Techie Time

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Yesterday was Podcamp day. I feel like I’ve been losing it where new technology is concerned and this seemed a good way to do some catching up. I learned about making podcasts, starting a wiki, editing video and posting it to the internet, and RSS feeds. I don’t fully understand any of this, but at least, I’ve made a start. I was probably the oldest and only elder at this "unconference." I knew ahead of time this would be the case and had some trepidation about attending. But everyone was friendly and took me seriously so it was a good experience. I think Pittsburgh is special; I’m not sure it would have been so good in New York or Chicago.

Are you angry yet?

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The next
time you pay a deductible or co-pay, or you have to make a choice
between food and a prescription, or you hear of someone going through a
medical bankruptcy, think about the huge compensation CEOs of insurance
and pharmaceutical companies are getting while you struggle to pay for
your healthcare.

I’m quoting from a new healthcare site put up by Pennsylvanians who want a better healthcare system. Taking their information from the Forbes list they detail how much money some of the CEO’s of healthcare organizations have collected. I am appalled when I think of most CEO pay, after all, they are only human, but this makes me angry and appalled. I don’t understand why anyone is entitled to make money for what I see is a non-service, or worse, an impediment. They are not my doctor, or nurse or anyone else whose services benefit me.

Did my civic duty!

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I went to vote for the first time in Pennsylvania. The polling place is an easy walk from my apartment. One of my neighbors was the first person to check me in, so everything went very smoothly. HOWEVER, I don’t think the Democrats are doing a very good job of getting out the vote in my area. I am a registered Democrat here. I used to think I was an independent, but since our current administration came to power I have become a committed Democrat. So, I have received lots of those canned phone messages, but no real human came to speak to me. I would have liked someone to come and tell me where to vote, although I did figure it out.

The other thing was the voting machines. For the most part it was straight forward and easy. Remember, I am a techie, or geek, depending on how polite you want to be. So I got to the very end of the process and there is this diamond shaped object at the top of the machine that says VOTE on it and is now flashing a red light. The touch screen says the red light will flash when the machine is ready for my vote. Nowhere does it say the flashing thing is a button, and up ’til now, everything was done on the touch screen. I finally got it, but it took a few minutes. I always wonder which bureaucrat thinks up these things.

Moonlighting

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There was a full moon last night. During the early part of the evening it was overcast, but about 11 pm the clouds parted and the backyard was lit. Branches from the largely leafless tree on the right cast amazing shadows on the concrete apron of the garage. Nov5039
I tried to photograph again. I can’t see what I am photographing, I just literally point the camera in different directions while holding my finger over the on/off button that is lit up when on, so it doesn’t reflect in the glass. I still have to put the pictures into Photoshop in order to see anything. Before Photoshopping (adjust contrast) they just look black.Nov5043

Becoming a night person

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Last night, about 11:30, I looked out at the backyard and, to my amazement, it was lit by moonlight again. The moon is on its way to being full, but it’s not there yet. I had no idea it would give so much light. This time the shadow of the house was larger so the moon was further south. The maple tree was lit. Most of the leaves have fallen from the larger trees giving the moonlight access to the little tree, which still has not lost any leaves. I think it is a magical tree, nourished by moonlight in autumn. I am also amazed that it has taken me 72 years to notice how much light the moon gives back to the earth.

Carrie Furnaces

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On Saturday morning I went on a tour of the Carrie Furnace, one of the few remaining remnants of what was once Pittsburgh’s most important industry. I reserved my place on the tour weeks ago. Friday night, with a nasty, cold rain falling, I wasn’t very happy about going. The rain diminished somewhat by the time the tour got going, and I think I appreciated it more because of the bad weather. It kept us grounded in the reality of working there. Our tour guide was a man who had worked there when he was 18, in the 1970s. He was there two years and left to go into the military, as a relief from this job. He said that, although he hated working there, he would not have traded the experience for anything. Now he is dedicated to preserving the site and keeping alive this amazing part of Pittsburgh history. He did such a good job on the tour we really felt what it must have been like to work there, the terrible heat from the furnaces, the constant danger if something went wrong, the extreme cold in winter when you left the furnace area, and the rats. I never thought about rats being in a place like that. So the rain, and the cold, and the puddles of water we walked through made it all very authentic. I am putting up an album of Carrie furnace pictures. For some explanation of what we saw, go to Rivers of Steel.

The Book

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The book is almost finished, enough so I can show you some of it. This is the cover. Book01
The birds are bone beads, colored with black tea and glued. There are also some round bone beads along the spine. These two pages have accordion fold images glued inside, more pictures of the back yard.Book02_1
Book03

I used some translucent pages as chapter separations.

Book04

Long weekend

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This is another Darcy weekend. Steve went to something in New York and Robin and Charna went to Chicago to see Eli. I’m here with Darcy. It’s cold and rainy and she doesn’t want to go out. Does this mean I get up in the middle of the night to let her out? Life is always uncertain when I’m taking care of my granddog.

Trader Joe’s opened a new store next to my health club. Today was maddening. Obviously, this was a big event in Pittsburgh. There is a huge parking lot for an almost empty strip mall, the health club and TJ’s. It was filled. The health club was empty. All those people were shopping with Joe. I’m sure the rush will end and I’ll be able to park again, but I’m not sure having them so accessible is good for my health. They have some lovely things, but not much that I should be eating.

More book stuff

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Eighteen of my 24 pages are now in place. I have plans for three more pages; not sure what I’ll do with the other three. I made a big mistake when I started putting in pages on Tuesday night. It’s hard to explain, but the way I was doing it, I would have had to fill 48 pages. I just don’t have that much to say about my backyard. So I woke up very early yesterday morning and started undoing the book. What a mess! I’m hoping to get this finished over the weekend so I can start on the next one.

Sometimes you have to give up

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I have spent three more days trying to create my movable image and I’ve decided to quit. I understand the mechanism, but the problem is getting the images in the right places. I’ve been using Adobe Illustrator to draw my templates. That makes it much easier, but I found, not surprisingly, that what you see is only an approximation of what you get. I don’t have enough space to get it right. Because I have already determined the size of my book I am constrained in what I can do. I would have to make the images too small in order to allow for the necessary slop, or should I say, lack of precision. I am continuing to work on the book. I finished 14 of the probable 24 pages. I just will not have a movable page.