Jerry "The Bear" Garcia

I'm not a "Dead Head" but I have a crochet friend who has a friend who is. This is going to get complicated...so I'll try to explain. When we cruise I usually join the crochet group on the ship. In February we had 8 sea days on a Hawaii cruise....and there I met a wonderful group of a dozen women. Every sea day we knitted or crocheted and talked and had a grand time. It was such a good time that we have stayed in touch with each other. On that trip I made this teddy bear blanket

....and one of the women, Lori,  said the teddy bears looked like Jerry "The Bear" Garcia of the Grateful Dead. Well, a couple of weeks ago, Lori wrote to me saying that her local bookstore owner was a "Dead Head" and she would love to make him a scarf with the bears on it...and she asked for the pattern. Unfortunately, I don't have a good pattern for the Bears because I have it memorized. I asked her what color she would like and I would make the scarf. Brown was chosen and 

I made the scarf (and a matching cap) and sent it to her yesterday. Teddy Bears rule! 

Fury

We saw Fury last night. It's a World War II drama aimed at the male market. It's the opposite of a "chick flick" in other words. Lots of tanks and blood and guts and a little glory. It's a good story. It's done well. It graphically shows the horrors of war. After seeing it, I have to wonder about a religion that touts war and killing as sacred and necessary. For a more complete review of it see the other DrCs blog.

Sunset

Isn't that amazing!

Rabbit Trails

We share our property with a bunch of jackrabbits. The rabbits are fast ...we've clocked them at 25 miles per hour...and they leap great distances too. It's fun to watch them glide across the land with grace and speed. It's interesting to see where the rabbits travel. They always use the same paths. I'm guessing they have used the same pathways for centuries. I know they've used them for the last 30 years!

Because it is so dry right now, the rabbit trails are more evident. Here are a few of our rabbit trails. No matter the season, the trails are always in place. These are ancient rabbit corridors. I wonder what made these pathways the "right" roads to travel? Scientists have studied grizzly bear trails in Alaska and discovered some of the trails are thousands of years old. Has anyone studied the lowly rabbit trail?

Mt. Shasta

In the north state we have a tall mountain....well, a tall volcano, to be exact. At 14,179 feet, Mt. Shasta dominates the area. Her magestic form is just about perfect. Normally covered with glaciers and snow (Shasta is the Kurak word for "White Mountain") today she looks barren and gray.

One more piece of evidence that California needs some rain. As you can see, some of the trees are getting ready for fall. Maybe that's a harbinger for rain.

BTW, Mt. Shasta is considered an active volcano. There are several fumeroles on the side of the mountain still smoking away. Her last eruption was in 1763, and she seems to have 600-800 year cycle between eruptions. She is a a"stratovolcano" also called  a composite volcano. Two "famous" stratovolcanos were Krakatoa and Vesuvius. I've not seen Krakatoa, but I've seen Vesuvius. That mountain too, is a towering giant with Naples in the foreground. 

As another aside, I don't know why I call Mt. Shasta a "she"...it seems to fit. 

Clever Design

I love things clever. Yesterday I had a pedicure and I was unable to put on my sandals right away, so I was given a pair of flip-flops that are absolutely wonderful. They are not comfy. They are not attractive. They are clever.

What starts out as a relatively strange looking oval,  

becomes a perfectly acceptable "flip-flop" just by attaching the back loop to the top. 

Good design needs to be rewarded!

iOS8 is Pretty Good

iOS8

The newest operating system for iPhone and iPad has been out a few weeks. I downloaded it the 3rd day after it arrived, and for the most part, I've been pleased with the changes. I won't call the changes "improvements" because I'm not sure they are all better than iOS7. 

I do like the fact that the nice folks at Apple decided to use black print instead of the stylish medium gray print they had on iOS7. While the gray was pretty, it was impossible to see. I like the new keyboarding options too, including a more intelligent "word anticipating sub-routine.' The new system tries to "guess" what you are going to type next, and much of the time, it's right. The downside is it sometimes guesses wrong and the result is amusing or embarrassing or somewhere in between. With the new keyboard system, it's imperative to proofread your work. (I remember telling my students to proofread their papers...it was true then and it's true now.)

