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Today in My History

2001:  We Could Put on a SHOW!
2002:  Balancing Act
2003:  Health Care Can Be Fun
2004:  Once Upon a Dream
2005:  It Just Makes You Want to Cry
2006:  Things Can Change in an Instant
2007:   No "Honey-Do" list
2008:  Saving the Environment
2009:  People Can Be Aggravating
2010:  Somebody's Bright Idea
2011:  Walking to China
2012:  Concetta

Books Read in 2013
 Updated: 1/4
"Bleachers"

mail to Walt

WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS...

4 January 2013

People are so wonderful.  When I got home from the book store today, I found this:

They are from a friend here in town, who writes: "A reminder that you are always much beloved."

I am assuming this is in response to the note about my bad day the other day.  This woman is such a sweetheart.  A couple of years ago I wrote something about not having a waffle iron, and next thing I knew one showed up on my doorstep, in a box from Amazon.  It has been used frequently since then. She is so incredibly thoughtful.

But I guess I should report that everything is fine now.  I had a couple of wonderfully supportive phone calls from people who read what I wrote and the person I had the difficulty with seems to be better now and we are back where we were before everything happened.

A couple of days ago I mentioned that I was trying to figure out how to download a video from You Tube to my iPad.  A wonderful reader named Elaine Normandy wrote on my guestbook and posted a link to an app called McTube which comes in both a free version and a $1.99 version.  I downloaded the app and then tried to figure out how it works.  I ultimately did, and my video downloaded without problem.  I took the iPad to the book store today, where I cannot connect to wifi, just to make sure that I really had downloaded it and that I wasn't just accessing it from YouTube.

It worked.  Thank you so much, Elaine!

But trying to figure the app out makes me realize that the biggest frustration with these apps that you can download is trying to figure out how to use them.  There are no manuals and if you're an old poop like me, where things are not as intuitive as they may be to some geeky whippersnappers, it can be frustrating.  (After having tried to play Angry Birds for literally 2 years now, I suddenly discover that there are tricks, and there are videos showing you those tricks.  I swear Brianna can do better at Angry Birds than I can!!)

But what is even more frustrating is that when you search for help in how an app works, you find videos that people have recorded to help folks like me figure out their app.  That is very nice of people to take the time to make a video so that everybody can get the most out of their apps.

HOWEVER, so far every app I've checked, not only for this one but for other apps I was trying to get help on is that the guy (so far it's always guys, no girls) recording the video starts cold and decides he's just going to show you what he does.  But they almost all end up with his trying to figure out what to do, and why it isn't doing what he thought it was going to do, and a lot of time spent going to different screens and muttering to himself trying to hit his stride. ("Hmmm...I wonder why this isn't...wait a minute...let me try...now it should...no that's not right," etc.)

Now why someone would POST this sort of video is beyond me.  Why not have a rehearsal so you know that your app is going to do what you think it's going to do.   And if you start videotaping and things go haywire and you can't figure out what went wrong, don't continue recording and then post that video!  Stop recording your video.  Erase your video, practice a bit more and then when you have a recording that actually HELPS someone, post that to You Tube.

But that's maybe just an old poop being entirely too logical for young geeky whippersnappers.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Me on any given day now!
What's missing from this photo?
Husband to take the picture!

I'd love it if you'd leave a comment!