The Internet In A Box

--minus the pornography!

This is a cool idea for the developing world.

Of course, it isn't really the internet, more like a huge digital library, but a great idea.

A Google Mess

Since forever (and remember that forever isn't all that long in electronic terms) I've had two Gmail accounts. I've managed them fairly well, but recently (maybe when Google+ came along? Or was it when I had to pay for extra storage in both accounts?) I decided I was tired of having two accounts and I'd try to merge them.

Ugh--not so easy, and actually not even totally possible.

Here is what I have done and what I have learned:

• I still have both accounts and don't actually plan to delete either
• I'm making my linda.simons account my primary account
• A Gmail account and a Google account are NOT the same thing. I suppose that is obvious to all you geeks out there, and I learned this quite some time ago, but I think when I signed up for Gmail I thought my Gmail account WAS my Google account.
• I fairly easily moved a couple things from my unwanted to my new one: Contacts and Reader subscriptions.
• I'm having a heck of a time moving my million emails from one account to another, although I did find a way to do it. Unfortunately for a compulsive sorter like me, I lost the labels when the emails moved.
• Google Docs are not able to be moved; you just have to share from old to new. Messy, but workable.
• Picasa Web Albums seem to be somewhat messed up, and I"m not sure what to do. I have learned that you must SPECIFICALLY log in to Web Albums to make the profile look right.
  
• I never did understand the Google page about Multiple Sign In. :-( I think Google themselves got mixed up with acquiring so many applications from other people in a less-than-principled way. They don't all work seamlessly.
  
• I don't want to have two Google+ accounts, so I deleted my circles in my unwanted account and kept them in my linda.simons account. I hope nobody got mad for being deleted!
  
• And lastlly, this blog cannot come from my linda.simons account.
  

Awkward Juveniles

No, I'm not talking about 13 year old humans. I'm talking about all the odd looking birds I'm seeing in my back yard these days.

It seems that the wing feathers grow out faster on baby birds and the feathers on their heads and necks look very strange for a few weeks at least. I've seen this odd cardinal, and a very odd-looking mockingbird, too.

We continue to get a large variety of birds in the back yard looking for water during this drought.

Bad Day? Depends...

It started out with what I considered to be an inappropriate and somewhat threatening email that made me angry. Then there were the "you're invisible" interactions. Then, I overdrew my checking account.

I was beginning to think I was having a bad day.

But, to be fair, I must also say that a cheerful colleague stopped me in the hallway to ask about my new grandchild and to pray for him and his parents right then and there. Then I along with 300 of my closest colleagues celebrated the 89th birthday of one of our own scholars. Lastly, the guy at Taco Bueno gave me the "young lady" discount.

I remember someone once saying that if you have a hangnail, you're not really having a bad day. Being told you have cancer, or your child announcing he is gay, or your house burning down--those things qualify as having a bad day.

It's all in your perspective.

Hot and Dry

Today actually wasn't so hot and dry. In fact, when I woke up this morning and looked outside it took me just a second or two to figure out what that stuff was--a little bit of misty rain. It stayed overcast all day, so we didn't get to 100, though more of triple digits is expected next week.

This Box Elder tree has just had its fill of the the hot and dry weather--it has turned colors and the leaves are all falling off. On the other hand, the Isabella tree to the left is doing well because Gary has been giving it a couple wheelbarrow's full of water each weekend.

I decided it was cool enough outside to resituate my bird feeders. I'm happy I keep seeing the juvenile painted bunting. The pair that have been here since spring have had at least one baby.

Photos--the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

I got a new camera recently, and I'm not entirely happy with it, but I'm giving it an honest chance by actually reading the manual so that I know I'm using it to its fullest capacity. My main complaint is that normal photos seem too dark.

It might not take great regular photos, but iit does take "magic" photos. Rachel may quit speaking to me after she finds that I've posted these!

Speaking of photos, I got a new driver's license photo taken this morning. (So much for trying to do it online--I got a letter saying I had to appear in person anyway.) Wow, just looking at the photo makes me feel old and ugly!

On the other hand, didn't Sarah Forster do a great job with this photo?"

If you live in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, I recommend Sarah if you need photos for any occasion. She's rather new at this, but she does a great job and she's a jewel to work with. Her prices are very reasonable, too. Her photo business is called Photography by Sarah , email address is dfwphotographybysarah@gmail.com, and it can be found on Facebook, too.

Orchard Oriole

OK, I know these are dreadful photos, but they are MINE, and are proof that I saw a family of Orchard Orioles on my backyard feeder. Shortly after I posted my previous post, the father and mother showed up together. Whohoo!

Since I finished this post they returned and I got a shot of father and 1st year male together:

New Bird--Orchard Oriole

(Not my photo, linked to from the internet.)

I saw it a second time today. It is so hot and dry here I'm getting a few non-feeder birds to the water on my platform feeder. Yesterday I saw a female and today a first-year male. Yay! My life list is now 302.

I've re-setup my digiscope finally, so now I'll be ready for a photo if this guy shows up again.

Birding in Michigan--New Bird!

