Archive for the Category » Oh! There’s a App For That! «

01
Feb

Rambling River

It was just under fifty degrees, overcast and the possibility of rain. I wanted to go for a walk but it is tax time and I wanted to get the papers prepared so I could take them to the CPA. The idea of needing to discipline myself led me to being antsy. My little dog picked right up on my mood. She watched for cues. Cues that she could read so she would know “we are ready to go!”. But I never gave her those cues because I wanted to take care of business first.

Finally. I had all my ducks in a row. The business was in order and I was ready to head out to the tax lady then, off for a walk. I was edgy, I wanted my walk, but the threat of rain was causing me to get tense. Then I thought, “oh hell, a little rain never hurt us before. I will just wear rain boots and a slicker”. So off I we went but, first turn in my taxes. I drove up to the tax lady. Dang! She wasn’t open yet so I decided to just go for the walk and rethink my priorities for this day.

My little dog wanted her walk too, she couldn’t sit still in the car. Finally we got to the forest, in sync we jumped out of the car and started out on the wooded path. This is the best part of our walk. The sudden burst of excitement to sights, smells and sounds. It was still overcast but already shaping up to be one of my better walks. We came out into the meadow, rounded the path and weaved back into a second meadow then down the trail to the peninsula. Finally all the knots were worked out my back and I was feeling pretty good. We came to the river rambling by quiet and gentle. Just then the clouds broke and a memory flooded over me.

Back in the 1960s as a pre-teen. I was antsy just like today. Couldn’t have been more that ten years old. I wandered out the back door rounded the block and started walking. I have always loved walking and I knew exactly where I would head. Back behind the Boise Cascade Lumber Mill. I skirted around the huge piles of logs as I saw the Yakima River come into sight. Ah, now this is what I needed. A walk by the river. I loved to do that then and I love to walk the Coosa River now. And for those of you who wonder yes, I did get in trouble with my mom for disappearing by myself.

Solitude has always been something I have enjoyed. Not curled up with a book or checking into a motel for quiet time but the kind of solitude that comes from a brisk walk in the woods as the oxygen courses through my bloodstream, clearing my head, and relaxing my muscles. Oh sure, there is the occasional walker I pass. We nod, pass a few pleasantries then, I move on. Mostly it is the birdsong or a croaking frog I commune with. If I stop moving long enough it gets quiet enough to hear a deer moving in the brush. Of course once I move or my dog goes on alert the deer does what it does best. Choses flight over fight as it prances lightly away.

I don’t know why I have always loved these walks. It really doesn’t matter. I have always found a place like this to walk, by myself, in no need of conversation. Except the conversation of the wind, the smell of the air and companionship of a dog. The solitude from humans is not really solitude like most people think about it. I am not lonely or scared. I don’t need to escape to regroup from life nor am I thinking deep thoughts or trying to discover purpose in the universe. I just want to be out there. Out there in the open, having my quiet time.

I have been this way since I was a child. I don’t “need” someone to go with me, I just want to ramble. Rambling on doesn’t have the same security it did back in the 1960s. Times of changed, I have grown older and aging has set in. I can’t afford to get hurt or lost now. Now I am product of the times, I carry a Smartphone with a App that lets my husband know where I am just in case he needs to find me. Most of the time he is secure in the fact he knows where I am at and when I will return. All he has to do is check his “Find Friends” App and he can track my movement. It adds a certain amount of security nowadays so I can forget about external things and just listen to the river as it slowly rolls along, gently slapping the bank. Ah, I do the river.

 

The river flows quiet and swift

It twists and turns as the waters drift

It branches and breaks__

its fingers entwine

(From the The River Flows by Kailey Jennings )

 

Category: Boomer Musings, Oh! There's a App For That!, One dog, two dog and more dog blogs  2 Comments
14
Nov

Apps Protecting My Security!!!!

Okay we all like Apps. I think I started out using Apps for games and science. But as I got more familiar with them I find I rely on them for much more.

For example, I love my business Apps. My banking, credit cards and places I do business have Apps that show instantaneously any activity that occurs. And now the fantastic option of “alerts”. So lets say, someone were to choose to make charges on my credit card without my authorization. I get an alert immediately that lets me know someone is using my card. Same thing for the bank. I know immediately that bills are paid on time so no danger of late fees. Which is nice because some business have used lag time to find ways to add fees. That way I can jump on the issue right away!

Why is this a great thing? Because as we all know in this crazy world there seems to be a breed of people who thrive on stealing from honest people. Unfortunately it causes honest people the added burden of protecting themselves by trying to stay one step ahead of thieves. With the electronic age came a new frontier for thievery. So when my business accounts fight back by showing me within seconds any activity it gives me a fighting chance too.

