My mom, who is 75, wants to go up to teeny tiny town near Rapid City,
to see her sister, who is 80. They live in a house in the boonies and
have no internet.
I'll be back online on Monday the 24th and promise not to miss another day.
Please bear with me, your patience is appreciated!
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Friday, August 17, 2012
Today I Learned that...I need to learn how birds find food
I have a small garden outside my first floor...and I put a bird bath in the middle of it. I expected a passing bird to stop in and have a bath.
But it was under-used until my dad put a bird feeder adjacent to it.
First there were ten birds there, then twenty. Today when I looked out I swear there were a hundred birds clustered around that feeder.
How do they find out? Birds don't have a sense of smell...so I guess they must be flying by and see some other birds clustered around something and descend to investigate...and once they've found a source of food they don't leave it..
My mom's got bird feeders on her side of the house (top floor, in the opposite direction from where my bird feeder is) and she gets hundreds of birds too. I wonder if they are the same birds that fly to each feeder, or if each bird has staked out their own territory.
But it was under-used until my dad put a bird feeder adjacent to it.
First there were ten birds there, then twenty. Today when I looked out I swear there were a hundred birds clustered around that feeder.
How do they find out? Birds don't have a sense of smell...so I guess they must be flying by and see some other birds clustered around something and descend to investigate...and once they've found a source of food they don't leave it..
My mom's got bird feeders on her side of the house (top floor, in the opposite direction from where my bird feeder is) and she gets hundreds of birds too. I wonder if they are the same birds that fly to each feeder, or if each bird has staked out their own territory.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
60 is the new 40
On August 10, 2012, the Cheyenne chapter of the AARP hosted a seminar
called Gray Matters - which was free and provided a free lunch -
unfortunately fish and cheesecake, blech - from 4 to 6 was a reception
for all travelers who had come in for the AARP National Spelling Bee to
be held on the 11th.
I attended that and it was a lot of fun. The emcee introduced a few folks, we talked about words, there was a "mock" spelling bee (which only consisted of about 20 people getting up and being questioned on one word...._ and so on. And there were finger foods there - Chinese food to be precise. Don't know where they got it from or if they cooked it on site (Little America is a hotel and resort where people come to play golf among other things) but it was delish.
The spelling bee started at the ungodly hour of 8:30 am (Well...8:30 is not so ungodly but I had to get up at the ungodly hour of 6:30 to get there in time for registration, etc.) It started with 4 rounds of 25 words each - which was a Written Test.
The first 25 words were extremely easy. They asked words like "Greetings" and "Navel" and "Mince." I suppose a few might have been considered difficult... "Animus" and "Lacuna."
The second 25 words were equally easy, but I did miss MUGWUMP.
I assume they did this just to help everyone settle the nerves and get new people used to what was going on. People had trouble hearing some of the words (hey, they were all over 50 and most over 60) and the Pronouncer would come down and tell them the word face to face and have them say it back, etc. Indeed, the Pronouncer did an excellent job.
Third round was where they started asking the difficult words.
I missed:
QUESTIONARY INERCALATE
TUATARA
SKOSH
VIRIDITY
WIMBLE
The fourth round was the real killer. I only got 12 out of 25 right. I missed:
FELICIFIC
DOVEKIE
FLYTING
NAPERY
COTYLEDONARY
WELTSCHMERRZ
OPPUGNER
AECIOSPORE
SYNCYTIAL
KNUR
IRIDIUM
TUYERE
HYOSCYAMINE
I then stayed for the Oral rounds and was joined by one of my friends from my Scrabble Club. (I think an audience could have assembled for the Written rounds, too. There were chairs there and family were in them...but I think most people only wanted to come see the Oral rounds where you actually saw the speller's faces as opposed to their backs, etc.)
Two of the people I met last night at the reception made it to the Orals. One of them it was his first trip to the Bee and he was successful his first time out. Made it through about 10 rounds. (In the Orals, you miss two words and you're out.) Another one was an elderly woman from Minnesota who also got through about 10 rounds before being knocked out.
There were three sisters and a brother who had come as a sort of family reunion. The eldest sister made it to the Oral rounds but was bounced after only two rounds. This was too bad and it was because she was a bit unlucky - she got two 6-syllable words in a row while some of the others were getting much easier ones (but still, not ones I could have spelled). But she was disqualified along with several other people in the same round, so hopefully she didn't feel too bad.
