SURPRISE!!!

Yesterday was a painful day of disappointment.  I was determined to find out how to use Alexa to read my books to me.  I went to KaSa app and after a very lengthy loading process, arguments with Alexa about supported devices (never could find them).  Floundered around fruitlessly for advice regarding any or all of the above. Nuthin'.

I was laying in bed last night and finally yelled at Alexa, "Read me a book!"  Sun of behotch, she opened a book in my library and began chirping along.  I can tell her talk faster or slower.  I actually had read that in the 1001 hints but misread the direction  Advanced duhhh.

Well!  I asked her to read "Tau Ceti"  She couldn't find it. Frickety, frackity, fork!!!  I tried over and over pronouncing the title as many ways. as possible. That title did not work and spelling it does not work.

While Alexa is a fabulous improvement over the Kindle voice, here a few things I have notices. Alexa pronounces the period at the end of a sentence as "tilde" but only seldom.  Some, not all, same spelled words are used wrong.  She has a tough time with Latin marinaris is pronounced "marinus". Another thing that bothers me is the lack of pacing, everything is read at the same interval, Same pause between sentences that just sounds odd.  Lastly there is no inflection changes to indicate various emotional states.  

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If you need to get to sleep, turn on Alexa and she will read you right to sleep. Lights out!!

And generally speaking one must use very clear diction or she will  tell you that she does not understand right now, please try again later. I shall experiment with West Virginian "Lexa, can y'all play a book?" or "Lexa play more ike at"  Um hmm. 

Books, Tech, Fort Lauderdale church? and medical musing

I love my books.  I actually wish my living room wall consisted of floor to ceiling cabinets that hold nothing but books.  Sigh..

I have about 3000 actual books and about 1300 eBooks on my Kindle.  The Kindle function has a voice reader option.  Click on the icon at the bottom the page and listen to a mildly robotic voice with odd pronunciation.  I love to listen to  my audible books but I only have about 20, many of my books are not available.  

Yesterday for no particular reason I asked Alexa if she could read one of my books.  Nope.  Alexa do you have a book reading app?  She recommended KaSa.  I found the app, opened it, entered State, entered phone number and hit return.  It stated loading, I let it run about 12 HOURS.  I figured it was loading all 1300 books perhaps by voice file.  I finally shut it down at 10 pm.  Felgercarb!

Early that morning I asked Alexa how to load this program, no joy there.  I downloaded a free 1001 Hints for Kindle that included many Alexa how to's.  Every direction I tried not worky because I don't have a recognized device, apparently that includes the Kindle. If I purchase an Echo, there is the promise of getting Alexa to read my books through that device.  I looked at the directions, promises to come on immediately on plugging in.  At this point I want a friend or relative to sound off on that.  So.....

A while back, on the assumption that someone on Kindle was listening, I yelled, "Jeff!  Make my Kindle into a phone!"  Well, whaddya know?  As I was going through my 1001 tips there was a whole section on turning the Kindle into a phone!  I must not have been the only person yelling into my Kindle.  I perhaps did not give this app enough thought. "Jeff!  Let me unplug my Kindle so it operates on any 5G network." Not gonna happen.

Lastly sort of, I have been watching my favorite web site in Fort Lauderdale.  The empty field next to the bridge has been developed.  I cannot find out what purpose the building assembled actually served.  I have seen lots of cars parked there on Sunday, maybe its a church?  The building is square and does not display a cross.  Google! What church's do not display a cross, oh, modern ones, uh thanks. 

Lastly, I noticed yesterday that I could no longer hear an occasional pause in my pulse.  This has bothered me a while back and was seen by my doc who said, let us schedule an echocardiogram.  Dr. Crane scribbled on the report a little of this valve, a little bit of that valve, keep blood pressure under control.  Ok, working on that, no change in meds.

When I noticed that I could no longer hear the missed beats, I wondered how come?  Lemme see Google what are the symptoms of prolapsed mitral valve?  Of the ten symptoms I only have two and a half.  Prolapse mitral valve is treated with a beta-blocker.  Oh got that covered with Metoprolol.  I will merely mention to my doc next time and ask her what she thinks.  Just call me Dr. Whut?