One banking issue I have left to harness is getting people who I give paper checks to deposit immediately. That way I know if they got the check or not. Today I have to find out if someone I wrote a check to three weeks ago got the check or is sitting on it for depositing. I have another check that I wrote to donate to a cause that is out there now for almost two months. This is the only fly in my ointment as far as doing business. There should be a way to pay people directly without the hassle! Okay I know there is online checking account but we still use checks once and awhile. 

I think with the Christmas season coming on, with people filling stores to buy gifts it is food for thought that there are those around us in the store taking advantage of the situation. I do not like it when the a salesperson says in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, “what is your phone number” or any other personal information they choose to ask. That is a thief’s dream come true to have us spouting out loud freely our personal information. No work for them. Is that necessary? No, I think not. A few years ago, this happened to my husband and I. Within a week or so Sears called us to ask if we had purchased a riding lawn mower because now we could come pick up. We didn’t buy it. Someone lifted our personal information. We were ignorant to how easy that was while having a conversation with the salesperson. The first thing I do now is stop, look at everyone around me so I know I can identify them if I need to while trying to lessen the need for that kind of contact. So stay alert my friends!

Things I do to protect us are Apps, a good shredder and watching our cards to make sure no extra charges I did not authorize happen. And don’t forget my friends, whether you have stellar credit or not you can get a free credit report once a year. Credit reports are not just to see if you have stellar credit, they tell you if someone opened an account in your name or if you had someone checking you out so you can determine if you approved it. It gives you an action plan.

All these ideas should not be so much work that we won’t do them. I do my credit report once a year. Easy to set up an “alert” in my online calendar for a yearly reminder. I look at my alerts as they come in, shred my junk mail or other personal information, and try to train those dang salespeople to stop asking me personal information within ear shot of others! I am not rich and a thief wouldn’t get far with my funds or my name but it is the added burden of straightening it all out that can wreak havoc on a day.

Have you found ways to protect your identity? If so, what are you doing? It takes a bit of time but well worth the peace of mind knowing my few pennies are mine to spend. And the Apps have now made it much easier. Check to see if your bank, credit cards or business offer alerts to you.

 

Category: Oh! There's a App For That!  Leave a Comment
07
Nov

Product of the times…..

I am a product of the times. I have an smartphone, I am a member of the Iphone clique. I use my smartphone for just about anything under the sun. I check my business accounts, read the daily news, check the weather, play games and surf the Web. I keep my notes for errands, business or other ideas that pop in my head. I use Facetime to “see” the grandkids. And rarely do I use my phone for phone calls. There is that occasional call that needs to be made. For example, yesterday I hopped on the phone because it was important to talk to my grandson.

My number one pet peeve with cellular phones is driving while talking or texting on the phone. When did we get so busy that we are glued to our phone in traffic? And who do we need to talk with such urgency? Is driving to and from wherever we are going that boring?

I don’t like talking on the phone. I rarely do. There was a time I would talk for a couple of hours with my sister on the phone. But I would plug in ear phones and be doing something else while we talked. I cannot imagine stopping and sitting to talk on the phone for more than 10 minutes which, seems like forever to me. And reception is an issue with smartphones. Every once and awhile you just drop a call. So then I have to wonder how far did I get talking before the call got dropped, only to I start all over!

But you may say, what about the kids or family or friends? Well the kids are on Facebook so I talk to them there. And grandchildren I make appointments with to talk on Facetime from time to time. Or email them. And even while talking business I just get it done and get off the call, if I can make contact by email I will do that over making a call.

I do not know what to say on the phone, I can’t see the person, I can’t get a feel for them on the phone. So I sit stalling out while the conversation usually dies out, I feel like I should be doing something. Anything. So if you are waiting for me get on the phone it usually isn’t going to happen.

I wondered where my dislike for phone calls come from. I think it is the ability to do Facetime, email, Instant Messaging or other social media exchanges. I think phone calls are passe, well at least for me.

I use my smartphone ever single day. I carry it around faithfully. But not for calls. For the news, weather, Itunes or games. I check my email, Facebook, take pictures, or notes. I check the bank, the Internet or go to Amazon. I even explore the universe on the App named “Star Walk”. All in a day’s adventure on my phone but rarely do I make a call or get a call.

Am I the only one who is not into phone calling?

 

Category: Boomer Musings, Hee, Hee, A touch of Humor, Oh! There's a App For That!  2 Comments
« Previous Entries