The words in the Oral Rounds were extremely difficult. Several times more difficult than the toughest words in the final round of the Written.
But, had I studied for a year, I think I could have handled them.
And it is my intention to study for a year and get into the Orals next year.
So, why is the title of this blog entry 60 is thenew 40?
Because it is.
People are living longer. You don't want to outlive your money and more importantly you don't want to outlive your sense of enjoyment of life. And learning new things every day is enjoyment and keeps the mind active.
The AARP Spelling Bee is held every year, and it gives you an excellent reason to travel to Cheyenne and see The Cowboy State. You'll meet lots of interesting people.
You do have to study.
I studied very desultorily for about a month...combine all the time I studied and it was about 10 hours. Not nearly enough, but then, I'm a good speller so the Written Rounds were relatively easy - except for that killer last round.
Why learn words that you'll never, ever say in real life?Well, because they're interesting. And the concepts of what you'll learn, you can apply in other areas. So it's a win win.
So start planning to live a long, healthy, active, intellectual life, and do it now, however old you might be!
I attended that and it was a lot of fun. The emcee introduced a few folks, we talked about words, there was a "mock" spelling bee (which only consisted of about 20 people getting up and being questioned on one word...._ and so on. And there were finger foods there - Chinese food to be precise. Don't know where they got it from or if they cooked it on site (Little America is a hotel and resort where people come to play golf among other things) but it was delish.
The spelling bee started at the ungodly hour of 8:30 am (Well...8:30 is not so ungodly but I had to get up at the ungodly hour of 6:30 to get there in time for registration, etc.) It started with 4 rounds of 25 words each - which was a Written Test.
The first 25 words were extremely easy. They asked words like "Greetings" and "Navel" and "Mince." I suppose a few might have been considered difficult... "Animus" and "Lacuna."
The second 25 words were equally easy, but I did miss MUGWUMP.
I assume they did this just to help everyone settle the nerves and get new people used to what was going on. People had trouble hearing some of the words (hey, they were all over 50 and most over 60) and the Pronouncer would come down and tell them the word face to face and have them say it back, etc. Indeed, the Pronouncer did an excellent job.
Third round was where they started asking the difficult words.
I missed:
QUESTIONARY INERCALATE
TUATARA
SKOSH
VIRIDITY
WIMBLE
The fourth round was the real killer. I only got 12 out of 25 right. I missed:
FELICIFIC
DOVEKIE
FLYTING
NAPERY
COTYLEDONARY
WELTSCHMERRZ
OPPUGNER
AECIOSPORE
SYNCYTIAL
KNUR
IRIDIUM
TUYERE
HYOSCYAMINE
I then stayed for the Oral rounds and was joined by one of my friends from my Scrabble Club. (I think an audience could have assembled for the Written rounds, too. There were chairs there and family were in them...but I think most people only wanted to come see the Oral rounds where you actually saw the speller's faces as opposed to their backs, etc.)
Two of the people I met last night at the reception made it to the Orals. One of them it was his first trip to the Bee and he was successful his first time out. Made it through about 10 rounds. (In the Orals, you miss two words and you're out.) Another one was an elderly woman from Minnesota who also got through about 10 rounds before being knocked out.
There were three sisters and a brother who had come as a sort of family reunion. The eldest sister made it to the Oral rounds but was bounced after only two rounds. This was too bad and it was because she was a bit unlucky - she got two 6-syllable words in a row while some of the others were getting much easier ones (but still, not ones I could have spelled). But she was disqualified along with several other people in the same round, so hopefully she didn't feel too bad.
The words in the Oral Rounds were extremely difficult. Several times more difficult than the toughest words in the final round of the Written.
But, had I studied for a year, I think I could have handled them.
And it is my intention to study for a year and get into the Orals next year.
So, why is the title of this blog entry 60 is thenew 40?
Because it is.
People are living longer. You don't want to outlive your money and more importantly you don't want to outlive your sense of enjoyment of life. And learning new things every day is enjoyment and keeps the mind active.
The AARP Spelling Bee is held every year, and it gives you an excellent reason to travel to Cheyenne and see The Cowboy State. You'll meet lots of interesting people.
