Difficulties

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Technical  Computer issues delay posts

I’m having some pretty serious technical problems. My computer is slowly giving up the ghost. I’ve known I had a sick desktop for quite awhile. I’ve been limping along using my ancient lap top but that’s also failed. So I’m stealing a minute in my company computer to bring you this update.

My Plan of Action

It looks like the first chance I’ll have to go computer shopping is Saturday. If I can find something in stock that I like I might be able to start posting as soon as Sunday. I’ll have to try to transfer my apps to the new computer. I’m not sure how long that will take to how many have been corrupted. I don’t want to share any viruses that might have found a home in my  old computer. My company also offers discounts on Dell computers but I think that I have to wait for it to ship if I go that route. I’ll look into it tomorrow.

What have we missed?

This was probably a blessing in disguise as I was starting to struggle to come up with topics. The weather has been horrible so I haven’t felt like going out on the weekends.  I did get a short break (1 week) where I took off to the Big Island of Hawaii. Of course I have lots of stories, tips and comments about this adventure but I can’t upload the photos at the moment.

I did see Kilauea

Kilauea was putting on quite a show when I was there. This is the glow from the lava lake. The lava is probably 60-80 feet below the rim. It was “fountaining” between 60 to 120 ft so we’d see glimpses of the tops of the fountains on the big ones. This is one of the pictures I took but it’s small because the computer can’t handle the full size file.

Hopefully I’ll get this all resolved and be back in business next week. Thanks for your patience.

 

Celebrate the Holidays

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December is a Month of Holidays

Happy Holidays or is it Merry Christmas? It is Christmas Day, the end of December. December 25 to be exact. Since Thanksgiving the world has been going mad with Christmas spirit. Displays in stores, Christmas Carol’s on the radio, Christmas movies on TV, Christmas everywhere. Even if you aren’t Christian it’s hard not to get caught up in the frenzy.  You have Santa Claus at the mall and even the Grinch! 

Snow for Christmas

This year will be a white Christmas in many areas. Folks are embracing the cold as just part of the season. No offence to Old Saint Nick but you can keep the North Pole weather right where it is, up north, at least as far as I’m concerned. OOPS ! Did that sound grinchy? I’m just not a fan of the cold.

Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays?

It seems to me that the Christians in the world know Christmas stands for the birth of Christ but in this modern world it’s just a commercial holiday. It’s meaning much like Labor Day, Memorial Day and so many other holidays has been diluted. For the religious that’s bad but think about it another way.  The holiday has become a season of celebration for many people of diverse backgrounds. They may not join in the religious aspect but they enjoy the lights, the music and the joy of the season. I have Jewish friends that celebrate Hanukkah in December and also join in with the Christmas parties that abound. And what about Kwanzaa which celebrates African Heritage.

Lots of December Celebrations

There’s lots of celebrations in December so maybe Happy Holidays is the best choice. 

  • Saint Nicholas Day (Christian)
  • Fiesta of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Mexican)
  • St. Lucia Day (Swedish)
  • Hanukkah (Jewish)
  • Christmas Day (Christian)
  • Three Kings Day/Epiphany (Christian)
  • Boxing Day (Australian, Canadian, English, Irish)
  • Kwanzaa (African American)
  • Omisoka (Japanese)
  • Yule (Pagan)
  • Saturnalia (Pagan)

Don’t forget Season’s Greetings

And finally, there’s Season’s Greetings. Maybe this is the best choice of all. Not everyone is happy this time of year. I know many families and individual’s that are missing loved ones. Some have passed on other are estranged some are fighting wars in far off lands. Some families are struggling with illness or other hardship. It’s easy to forget that not everyone is happy during this time of year. Lets be gentle and tolerant and remember that many struggle in this season of joy.  I’ll end this missive with a nice generic

Season’s Greetings to all!