Friday, November 3, 2017

TIME FOR FALL PHOTOS

     I used my  ipad for 6 or 7 posts. I did not find out how to post photos on posts I did with the ipad. When I tried photos the ipad seized up.


    So now I can post some fall photos. However, tonight is not fall . It's winter. We've had snow for three days and have about 10 cm ( 4 in).  I have shovelled the driveway and sidewalks three times.


   
 


    So posting fall photos takes me back to better times.


    Last Saturday Oct. 28 was a beautiful day. Jackets and coats came off as it was about 17 C (65 F). In my last post I shared one photo that I liked so I found out that there was very good light that day for the colors that were involved. So here are more photos from Heritage Ranch.


 
 
 
 

 
 
      This is my Saturday afternoon birding group. They know how to have fun!


 

 







Wednesday, November 1, 2017

WHY DO I LIKE THIS PHOTO

       On the weekend we were out bird watching in a 300 acre area of old growth forest, recovering quarries and open fields. It was a warm fall afternoon. It turned nasty the next day.


      It was an afternoon where I took quite a few photos. I was surprised when I looked at one photo and immediately liked it. I'm not a horse person so it's not because of the horses. It's one of those photos where you take a quick look and click. So I didn't think about anything.


      So I'm still asking myself what it is about my photo that makes me really like it.


      Do you have any ideas?



 

Sunday, October 29, 2017

"SMART ASSES ' PAY BIG TIME

     Alright , it's another computer story!


     It seems to me to be outrageous that when you buy a computer, they are ready to set it up for you for a big price. In my case they offered to set things up for $200.00.Now my computer only cost $600.00. We hear all kinds of stories about setting up new computers. Some of them are scary and some say, "No problem . Computers are easy to set up." To my thinking , it should be easy to set up a computer.


     Well, here goes. I waited a few days to build up my courage. I read the rather small manual...76 pages. My camera manual is 234 pages.


    I started . Things went well and smoothly.


    I got to the part where I installed apps. The apps showed up on the screen. I thought there was more so I looked for something to click on to move forward. Nothing! Well then back up! Nothing.


    I was stuck with a blue screen with 4 window like squares with light streaming through.


    Finally, I shut down the computer. Next morning? It's still there. Well a quick call to Asus should fix this. Two calls to Asus talking to Asus dummies and then the third call he offered to set things up to reset the computer.


    Okay , I go through the same thing. Well, I slept on this overnight. It finally hit me that the funny blue screen was my home page. I was finished setting up my computer! The actual time to do this was about 20 minutes. I'm sure a guy from the store would take about two minutes. They would also teach me a few things which I would have to learn on my own.


     So that was a rather embarrassing error but I admit it.


      Next , I had some challenges with my pass words. All my pass words have  a similar key stroke. In Canada our keyboards must have French. Somehow or other that stroke would type the French. I discovered that by looking at my password when I typed it in.


     So I had a few errors but I got my computer set up and didn't have to pay the rats $200.00


     You know that from previous posts I try to do things myself and it's a challenge but gives satisfaction when it's done.

Friday, October 27, 2017

I THINK I FOUND SOMEBODY NEW

    That tune has been in my head for days. Who wrote or sang the tune?


     Well I really did find a new friend. Several weeks ago I told you that I had to get a new computer and that I would be making posts on my ipad. It was frustrating using the ipad as I'm not familiar with Apple. With a whole lot of crashing and bashing I posted a few poorly edited posts. I never did find out how to put photos on a post. I did read all posts and made comments. Along the way I learned more about apple. I still would not choose Apple to work with.


     Finally I made a decision about a computer. I bought an Asus. It has a windows 10 operating system. I was worried about Windows 10 as some people, including my son, said it was not easy to work with.. So I've been pleasantly surprised by how easy it is to work with. Yes, I've had to learn some things and have lots more to learn. It seems to be easy to navigate.


    It was easy to get my emails and contacts. It was easy to find my blogs. Surprise , surprise! I got most of my photos. I still have some other things I would like to get off the old computer, but not much.


    So I did find somebody new that I like very much.