You do have to study.
I studied very desultorily for about a month...combine all the time I studied and it was about 10 hours. Not nearly enough, but then, I'm a good speller so the Written Rounds were relatively easy - except for that killer last round.
Why learn words that you'll never, ever say in real life?Well, because they're interesting. And the concepts of what you'll learn, you can apply in other areas. So it's a win win.
So start planning to live a long, healthy, active, intellectual life, and do it now, however old you might be!
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Today I learned that I've really got to kmow when to keep my mouth shut
I want to write some travel guides to Cheyenne. I've only lived here 2 years and haven't really explored...this acquaintance of mine, that I had blogged about twice before, has lived here 16 years and seems to know the streets pretty well.
So...I ended up respnding to her text, "I think I really messed up."
I texted back, "How so."
She texted back, "Let's meet for coffee at the library or at thePancake Breakfast at the Depot."
I texted, 9 am, Depot.
(Every year, during Frontier Days, there is a free pancake breakfast at the Cheyenne Depot. This was my first time going.)
So we meet, and she tells me, she messed up going to the Dazbog Coffee House interview. She thinks it was a setup .
First off, of course, she arrived at the Depot on a bike. A nice bike. A bike that she could easily have used to bike from her home to Dazbog Coffee and back each day if she'd gotten the job. It was about 5 miles each way, and if you need a job or are going to get kicked out of your apartment, I'd think biking 10 total miles a day to and from work are no brainers!
Now, here's where I made my mistake. I was so shocked when she said this that I said "Why? Because it's a Russian coffee house? You think someone will think you're a commie?"
She tried to explain, but after just one sentence I scoffingly interrupted, so she stopped explaining to me. And of course that was a mistake on my part because I really, really want to know why in the world she thinks going to this Coffee House to get an application was a "set-up." How and why could it be a "set-up" especially since, even though she filled out an application, someone else was hired before she was even interviewed.
(She had started to say that the woman at Job Service had told her about the opening, but didn't seem concerned about how she was supposed to get there. I said something about her bike...that's when she got annoyed and said, "If you're going to question me I'm not even going to tell you about it."
And at this point I was fed up and said, "Yeah, let's just drop it."
She just came across as paranoid to me, a conclusion which was cemented when she then said that she had figured out that someone was stalking her. "Who," I asked. "I don't want to say," she answered.
There again, I didn't scoff, but it was so out in left field that I didn't bother to ask her any more quesitons,
She's in her fifties, still looks reasonably attractive, I suppose, but who would be stalking her and why? Her ex-husband? I'd think he'd avoid her like the plague, assuming he still lived in town. She's got a son and a daughter, apparently (who don't live in the state and whom apparently she cant borrow money from), and brothers and sisters. Doesn't get along with her sister, and her brothers, neither, although I think one of these must have leant her rent money.
But...who would stalk her? She's unemployed and has been for a long time. Seems to spend most of her time at the library. Even if she was employed, she'd be a clerk or something non-consequential. No one would stalk her.
But maybe if I'd just kept my mouth shut and let her talk, instead of scoffing and trying to make her see sense, she'd have said more and then I could know a bit more about what is going on in her head.
It's also been three weeks since I helped her sign up to Textbroker. She had to fax in or email a scan of her driver's license. I asked her if she'd done this, she said no.
So that's three weeks where she could have been earning money that she hasn't been earning money.
So I gave up any thought of working with her right then and there. You just can't help some people.
However, in future...I MUST curb my tongue should someone say such strange things to me. I've got to shut up and let them talk and not offer an opinion until I've heard the whole story. I doubt if it'd be very logical, but at least I'd know who she thinks is setting her up and why...and how getting her to go to a job interview could possibly be a "set-up"!
So...I ended up respnding to her text, "I think I really messed up."
I texted back, "How so."
She texted back, "Let's meet for coffee at the library or at thePancake Breakfast at the Depot."
I texted, 9 am, Depot.
(Every year, during Frontier Days, there is a free pancake breakfast at the Cheyenne Depot. This was my first time going.)
So we meet, and she tells me, she messed up going to the Dazbog Coffee House interview. She thinks it was a setup .