CANCER

I was listening to NPR this morning.   They reported that CDC had found 16 rare melanoma malignancies of the eye in a small town in Virginia.  No idea of the cause.  These malignancies occur 1 in every 7,000.  Ugh.  

Then they found a large occurence of Thyroid cancers.  Those are easily treated with thyroidectomy.  The side effects are a drop in body temperature and lethargy as well as replacement doses of thyroid.   Annoying but not fatal.  Again there did not seem to be evidence of any cause.  There was a potash plant nearby that processed the ash.  The company claimed there were no carcinogens created in the processing.

Hmmm, I sez to myself.  Have they though of radiation?  In particular Strontium 90.  When I was a kid there was a nightly local news report with a Strontium 90 count because Idaho was downwind from Hanford nuclear facility.  

Emmett had a wave of thyroid cancer when kids my age came into adulthood.  Approximately age 28.  Strontium 90 has a half life of 28 years and 7 months.  Hello! CDC?  check it out.  Could be a leaky atomic power plant lurking in the neighborhood.

Anniversary

It has been 69 years since Julie Andrews sang The Hills Are Alive.
Guess how old she was then?  30!  Well cast as a very young novitiate/governess.

The picture above is a picture of Maria Von Trapp.  She was a gorgeous young thing! 

I have no idea if the young Maria was indeed a novitiate, but here are a few things the film got wrong or portrayed for more drama.  

The national anthem is not Edilweiss.  The song was written specifically for the movie.  You can Google the anthem it sounds very hymnal, very beautiful sounding.

The family emigrated not by way of sneaking off in the dark of night to hike over the Swiss Alps.  They took the train.

While Austria no longer has a navy, Mr. Von Trapp was captain of a WWI submarine. 

When the film was released in Germany, the ending was either omitted or shot differently.  Hmmmm.

I actually saw the film in 1965 somewhere in Marin county.  I wen with my first roomie, Sue.  I enjoyed the film immensely.  She also dragged me to see "Mary Poppins"  While juvenile, I did enjoy that film as well. 

Julie Andrew started early the 1957 production as playing the lead in "Hello Dolly".  Hear! Hear!

Picture!?

Here is a picture of my new hair color, it is not actually this light brown.  I yam a light blond with a hint of leftover pink from this summer's blazing red do.  The baleful look is me concentrating first how to FIND the camera to face me and then trying to aim withhout shaking although that would have workin a pinch. Uh I am smiling and happy inside my face.  Really.  No depressy, no gloomy.

Commuting and long road trips

For all of my working life, I have been blessed with a fairly easy commute.

My very first job at Fairchild Semiconductor was from Petaluma to San Rafael for the graveyard shift.  My cousin Carl dropped me off at 11:30 pm and by morning I had made friends with a woman who commuted from Petaluma and she had room in her Itty Bitty ancient Carmenghia.  Thus I rode that away until I found a closer pick up.  Second person I commuted with was Jo, she and her lover girl lived close enough that I walked to her house.  

Eventually I got an apartment closer to work and while still on graveyard drove from Novato to work and my roommate rode along.  Sue was hard on vehicles.  They were always breaking down, or she was wrecking them.  I learned how to change one of Sue's flat tires. 

My fastest trip to work was with a girl friend.  We had visited her gentleman friend in Sausolito.  We had 15 minutes to make it before shift change.   I was driving the 65 Barracuda then and hit 90 on the way. I may have accidentally straightened Kris's hair. And we did get to work by the skin of our teeth. 

The next commute was after I moved to Emmett.  After two years of  a relatively benign commute to Boise State University, I worked in Emmett and drove less half a mile to work.  That went on for eleven years.

I was recruited to work in Barrow in 1989 an by late December was commuting by bus or taxi less than 2 miles.  One time when there was a taxi strike and my regular driver called to let me know, so I walked to work and prayed that any Polar bears were far far away.  

Last commute was when we left Barrow and moved to Coquille.  Four blocks south, up a couple hundred yards to CVH.  Wheee!

:Made a couple dangerous/long trips  One Christmas I decided to save money flying home and drove.  Started off and the roads were clear.  I slogged through Reno, it started snowing and I carefully followed the truck tire prints in the very fluffy snow.