   By the way , I haven't got a name for somebody new yet?

Friday, October 20, 2017

Last Day of Being Seventy Seven

   Yes, that's right folks. Today is the last timeI I'll ever ever 77 years old.

    What did I do on this or less day in my life? I made up my persona directive.

   Recently my daughter's mother in law went in for surgery and it didn't turn out well. Her husband is an only child and when his mother became incapacitated, they began looking, 
 for those important papers.

   That's when my daughter made the frantic request as to whether I had personal direction forms and if so where are they.

   Now my record on personal directive forms is rather pathetic.  About 15 years ago I'd heard of personal directives but didn't have the foggiest idea of their importance and of course like a typical male I did nothing about them.. About 10 years ago I got a little more serious about the issue. About 5 years ago I actually filled out forms but didn't get  them witnessed.

   So with my daughter's frantic plea , it was time to d something about it.aed out our province has a program in place to standardize personal directives.also learned ed that the all important form was only to appoint someone to be my agent if I became  . I was giving someone the legal status to make health and care decisions for me. I also learned the I would fill out another form with my doctor detailing my wishes for care when my quality of life deteriorates.

   The province also will set up an advisor to help you fill out the forms. The advisor sees thaat the forms are filled out correctly. She/he witnesses your signature and makes the necessary copies for you. That' s what we did today.

      So all in all, my last day of being 77was a rather important one.

Saturday, October 14, 2017

Am I Biased?

     I start many posts with, "I was a teacher for 37 years." So every once in a while I get on a teacher topic.

     Over the years I had many different administrators. Most of them were middle of the roaders. One was outstanding and one just terrible.

     So I got thinking about hiring a good administrator.

      I would suggest that a good place to look for administrators would be in the fine arts section.

        Fine arts teachers have to set their classes up so that students work on individual projects or in groups. They also have to organize their program so that the curriculum police are satisfied. So fine arts teachers have many challenges with logistics. And they creative people.


       So if I was hiring an administrator I would look in the fine aarts section for candidates for an administrative position. 

       I would like an administrator to be creative and have a vision as to what he wants for his school. I want somebody who is well organized and can move  pieces of the jigsaw puzzle around and make the best use of space, time and talent.

      After that look for leadership ability and personal appeal.

        So here are the results of my afternoon of daydreaming.

       Am I a little biased towards fine arts?

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

I Got Lost Again

     Over my life time I've been lost a time or two. I'm not counting being as in trying to find a location int the country or city. I'm talking about really not knowing where you were.

     There four occasions of being lost that stand out in my memory. Two of them were when I was a small child and two as an adult.

    As a small child I wandered off the farmyard twice and a search had to be made. Once was in early  January. I was about 3 and my Mom put me out in the yard to play. When she checked , I was gone . She had two younger children in the house and couldn't leave. She phoned the neighbors and they started a search. My Dad found me as he was coming home from town. I think I got a good reminder of not to wander away when Dad picked me up on the road and another when he set me down in the yard.

       The second time a lady was babysitting and I wandered off the yard. Again she had little kids and couldn't leave the house. The hired farm hand found me. Apparently I had decided to walk home.

      At about age 25 I got lost in the Arctic. Four of us had flown into an uninhabited Island to hunt geese. Check it out...Richardson Island. I walked a long way around to get closer to the game, made my kill, dressed the animal and left it to come back the next day . I thought I knew the way back. I crossed the first ridge an things didn't look familiar. A second ridge. A third ridge. Now I was starting to panic. It was getting toward sunset. Finally, I found the shore and got back to camp. To say the least, I was relieved.

     The last Time I was lost was last night. I didn't know anything about it until I got home. I tend to be a little careless about communication with the Micro Manager. She was downstairs watching TV and thought she heard me leave for my walk but thought it was early for my walk. She came up an hour later and I wasn't in the house. She was ready to call neighbors to look for me. She discovered the keys and car were gone but couldn't remember where I was going. Finally she checked the calendar and then knew where I was.

       So I was lost for a while last night just like when I was a little kid and wandered away from the farmyard.