First off, of course, she arrived at the Depot on a bike. A nice bike. A bike that she could easily have used to bike from her home to Dazbog Coffee and back each day if she'd gotten the job. It was about 5 miles each way, and if you need a job or are going to get kicked out of your apartment, I'd think biking 10 total miles a day to and from work are no brainers!
Now, here's where I made my mistake. I was so shocked when she said this that I said "Why? Because it's a Russian coffee house? You think someone will think you're a commie?"
She tried to explain, but after just one sentence I scoffingly interrupted, so she stopped explaining to me. And of course that was a mistake on my part because I really, really want to know why in the world she thinks going to this Coffee House to get an application was a "set-up." How and why could it be a "set-up" especially since, even though she filled out an application, someone else was hired before she was even interviewed.
(She had started to say that the woman at Job Service had told her about the opening, but didn't seem concerned about how she was supposed to get there. I said something about her bike...that's when she got annoyed and said, "If you're going to question me I'm not even going to tell you about it."
And at this point I was fed up and said, "Yeah, let's just drop it."
She just came across as paranoid to me, a conclusion which was cemented when she then said that she had figured out that someone was stalking her. "Who," I asked. "I don't want to say," she answered.
There again, I didn't scoff, but it was so out in left field that I didn't bother to ask her any more quesitons,
She's in her fifties, still looks reasonably attractive, I suppose, but who would be stalking her and why? Her ex-husband? I'd think he'd avoid her like the plague, assuming he still lived in town. She's got a son and a daughter, apparently (who don't live in the state and whom apparently she cant borrow money from), and brothers and sisters. Doesn't get along with her sister, and her brothers, neither, although I think one of these must have leant her rent money.
But...who would stalk her? She's unemployed and has been for a long time. Seems to spend most of her time at the library. Even if she was employed, she'd be a clerk or something non-consequential. No one would stalk her.
But maybe if I'd just kept my mouth shut and let her talk, instead of scoffing and trying to make her see sense, she'd have said more and then I could know a bit more about what is going on in her head.
It's also been three weeks since I helped her sign up to Textbroker. She had to fax in or email a scan of her driver's license. I asked her if she'd done this, she said no.
So that's three weeks where she could have been earning money that she hasn't been earning money.
So I gave up any thought of working with her right then and there. You just can't help some people.
However, in future...I MUST curb my tongue should someone say such strange things to me. I've got to shut up and let them talk and not offer an opinion until I've heard the whole story. I doubt if it'd be very logical, but at least I'd know who she thinks is setting her up and why...and how getting her to go to a job interview could possibly be a "set-up"!
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Today I learned that I do not want to help some people
Well...I didn't learn it today, but it fits in with my conceit about how I title my blog entries.
I told the story a few weeks ago about an acquaintance of mine. Several months ago the Library had had a Meeting Day, where everyone in Cheyenne who had a club could sign up new members. This woman stopped by...and I didn't really care for her at the time, but she wasn't so egregious that I wouldn't want her in the club - the more members the better.
So she comes to the club one day, and everything was a bit hectic, so I asked one of our other members to take her in hand and show her how to play the game. He plays well, shes an absolute beginner, but she spent the two hours telling him what to do!
So I was glad when she didn't come back.
Then, a couple of weeks ago, I saw her talking to one of my other scabble club members, another beginning player, a guy. And this guy lives on my way into town and the library where we play, so I pick him up. And he mentioned this. So I'm walking outside and see the woman sitting on a bench, and she says, "Do you give people rides?" and I say yes, if they come to my Scrabble club...or if its an emergency.
Long story short. I gave her my email and phone - though I specificed she was not to call me on the phone - I really, really dislike talking on the phone and use it only for emergencies.
Next day, she's clalling me on the phone, asking for a ride. It's urgent.
Well, I gave up my dinner and drove her around to various churches, where she was asking for money to pay her rent that was due that day. (I had no discretionary funds to loan her and wouldn't have anyway...she has no job and I need to be paid back when I loan folks money.)
Also took her out to a place where she could pick up an application - this despite the fact that she ":didn't know if she wanted to work for them. She just wanted to look at it." I'm thinking "You need a job, you're about to be kicked out of your apartment for non-payment of rent, you can't be choosy."
Anyway, I told her about Textbroker, and a couple of days later tried to get her set up with that. First she had to get a Paypal account - Textbroker pays via Paypal, as well as send in her ID to Textbroker so they'd know she lived in the US.