I decided to get a room in Winnemucca.  Next morning I slithered into the gas station next door to get chains put on.  I was dressed fit to kill. Had my hair done, wore my new coat with fake fur collar over a new dress and took off.  About 50 miles later one of the chains broke and some farmer stopped and helped wire the chains back together.  He also told me that my chains were on upside down.  I continued to slither further north, through Jackpot  The snow had melted off shortly after that so I stopped to remove the chains.  After a mile south of Burns Junction I hit a patch of black ice and slid of the road ever so gently.  Some people stopped and helped get back on the road.  We putt putting away. Went sailing by Rome, Oregon, got half way up the hill and car stopped, no worky.  Yet another farmer stopped and took me and my wounded duck of a car back to Rome.   I met an older couple who let me call home.  Dad came and picked me up.  Once all repairs had been accomplished and the visit was finished, he very kindly drove me back to Novato. 

The longest road trip was with Judy Jones, her little girl and myself.  We had borrowed her sister's big old Bonneville Pontiac for the trip to Judy's home in West Virginia.  We had Triple A send us a map with the straightest route marked out and off we went.  We drove south and it took us 33 hours with only one brief stop along side the freeway in Mississippi, big old semi's whipping us awake.  We gave up trying to sleep and just kept on slogging.  We drove to Gossip Bottom and visited with her folks.  Very nice people.  

One other memorable trip to West VA involved a flight.  There was Judy, her daughter, her sister Betty and her daughter, at least one dog.  We looked like the Gabor sisters on tour.  The last leg of the flight was on a plane so small that human passengers went on one flight and the luggage came on the next.  Betty had brought her wig mounted on a Styrofoam head.  That took up one mid sized suitcase.  But at least I got to see the fireflies.  So pretty.

THREE THINGS

TRIPLEX

Yesterday I had to make a run to the post office to mail Christmas cards.  It is spendy to send a registered card to a foreign country...phew!  At any rate the day was raining intermittently; tiny drops, tinkles and splashes and TORRENTIAL!.  I decided to pick up a box o donuts for the guys working the wet next door on the triplex.  I got a guided tour!  They are getting close to being finished.  The downstairs unit closest to us is a one bedroom.  The bathroom is in front right off the living room. They took down a wall and door into the kitchen, put up an island and the counter is a dark blue ceramic, gorgeous.  White cabinets.  Sink under the window which looks into one of our downstairs windows  There is a nice large bedroom in the back. Next to bedroom and next to kitchen is a laundry room.  I would have rather had a bathroom in the back. The flooring is a very nice wood like tile.  These units will be rentals and this one will go for $700. Not bad.  

The unit on the other side is  two bedroom, refinished in a similar style.  There is a small deck off to one side.  

Upstairs is not finished yet.  I commented that the parking would be really good.  Nope they are going to build a small  house to replace the nasty one that was torn down. 

DOLLAR STORE

I have never shopped much at a Dollar Store, I thought they only sold cheap decorations and party supplies.  Had no idea they sold groceries.

CBS Sunday morning had a piece about Dollar Stores.  There about 50,000 Dollar stores in the USA  There 5000 stores popping up on a monthly basis.  A lot of these stores are built in small towns with only one grocery story.  The Dollar stores stock in bulk anything, canned, boxed, bottled, in jars, jugs or bags.  The prices are cheap.  The balance of the goods are high sugar, high sodium, high calorie.  The Dollar stores do NOT sell bread, dairy, fresh vegetables or meat.  When the little grocery goes out of business, the residents must drive 30 miles to a store that sells those items.  

A Dollar General store just opened in Myrtle Point within one mile of the McKay's store.  I worry.  I will ask Joe, the local McKay's manager if he thinks there will be an effect.  One good point the folks in Myrtle Point can drive 11 miles to Coquille or about 60 to Roseburg  to the exotic Trader Joes. Erk.

MISS UNIVERSE

I saw where Miss Universe 2019 is from South Africa. She is beautiful.  Then the show reported the other major beauty pageants had black women win those crowns. It made for quite a picture.  Got to wondering about the racial ratio's between black and white.  I tried asking Alexa what the world population of black people was.  She answered, "Hmmm. I'm not sure."  grump. She was able to answer that the population of Africa was 1.2 billion.  This was way too complicated. Giving that query up I asked the population of Canada 36 million. Population Australia 25 million.  Huh.  Sumpin' to ponder.