I'm still undecided if I like my iPad and iPhone being so connected. I know how to work each stand alone unit, but now, when my iPhone rings, so does my iPad. I'm not sure that is necessary. What is that doing to battery life on both devices? I'm sure it's eating power as we speak. In addition, when Yosemite, the new Mac OS comes out in a few days, all Mac devices will be inter-connected.

That leads to another issue...power! The new health app is a power eater. Something that is going to count the steps you take each day is going to be on all the time...and when you look at battery usage, you might find it's using 60% or more of the power you use each day. That's a lot of power to tell you how many steps you walked.

Siri has gotten a little bit better. I use Siri a lot. She's my "go to timer" when I cook. I ask her to find folks and places, and she does a pretty good job. Now, if you are plugged in, you can say "Hey Siri" and she will answer you back. This is useful if you are in your car, charging your iPhone. Even though the latest research by AAA says that even hands-free cell phone use is distracting, there are times when it's necessary to use the phone when you are driving. I've also discovered that if Siri does not understand the name I'm asking her to find, I can now spell the name and she will find it. In the past when I've tried that, she has gotten flustered and found really stupid non-related words. Siri seems to be better "connected" to Safari. Now I can ask her to call a local business and first she will check my contact list then she checks online. She's a very useful tool. (I still use the original voice, but you can change the voice if you wish.)

If you need to call one of your favorite people, double click on the home button and your favorites appear at the top of your screen making them easier to call. If you don't like that feature, you can turn it off too. In fact, many of the features that were added can be turned off by finding them in settings and pushing the button from green to white.

For me, the best change is the built-in photo editing application. Both the iPhone and the iPad are pretty good cameras, and now you can edit your photos better than before. You have far more control over color and light than with the previous version. It's not as wonderful as Photoshop, but it's darned good! 

As I said, I'm pleased with the new iOS8. Given that, I've not downloaded it for an iPhone 4. I've read that it's best on iPhone 5 and 5S and iPad 4 and 5. When I get my iPhone 6 (not 6+) I'll be very familiar  with it.

Lake Oroville

We are back in drought-ridden California...and the stories are true. California is dry, dry, dry! As we traveled west on I-80 and other major highways, we could see how the terrain looked drier as we got closer to the coast. 

The sight that brings home the drought conditions, however, is looking at lake levels. This is a picture

of Lake Oroville on May 16, 2014 pointing east.

This is a picture of Lake Oroville, pointing west, (from the same bridge) on September 29, 2014. I called Gordon at the Lake Oroville Marina and asked how him far the lake was down...and he told me it was down 675 feet! He did not know how deep the lake was, but I know the spillway is 770 feet tall, so that might be some indicator of lake depth.

Look at the bare shoreline in the two pictures and you can see how much it's gone down since May. I've seen Lake Oroville low before...and that time the houseboats were lined up in a single file down the middle of the remaining water. At least there are two rows of houseboats now. We need rain in the Golden State!

Just Playing

What do you do after you've been driving all day? When you are tired? When you are too pooped to cook, let alone do much of anything else? Well....we went to a restaurant. Let someone else cook dinner...that's a good idea! Then, what do you do while you are waiting for the food to arrive ? We started to play with the coasters on the table. Did you know they can be used to make card (or should I say coaster) houses? We made a four story house...this has to be a record! 

It leaned a bit, so we called it our Pisa Tower...and in a nano-second it fell down. Before it fell, our wait person said that was the tallest one she had seen! She was impressed! I guess other people make coaster houses too? Maybe we should have a contest to see who can make the tallest coaster house. Are you up to the challenge? Send me your pictures. It has to be taller than 4 stories! 

Rocky Mountain Color

I The northeast "brags" about it's  fine fall colors...and indeed it should brag...but don't dismiss the fall color that happens in the Rocky Mountains. 

This is the Snake River Canyon on the way to Jackson. The cottonwoods and aspens along the river are dressed in yellow and gold. The red mountain maple is already gone...but if you look back a few days, you'll see pictures of it.