And I don't think she's done that yet.
So, she comes back to Scrabble a week and a half ago...I'd been upstairs showing her something on the computer. I was in a bad mood because the guy I was playing was beating me badly and I was not getting any tiles...so she sits next to me and tries to tell me what to play. Then she sits next to the guy beating me and tries to hell him what to play.
We neither of us paid much attention to her - we were playing the game. We weren't actively rude, just kind of not paying attention to her.
So, she leaves.
That night I email her and say, "Sorry I was so brusque, I don't like losing when I have bad tiles. Let me know if you need more help."
And that was it. Seven days went by and I didn't hear from her. I was surprised but pleased.
This last Saturday, I drove into town to start my week-lomg housesitting of my sister's house. I was at the library, saw her looking at a shelf, walked past her, she said hi, I said, how's it going, did you get on to Textbroker. (Because the last time we'd talked, she'd needed to send in her ID by fax and didn't seem in much of a hurry to do it.)
She said she was having problems getting her Paypal account going.
I said, "Well, I have an errand to run right now but I can be back at 3 o'clock and we can get you set up."
She said, "Well, text me first, to make sure something doesn't come up." That's a paraphrase, but it's neaqr enough. And it's at that point that I gave up on her completely. She's unemployed. It's a Saturday. Yet she's not sure if she can meet me at 3 pm so I can get her paypal set up so she can start earning money???
So...I had no intention of texting her or talking to her ever again. Turned out to be a moot point because instead, she texted me, telling me she'd gotten her paypal account working. I texted back, "OK" - and that was it. No further interest.
So today, Tuesday, 4 days after that, she texts and says, "I think I really messed up."
Well, I don't care enough to text her back and say, "How so." If she'd wanted me to respond, she should have texted me with her actual problem, or emailed me.
So, I'm not bothering with her at all. I su ppose there's a chance she'll stop by the meeting room where we play Scrabble, on Thursday, but I'll just tell her I'm too busy playing, sorry.
I was willing to help her, twice, but that's it.
I told the story a few weeks ago about an acquaintance of mine. Several months ago the Library had had a Meeting Day, where everyone in Cheyenne who had a club could sign up new members. This woman stopped by...and I didn't really care for her at the time, but she wasn't so egregious that I wouldn't want her in the club - the more members the better.
So she comes to the club one day, and everything was a bit hectic, so I asked one of our other members to take her in hand and show her how to play the game. He plays well, shes an absolute beginner, but she spent the two hours telling him what to do!
So I was glad when she didn't come back.
Then, a couple of weeks ago, I saw her talking to one of my other scabble club members, another beginning player, a guy. And this guy lives on my way into town and the library where we play, so I pick him up. And he mentioned this. So I'm walking outside and see the woman sitting on a bench, and she says, "Do you give people rides?" and I say yes, if they come to my Scrabble club...or if its an emergency.
Long story short. I gave her my email and phone - though I specificed she was not to call me on the phone - I really, really dislike talking on the phone and use it only for emergencies.
Next day, she's clalling me on the phone, asking for a ride. It's urgent.
Well, I gave up my dinner and drove her around to various churches, where she was asking for money to pay her rent that was due that day. (I had no discretionary funds to loan her and wouldn't have anyway...she has no job and I need to be paid back when I loan folks money.)
Also took her out to a place where she could pick up an application - this despite the fact that she ":didn't know if she wanted to work for them. She just wanted to look at it." I'm thinking "You need a job, you're about to be kicked out of your apartment for non-payment of rent, you can't be choosy."
Anyway, I told her about Textbroker, and a couple of days later tried to get her set up with that. First she had to get a Paypal account - Textbroker pays via Paypal, as well as send in her ID to Textbroker so they'd know she lived in the US.
And I don't think she's done that yet.
So, she comes back to Scrabble a week and a half ago...I'd been upstairs showing her something on the computer. I was in a bad mood because the guy I was playing was beating me badly and I was not getting any tiles...so she sits next to me and tries to tell me what to play. Then she sits next to the guy beating me and tries to hell him what to play.
We neither of us paid much attention to her - we were playing the game. We weren't actively rude, just kind of not paying attention to her.
