Frog In North Georgia » amazon

Crazy Busy but Good

Christine Eclavea Mercer — Mon, 23 May 2011 17:50:11 +0000

We have been crazy busy. It seems to have become the normal pace of life. The school year is almost over. We have a new (to us) van. And I have a new phone.

As usual, I’m hoping I’ll be blogging again more regularly. This time, because I have a new phone. I downloaded the WordPress for Android app. But getting it set up is slow. I had a Blackberry for two years. I would really like to get a new phone annually, instead of every other year. But life hasn’t worked out that way.

I’m getting used to the Android OS. So far I have downloaded a ridiculous number of applications, including AP News, Evernote, and Overdrive (for checking out library books). I have the Droid Incredible 2. It came preloaded with Amazon’s Kindle app, which I like. Except they don’t seem to have any magazines that I want to read. Boo. But for ebook reading it is nice to always have a book with me. Unfortunately, if the book is a pdf file, instead of a newer ebook style, the fonts can be too blurry or small.

Honda Odyssey

The van is a Honda Odyssey. I have now joined the legions of moms everywhere driving minivans. I’m sure my mother is laughing in her grave at my tragic uncoolness. It’s blue. And has many of the features that I loved about my old Jeep – high up so I can see everything, hauls lots of kid-stuff – plus a car-like suspension. I’m surprised by what a tight turning circumference the Honda has for such a long vehicle.

Book Lovers

Christine Eclavea Mercer — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 18:35:59 +0000

I love books. It’s a shame I cannot keep them all. I don’t like them to be piled up to the point I stumble over them. So after I read them, I donate them to the library and keep only my very favorites. Or I sell them on Amazon.

I’m back by _skynet

In all the houses I have looked at and for some reason or other did not buy, what I felt most attracted to was a library room with floor to ceiling shelves, and every type of book. (Those with professional kitchens I know why I don’t live in; too expensive.) When the kids move out one of their rooms will surely end up a library.

I’m in the library now, checking out three more books. Photography, because I surely need improvement as a photographer. Stained glass, because my SIL is giving a class and I want to have a clue while I’m there taking photographs. And tailoring, of course.

I just finished Candace Bushnell’s latest novel, One Fifth Avenue. It was a nice, fun read. If you’re not familiar with her; she wrote Sex and the City and Four Blondes and Lipstick Jungle. (And something else I haven’t read.) I like her books for entertainment, even though I am not rich, glamorous, or a New Yorker. I’m so pleased to have gotten interested in a novel instead of a reference for a change.

Now I’m reading Tony Zinni’s book, Leading the Charge. I met him once. He was General Anthony Zinni then. I really thought the book would be awful, in spite of him being very charismatic in person. But it is actually engaging. Just because I had met him and he spoke to me (no reason why he needed to) I felt compelled to check the book out. But I thought it would be like reading homework. And I expected to read one chapter and give up, because it is not actually homework. I am pleased that it is actually interesting.

DH is home sick, which means he alternately wants me to go away and be silent, and bring him medicine and pet his head. I am bad at that. And I thought I might find a friend hiding from her horrid spouse here in the library. But no joy on that. Just good books and no surprise, a fantastic wi-fi signal when not seated in the childrens section.

Asus Eee First Impressions

Christine Eclavea Mercer — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:42:33 +0000

The Asus Eee arrived today. Here’s how it went down.

The Order

Ordered from Amazon on Sunday. Shipped promptly by Adorama Camera.

Delivery

Arrived in three days. This is the only delivery ever stated to arrive within 3-5 business days, coming to this address, that has ever arrive in three days. Wahoo.

Weirdly, UPS man arrived at noonish, rather than evening, as I was pulling out of neighborhood. Since I saw him I raced back to my driveway to sign for my new pc.

Packaging all in order.

Equipment

Instructions are clear. Wow, tech writers have improved. But don’t believe me. I’m a gearhead. Ask somebody who will read the instructions, all of them. I read four pages. Just the ones I wanted.

Plugged my new little gadget in for three hours and ignored him. Yes, it should be her, like ships. But this one is going to be a male.

Booted up like a charm. (Maybe I’ll call him Henri.) Easy initial setup.

asus eee he workspace

Networking

Wi-fi kicked right in and found every network in the neighborhood: except ours. I restrained myself from trying to login to the neighbors network by typing in the names of all their kids and instead sent DH a text asking him where he hid it. Of course he hid it.

Attempted to login to DHs network, while he pretended to ignore me, but asking, “Did you find it? Do you have it now? Now, are you on?”

Promptly logged into network, then failed to get dns to fire up. Disconnect, reconnected, tried various reconfigurations, then got smart and moved closer to the router. Voila!

Downloaded as much stuff as came to my head instantly: Firefox, Scribefire, Yoono, Google Toolbar, BBCode and Mapthis.

Screen Keyboard Mouse

The screen isn’t bothering me one bit. I’m totally fine with it.

The keyboard is going to take some getting used to. I must revert to shorter nails, which I have always found a necessity for laptops. The control and home keys are very close together. And the function key is something I’m needing to use a lot. I find none of these things to be a deterrent.

I thought the mouse would freak me out. But it doesn’t. I am slow with the right clicking. But other than that find it intuitive.

Conclusion

None of the things I’m having to tweak are more bothersome than any other pc I’ve ever configured. This laptop is doing what I want. And it fits in my purse. This could be love.

Beach Read

Christine Eclavea Mercer — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 13:00:00 +0000

This is the book my MIL sent over. It was amusing. I typically don’t read this sort of novel as it just doesn’t catch my attention. But I’m not averse to them either. I read it in two days!

Amazon.com: The Last Time I Was Me: Cathy Lamb: Books

I wrapped up my grandmother’s tea cup collection and my mother’s china, then grabbed a violin I’d hidden way back in my closet that made me cry, a gold necklace with a dolphin that my father gave me two weeks before he died of a heart attack when I was twelve and, at midnight, with that moon as bright as the blazes, I left Chicago. When Jeanne Stewart stops at The Opera Man’s Cafe in Weltana, Oregon, to eat pancakes for the first time in twelve years, she has no idea she’s also about to order up a whole new future. It’s been barely a week since she succumbed to a spectacularly public nervous breakdown in front of hundreds of the nation’s most important advertising and PR people. Jeanne certainly had her reasons–her mother’s recent death, the discovery that her boyfriend had been sleeping with a dozen other women, and the assault charges that resulted when Jeanne retaliated in a creative way against him, involving condoms and peanut oil.