Today is a first Wednesday, which means that at 11:00am, sirens will blare. At least they will blare in the Kansas City area. Most municipalities and other jurisdictions near us test their tornado sirens monthly. I don’t know how broadly this emergency broadcasting system operates, but I think it extends […]
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A Curmudgeonly Author’s Take on Social Media
It’s been awhile since I wrote about my likes and dislikes on social media. (But see here and here and here.) During the pandemic, social media has been the only way for an indie author to market books, so I have been forced to use it and to explore some […]
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New Technology: Short-Term Loss of Productivity for a Long-Term Gain (I Hope)
I’ve written several times before about setting up new computers and other digital devices. (See here and here.) I was at it again last month. Before the pandemic, my then-three-year-old laptop had started having battery problems. These problems took two forms. First, the laptop only held a charge for a […]
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Another Year of New Technology
I’ve written before about all my technological devices needing to be upgraded at the same time. And now in 2020, I am repeating the experience. I needed a new tablet earlier this year, and was fortunate to get it in February before the pandemic hit. My old tablet was still […]
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Technology Update: On Wi-Fi and Tablets
The time has come again for me to focus on technology. It seems every three years or so I can’t avoid upgrading my devices and/or systems. For the past several weeks, I’ve been deep into wi-fi networks and tablets. Actually, my need to focus on technology began last summer. I […]
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Changing Patterns of Christmas Shopping
Every year Christmas sneaks up on me. It shouldn’t, I know. It’s always on December 25. But I hate to shop, and so I avoid the stores until I have no choice. I start to moan about it before Halloween, but usually don’t get serious until close to Thanksgiving. Only […]
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Will Santa Find Me This Year?
I wrote earlier this year (see here and here) about the problems that the United States Postal Service caused my husband and me when the agency assigned us the wrong zip code (which I have called Zip Code B). Over four months after we moved in, these problems continue. This […]
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Learning to Dictate, Then and Now
I have a love-hate relationship with dictating. I think best with a pen in my hand, and second-best with my fingers on a keyboard. Far behind comes turning my thoughts into spoken words. As a law student and young attorney, I had to write many memos and legal briefs. Most […]
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Uber Convert
Kansas City is a driving town. Except for a few corridors, it is difficult to use public transportation to navigate our metropolitan area. When my husband and I first moved here, we lived in an apartment just a few short blocks from one of the main north-south routes, and we […]
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The Hazards of Living Off the Grid
My husband and I have now been in our new home a little more than two weeks. Most of the problems during the move have stemmed from people’s reliance on computer systems. Automation can be a boon to efficiency or a bane to our sanity. When we rely on computers […]
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