So, she leaves.
That night I email her and say, "Sorry I was so brusque, I don't like losing when I have bad tiles. Let me know if you need more help."
And that was it. Seven days went by and I didn't hear from her. I was surprised but pleased.
This last Saturday, I drove into town to start my week-lomg housesitting of my sister's house. I was at the library, saw her looking at a shelf, walked past her, she said hi, I said, how's it going, did you get on to Textbroker. (Because the last time we'd talked, she'd needed to send in her ID by fax and didn't seem in much of a hurry to do it.)
She said she was having problems getting her Paypal account going.
I said, "Well, I have an errand to run right now but I can be back at 3 o'clock and we can get you set up."
She said, "Well, text me first, to make sure something doesn't come up." That's a paraphrase, but it's neaqr enough. And it's at that point that I gave up on her completely. She's unemployed. It's a Saturday. Yet she's not sure if she can meet me at 3 pm so I can get her paypal set up so she can start earning money???
So...I had no intention of texting her or talking to her ever again. Turned out to be a moot point because instead, she texted me, telling me she'd gotten her paypal account working. I texted back, "OK" - and that was it. No further interest.
So today, Tuesday, 4 days after that, she texts and says, "I think I really messed up."
Well, I don't care enough to text her back and say, "How so." If she'd wanted me to respond, she should have texted me with her actual problem, or emailed me.
So, I'm not bothering with her at all. I su ppose there's a chance she'll stop by the meeting room where we play Scrabble, on Thursday, but I'll just tell her I'm too busy playing, sorry.
I was willing to help her, twice, but that's it.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Today I Learned That ...There's No Helping Some People
I have an acquaintance who is down on her luck. Has no job - and apparently cant' keep any job that she does get. Can't pay her rent and can't get any help to pay her rent until she gets a job.
So, I told her about Textbroker.com. If you're a good writer, you can make money at this site. It's nicer than Elance because you don't have to bid on jobs and wait until you're chosen - the work is there, waiting for you. A single article doesn't pay a lot. It pays peanuts, frankly. But if you sit on your couch all day watching TV, why not watch TV and write at the same time! Make $40 a day or so, and at the end of a month it all adds up.
We were at the library. (She had a computer at home but it was in the shop.)
Well, first she had to set up a Paypal account.Textbroker pays via Paypal. (And they are a legitimate site, by the way, I've worked for them for many years.) Paypal asks for an email. This woman didn't want to use her current email account, so she created a new one. With a new password. I told her to write down her password, and apparently she did so. She didn't choose one that was easy to remember, that's all I can tell you.
Then she set up her Textbroker account, and chose a *different* password. Again, one not easy to remember. I told her to write down that password, too, and she did so.
So then she had to write a 200 word sample article. After five days or so Textbroker would get back to her.
That was Friday.
On Monday, she couldn't get on to either site so I came into town (I live 15 miles away) and helped her with that. For some reason she hadn't brought the sheet of paper on which she'd written her emails. So she changed the password on one of them...then I had to take her to a coffee shop to get a job application, then we went to her apartment so she could get the paper on which her passwords were written,..and she could get into Textbrokerto see if she'd been approved to start writing yet. She hadn't. (But she wrote a good article, I know because I helped her with it.)
Now, she's emailing me (I don't talk on the phone) saying her passwords for Gmail and Textbroker don't work. (She'd had her computer in to get fixed, it's back now.)
Well, I'll try to help her tomorrow, but I think she's a lost cause... I mean I seriously doubt that within the space of two days someone would have hacked both a brand new gmail account and a brand new Textbroker account. Especially when each password was one that had letters and a gazzilion numbers (I couldn't see *what* she was typing when she did her passwords, but I could see *where* on the keyboard she was typing.).
I'm wondering if she's deliberately sabotaging herself for some psychological reason...
So, I told her about Textbroker.com. If you're a good writer, you can make money at this site. It's nicer than Elance because you don't have to bid on jobs and wait until you're chosen - the work is there, waiting for you. A single article doesn't pay a lot. It pays peanuts, frankly. But if you sit on your couch all day watching TV, why not watch TV and write at the same time! Make $40 a day or so, and at the end of a month it all adds up.
We were at the library. (She had a computer at home but it was in the shop.)