The aspens turn yellow, then brown then drop their leaves quickly. Their display lasted about a week. if you blink, it's over.

The yellowing leaves, the bluebird blue sky, and the crooked white trunks of the aspen trees make a beautiful autumn picture. 

We will return to the west coast, where it will still be summer, albeit a dry, dry summer. If there are autumn leaves, they will not appear till mid-October or early November.

Make it do!

There's an old saying...

                        "Make it do, 

                         Wear it out, 

                         Use it up, 

                         Throw it out." 

Here's an example of that saying.

There's nothing wrong with that yellow truck other than it has no front wheels and I'm guessing the engine is not where it's supposed to be...but it's still a perfectly good trailer! I'm guessing it will not be "thrown out" until it falls apart.

Vanity Plate

I collect license plates--well pictures of license plates. I saw this one in Jackson Hole on Sunday and I liked it a lot. I think you will too. 

Way to go Mississippi!

Autumn Leaves Part 2

The aspens are turning yellow. 

The maple are bright red-orange. The color is illusive as it will be gone in a few days. It's a pretty time in the Rockies.

'67 'Cuda

Remember this sweet ride?

Sleek and red and shiny?

With a back window that went on forever and was impossible to clean.

And this is what was under the hood! It seems so empty...but she was a speedy ride.

I love the uncomplicated instrument panel...

And the Solid State AM radio with chrome push buttons. 

With Black Naugahyde upholstery and no head rests nor seat belts, she was what every teenager wanted in 1967. Ain't she sweet!

In Memorium

A dear friend, Dick, passed away last night. He was a avid fisherman among other things. One day he and I went deep sea fishing in Ixtapa. He was so excited to catch a big fish! Another time, he wandered to one of the little lakes hidden in the Greys Valley searching for the perfect fishing hole. 

Dick, here's a little boat, just for you, in the Salt River, ready to take you fishing whenever you want. 

We will miss you, my friend. May you rest in peace.

Autumn Leaves

It's autumn in the Rockies. The nighttime temps are falling to the mid-20s. The leaves are changing. I particularly like the mountain maple right now. It's a red-orange color that highlights the south sides if the mountains. 

There are patches of red splashed across the mountains. 

The Salt River is still flowing.

It has not snowed at this elevation yet,but it is on the agenda to happen soon. 

Better

Each day I'm a little better than the day before! That's real good news. I'm still not able to bend or stoop and sleep in my normal fashion. Life goes on.

It's deer season, so the animals are smart enough to hide. I told the big buck who hangs out at my house to stay in the back forest, but I don't think he listened to me. On the other hand, one doe has decided to stay. 

I'm a little worried about her as her ribs show -- will she have enough weight to survive a cold winter and have a baby?

Recovering and an Android Tablet

Slowly, I'm getting better. My recommendation .... Don't fall...and if you do, don't break a rib. There's not much the medical community can do for a broken rib. They will not put you in a cast, nor will they tape you up...as both are ways to bring about pneumonia! That is why I was given a rib brace. The brace is helpful but now after a week, I no longer need to have it on 100% of the time. Think of a rib brace as a corset...if you've ever worn a corset, then you know what I'm talking about. If you've been lucky enough to have never worn a corset, please don't break a rib to "enjoy" the experience. 

In the meantime, I purchased a really inexpensive android tablet. It arrived yesterday. This morning I had a lesson from Ed, my android using friend, and I think I have the basics figured out. I will probably never be an android fan, but It serves my purpose. This fall I'm going to teach a digital photography course and some of my students are going to be android users...so I need to know how to use an android unit. 

My friend Phyllis called last night saying she was looking at a small Samsung tablet for under $200. I bought this little fellow from Tiger Direct for under $60. My guess....the Samsung probably has better support but for the price, my TD-cheapo unit is excellent. It will not replace my iPad which is about 100x faster (at least it seems that way).

Bounce Next Time

I'm taking a little vacation from my blog because I forgot to bounce. I was on my morning walk...and I tripped. Instead of bouncing, I broke a rib! I don't recommend it. It hurts. I'm in a rib brace and taking pain medication. I'm sleeping a lot and trying not to cough, laugh, stretch, or move. This is not what I had in mind for Labor Day weekend! 