I took my scope and tripod in my carry-on suitcase on our vacation to Michigan in hopes of finding some good birds to digiscope, but alas, it was not to be. It seemed there weren't all that many birds around, but mostly we were busy being good old-fashioned tourists.

I was surprised how often I saw Cedar Waxwings--they were all over the place. I nearly hit a couple wild turkeys hanging around in the median as we returned from the Upper Peninsula. There were probably a few common birds I saw and forgot to write down, but here is the list I came up with, recorded in Birdstack:

Common Tern
Chimney Swift
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Mute Swan
Killdeer
Northern Cardinal
American Crow
Turkey Vulture
Wild Turkey
American Herring Gull
Ring-billed Gull
American Goldfinch
Canada Goose
Cedar Waxwing
Barn Swallow
House Finch
Red-winged Blackbird
American Robin
Chipping Sparrow
House Sparrow
Mourning Dove
Common Starling

But I did actually managed to add one new bird to my life list, a Common Tern. I am about 95% sure on this identification. We saw many gulls and terns while on a boat tour through the Soo Locks. The conditions were not ideal for observing, but I'm pretty sure I saw one or two unfamiliar terns.

On Vacation

We've been on vacation in Michigan for 8 days, so this blog has been neglected. I had wanted to do some birding, but I really didn't see that many birds. However, I did see some beautiful nature. The green color of almost everything was refreshing after hot dry brown Dallas .

May I Have This Dance?

Don't you like it when you take an artistic picture completely by accident? :-)

(Click photo for a larger view.)

Chickadee Update

Isabella is here with me for a whole week!

We are having fun with birds and other things. I got my new Squirrel Buster Plus bird feeder (a birthday present to myself) and Isabella helped me fill it up. About one third of the bird seed went on the kitchen floor.

Isabella found my two big Audubon picture books too, and found the ostriches--big birds she knew from Ethiopia.

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

The Yellow-billed Cuckoo came back to the water on my feeder again this afternoon, and this time I got to my camera and scope quicker.

300!!!

I stayed home from work today to bake a cake for a coworker's birthday, so I've had plenty of time to glance out to the back yard while baking. I saw a bird sitting in my bowl of water, flicking redish wings. Hmm, those looked like female cardinal wings, but that wasn't a cardinal head. It took me a second or two to realize I was seeing a NEW BIRD!

I observed decurved bill, black eye, white below, gray above, rather larger bird. It played in the water, and stayed only about 1 minute--no time for a decent photo, so I've stolen these from the internet:


I got a good, but brief look at the tail and knew it must be a cuckoo, and sure enough, the Yellow-billed Cuckoo lives here in the summer.

I immediately logged it into my Birdstack account which informed me my life list was up to 300! Yay!

You're Wrong

Wow, it has been a day of me being wrong.

First, I did one of my financial transfers at work incorrectly, which took a bit of doing to correct and several emails of apology.

Then I did the software testing wrong, which took a phone call to apologize and have someone fix.

Then I bought the wrong ink cartridge, and even though it wasn't entirely my fault, I still had to pay for it. The point of buying a new one was to print out a new passport photo, which also has a wrong look to it:


Then we decided to be nice and go wish Florence a Happy 90th Birthday, which we did in fact do, only to learn that I had the wrong day--I was a month early.

Sigh.

Four New Birds!

I was able to do a bit of birdwatching on my recent trip to Michigan to attend my 40th HS reunion. I actually ended up with four new birds on my life list, now up to 299. These photos include only one of my lifers.

Mute Swan pair with cygnet

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Canada Swan families

female Hooded Merganser (terrible photo!)

fulltermbaby

Today was a day to change my password. When Sarah was hospitalized with early contractions I changed my password as a way to remember to pray for her. Now we are thanking God for the safe delivery of a full term baby.

A New Bird (and a New Chickadee)

I saw a new bird for my life list on our short trip to Houston. But this isn't it! This is a photo of a little blue heron that got close enough for me to digiscope nicely. I even got a short video of him catching something and gobbling it up.

My new bird was a red-breasted nuthatch, but he wouldn't stand still long enough for a photo. And legally-blind Gary saw it first!! My slowly growing life list is at 295.

But the BIG news around her is the birth of our grand-chickadee Micah! We give thanks to God for a safe and healthy baby after a very difficult pregnancy. If you're interested in more details, click over to my family blog.

Andrew's Birds

I'm jealous of the birds Andrew gets to keep seeing. He finally got his new camera battery working properly, so he's got some new photos to send my way. The first bird is a Pintailed Whydah and the second an Abyssinian Ground Hornbill.

Speaking of birds, a new grand-chickadee is being added to the nest tomorrow, Lord willing. We're driving to Houston to welcome Micah.

Frozen Buttercream Transfer Cake Decorating Technique

I made a cake for my daughter's birthday this weekend with a new technique I learned from YouTube videos. I think it turned out fairly well, and it is easier than it looks (but still a fair amount of work). Click here to go see the how-to online album I made. View the album in the Slideshow mode to see the captions with the step-by-step directions.