Well, first she had to set up a Paypal account.Textbroker pays via Paypal. (And they are a legitimate site, by the way, I've worked for them for many years.) Paypal asks for an email. This woman didn't want to use her current email account, so she created a new one. With a new password. I told her to write down her password, and apparently she did so. She didn't choose one that was easy to remember, that's all I can tell you.
Then she set up her Textbroker account, and chose a *different* password. Again, one not easy to remember. I told her to write down that password, too, and she did so.
So then she had to write a 200 word sample article. After five days or so Textbroker would get back to her.
That was Friday.
On Monday, she couldn't get on to either site so I came into town (I live 15 miles away) and helped her with that. For some reason she hadn't brought the sheet of paper on which she'd written her emails. So she changed the password on one of them...then I had to take her to a coffee shop to get a job application, then we went to her apartment so she could get the paper on which her passwords were written,..and she could get into Textbrokerto see if she'd been approved to start writing yet. She hadn't. (But she wrote a good article, I know because I helped her with it.)
Now, she's emailing me (I don't talk on the phone) saying her passwords for Gmail and Textbroker don't work. (She'd had her computer in to get fixed, it's back now.)
Well, I'll try to help her tomorrow, but I think she's a lost cause... I mean I seriously doubt that within the space of two days someone would have hacked both a brand new gmail account and a brand new Textbroker account. Especially when each password was one that had letters and a gazzilion numbers (I couldn't see *what* she was typing when she did her passwords, but I could see *where* on the keyboard she was typing.).
I'm wondering if she's deliberately sabotaging herself for some psychological reason...
Monday, July 2, 2012
Today I learned that ...a Grape Nehi is not spelled Kneehigh
The only time I've ever heard of a Grape Nehi was when I heard Radar O'Reilly ask for one on MASH. Since I'd never seen it spelled, only heard it, I assumed it was spelled Knee High, and was a reference perhaps to adults who don't drink alcohol, so they are children who only come up to the knee of adults...something of that nature.
But in reading Four-Letter WOrds And other Secrets of a Crossword Insider, by Michelle Arnot, I learned it was spelled Nehi.
And I looked it up at WIkipedia;
Nehi is a flavored soft drink that originated in America. It was introduced in 1924 by Chero-Cola/Union Bottle Works. The "Nehi Corporation" name was adopted in 1928 after the Nehi fruit-flavored sodas became popular. In 1955, the company changed its name to Royal Crown Company, after its RC Cola brand. It was founded by Claude Hatcher, a Georgia grocer, who began bottling ginger ale and root beer in 1905. As of the middle of April 2008, Nehi had become a brand of Dr Pepper Snapple Group.
By 1933, the low point had been passed, and the business was just beginning to stabilize when another tragedy struck. Claude Hatcher, the company's president and guiding light from its formation, died suddenly December 31, 1933. Hatcher was soon replaced by H. R. Mott, vice president of the Nehi Corporation for several years beforehand, and who had been associated with the company since 1920. As new president, he was greeted with a great amount of debt. His all-consuming ambition, however, was to make the company debt-free as quickly as possible and to keep it that way. He updated operations, obtained extensions of credit, and cut expenses. Within a year, the Nehi Corporation was debt-free and ready to move ahead once more.
In the early 20th century, the advertising logo of Nehi was a picture of a seated woman's legs, in which the skirt was high enough to show the stockings up to the knee, suggesting the phrase "knee-high," to illustrate the correct pronunciation of the company name. This was referenced in Jean Shepherd's story "My Old Man and the Lascivious Special Award That Heralded the Birth of Pop Art" in the book In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash, as well as in the film A Christmas Story, which was adapted from the book.
Robert Ripley helped the Nehi Corporation, when he advertised for them on his radio show "Ripley's Believe It or Not!" By 1940, Nehi products were available in forty-seven of the forty-eight states. In 1946, the pace for the Corporation accelerated tremendously. The company began to enhance its advertising by using celebrities. Bing Crosby, Joan Crawford (before joining the Pepsi Cola Company board of directors), Bob Hope, and many others joined in selling the products of Nehi Corporation. When World War II was over, the company and its bottlers joined whole-heartedly in a progressive program of expansion and improvement that made 1947 one of the great years in the history of the enterprise. In that year, glamorous Hedy Lamarr was pictured in point of purchase advertising signs. At that time, Nehi Corporation offered more than ten flavors. Those included Dr. Nehi, Nehi Chocolate, Nehi Root Beer, Nehi Lemonade, Nehi Wild Red, Nehi Blue Cream, and its more classic flavors Nehi Orange, Nehi Grape, and Nehi Peach. Many of these flavors were later dropped as their novelty and popularity waned.