Kindle vs Book

I’m an advocate of online learning! I’m also an advocate of using “modern tools” to bring about more learning. Given that, I’ve been concerned about learning to read from an electronic book (i.e., Kindle, iPad, Nook, etc.). I’ve wondered if comprehension rates were the same for both types of books or reading experience. Kim Komando, one of my favorite online computer gurus, sited a source today saying it is NOT. Click here to find out more.

To read more about the fact that paper beats screen, click here. And for those who want to read the article in Norwegian, click here.

I believe that electronic books are good for experienced readers, but beginners need the advantages of print on paper! The study mentioned above involved a very small group of people. As they say in “academe” more research is needed. This is true...but in the meantime, schools should pay heed to this line of research as they are putting a lot of educational $$ in iTablets that might be better spent on traditional paper books.  

My New Keyboard

I just bought a keyboard for my iPadAir. I had a Zagg keyboard for my first iPad, and I was not very impressed with it. In the meantime, I've had 2 other iPads, and I learned how to use the built-in keyboard quite well. 

One of my friends bought an iPadAir and the Logictech keyboard/case and I finally found a keyboard that I liked. I bought the keyboard online and it arrived this afternoon, and I'm using it right now. It's pretty good. I can even get some speed on my typing. The line between an iPad and a laptop computer has been pretty much erased. 

Growing Up

I saw our twin fawns today and I was surprised. They've grown up in the last few days (the last time I saw them was August 6). They have lost their spots. 

See the difference? 

It's time for them to leave their momma soon. I hope they survive the winter in the Rockies. 

An Aminal

It's the summer for strange and unusual crocheted creations. My crochet-pal likes elephants. I saw this pattern and gave it a try. The first elephant (see July 16) I made sits in the other DrC's office, but this one will be sent to my pal. The little critters are fun to make. 

Again

Guess who spent 3 days in Yellowstone and the Tetons? I went up with 2 lady friends and we had a grand time. The mountains were beautiful; the animals were abundant; the weather was heavenly. It's hard to ask for more. 

The Oxbows with Mt. Moran 

The Grand Tetons

The lovely Jenny Lake nestled in the Tetons

Old Faithful in Yellowstone. 

A good time was had by all. 

Pig Time

It time for the County Fair and that means 4-H Pigs. Our friends raise pigs and their four little kids get super involved. Last year,the two oldest won Grand Champion for Showmanship for their age category. This year we are hoping for a similar outcome but you never know what is going to happen when a 60 pound child starts wrangling a 260+ pound pig. 

That's our boy and Arrow. 

And there's his sister with 1000 pounds of piggy. 

Even the 5 year old and his 2 year old sister get involved. The little one at 25 pounds gets into the pen and gives those pigs marching orders. She's fearless. I'm not sure how much the pigs listen as they seem to sleep most of the time. 

It's a great experience for the kids. They work with the pigs daily for 4 to 5 months. They are responsible for walking, feeding and nurturing their pigs, knowing full well that a week after the fair, the pigs will be sold to the highest bidder. 

Stag

Yesterday we had a doe and her twins, today we had the large stag that has been hanging around this summer. 

He's very distinctive as his rack is not symmetrical. 

I think he has 12 spikes..it is hard to tell. He won't let me get close enough to count. 

Twins

One of our resident does had twins this year. We saw them earlier in the summer, but have not seen them again until yesterday. 

The little family was munching grass and leaves in our front yard. 

This little guy took a drink from a puddle

While the other stayed close to mom. 

They are a treat to see, and as long as they stay in the forest or my yard they will be safe.

Wristers

Wristers are fingerless gloves. One of my friends made a pair and I thought they were cute. I looked on the web for patterns, and came up with a bunch of ideas, but nothing I really liked, so I put those ideas together and came up with this pattern. Not only are they easy to make; they are a good project for all that leftover yarn that seems to accumulate.

Even without fingers they are warm and cozy. Being warm and cozy is not an issue during the summer, but they will be perfect for winter. As the other DrC said, "now I can type when my hands are cold!"