Later, the Nehi Corporation reformulated Chero-Cola, naming it Royal Crown Cola. "RC" Cola sold so well that the company changed its name to Royal Crown Cola Co. Internationally, Royal Crown rebranded the Nehi flavors as RCQ
But in reading Four-Letter WOrds And other Secrets of a Crossword Insider, by Michelle Arnot, I learned it was spelled Nehi.
And I looked it up at WIkipedia;
Nehi is a flavored soft drink that originated in America. It was introduced in 1924 by Chero-Cola/Union Bottle Works. The "Nehi Corporation" name was adopted in 1928 after the Nehi fruit-flavored sodas became popular. In 1955, the company changed its name to Royal Crown Company, after its RC Cola brand. It was founded by Claude Hatcher, a Georgia grocer, who began bottling ginger ale and root beer in 1905. As of the middle of April 2008, Nehi had become a brand of Dr Pepper Snapple Group.
History
The Chero-Cola company added Nehi Cola to its line of sodas in 1924 in order to offer a broader variety of flavors. It originally offered orange, grape, root beer, peach, and other flavors of soda. Nehi was instantly successful and outsold Chero-Cola entirely. The company changed its name to Nehi Corporation in 1928 and was listed on the New York Curb Exchange. Business went well until 1930 when a major crisis occurred. Reflecting the Great Depression, which followed with the stock market crash of October 1929, Nehi Corporation's sales figures dropped one million dollars in 1930 from a high of $3.7 million in the previous year. Sales continued to decline until 1932, the only year in which the company had ever lost money.By 1933, the low point had been passed, and the business was just beginning to stabilize when another tragedy struck. Claude Hatcher, the company's president and guiding light from its formation, died suddenly December 31, 1933. Hatcher was soon replaced by H. R. Mott, vice president of the Nehi Corporation for several years beforehand, and who had been associated with the company since 1920. As new president, he was greeted with a great amount of debt. His all-consuming ambition, however, was to make the company debt-free as quickly as possible and to keep it that way. He updated operations, obtained extensions of credit, and cut expenses. Within a year, the Nehi Corporation was debt-free and ready to move ahead once more.
In the early 20th century, the advertising logo of Nehi was a picture of a seated woman's legs, in which the skirt was high enough to show the stockings up to the knee, suggesting the phrase "knee-high," to illustrate the correct pronunciation of the company name. This was referenced in Jean Shepherd's story "My Old Man and the Lascivious Special Award That Heralded the Birth of Pop Art" in the book In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash, as well as in the film A Christmas Story, which was adapted from the book.
Robert Ripley helped the Nehi Corporation, when he advertised for them on his radio show "Ripley's Believe It or Not!" By 1940, Nehi products were available in forty-seven of the forty-eight states. In 1946, the pace for the Corporation accelerated tremendously. The company began to enhance its advertising by using celebrities. Bing Crosby, Joan Crawford (before joining the Pepsi Cola Company board of directors), Bob Hope, and many others joined in selling the products of Nehi Corporation. When World War II was over, the company and its bottlers joined whole-heartedly in a progressive program of expansion and improvement that made 1947 one of the great years in the history of the enterprise. In that year, glamorous Hedy Lamarr was pictured in point of purchase advertising signs. At that time, Nehi Corporation offered more than ten flavors. Those included Dr. Nehi, Nehi Chocolate, Nehi Root Beer, Nehi Lemonade, Nehi Wild Red, Nehi Blue Cream, and its more classic flavors Nehi Orange, Nehi Grape, and Nehi Peach. Many of these flavors were later dropped as their novelty and popularity waned.
Later, the Nehi Corporation reformulated Chero-Cola, naming it Royal Crown Cola. "RC" Cola sold so well that the company changed its name to Royal Crown Cola Co. Internationally, Royal Crown rebranded the Nehi flavors as RCQ
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