Privacy

Each of us needs privacy to think, to plan, to be away from the everyday clamor of our lives. (Sefra Kobrin Pitzele, One More Day, 23 November)

I will keep an open mind, I will apply what I learn to my everyday life. (One Day At A Time in Al-Anon, 4 January)

21/Jan/2010 8:09

Deal With It

It is a great piece of skill to know how to guide your luck even while waiting for it. (Balstar Gracian in One More Day by Sefra Kobrin Pitzele, 23 December)

... life gives exams and unless you learn from your mistakes you are doomed to repeat them. (Dr. Wayne Dyer, Real Magic, p. 7)

******

Yesterday I spent several hours sorting, shredding and filing paper. I filled and emptied the shredder basket. When I stopped I could hardly notice that I'd done anything. There are a couple of recent business letters missing somewhere in the clutter. It's a constant issue.

I tried to use a discount card to pay for some medication. The computer rejected the card with a message stating that the card had expired. I used my cellphone to call the number on the card. They drug company told me we'd never used the card. I knew that was wrong. I used it in the last month. I left the card at the pharmacy because there was another number they could call. Later I tried to call the pharmacy to check on whether they had resolved the matter. Of course, they didn't answer their phone. Next I went back to the store. They still hadn't called the drug company. Finally, about 6:00 p.m. they called to let me know I could get a discount if we bought a thirty-day supply rather than a ninety-day supply. If you aren't really sick before you go to the doctor and the pharmacy you will be by the time you are done dealing with the health care business.

Mr. Dickie

A Change of Scene

A change of scene, a new interest, a creative undertaking - these are healing medicine for the troubled. (One Day At A Time in Al-Anon, 24 December)

Business as usual is not enough; we need to reexamine our priorities. (The Upper Room Disciplines - 2006, 5 December)

My home acts as one of the roots of my life, and it has all the qualities that I bring to it. (Sefra Kobrin Pitzele, One More Day, 21 December)

******

Yesterday there was a large crowd at the Computer Club meeting. I think every seat was taken. Eric gave a very nice presentation on screen capture. His slides were on the club website. The talk reminded me of just how rapidly both my computer and I are fast moving towards obsolescence.

It snowed last night. It was the fluffy kind, not too heavy. I was able to clear the driveway, porch and sidewalks myself.

Mr. Dickie

Positive Things

Unhappiness is not knowing what we want and killing ourselves to get it. (Don Harold in Acts of Faith by Iyanla Vanzant, 28 December)

Better to know a few things which are good and necessary than many things which are useless and mediocre. (Anonymous in A Calendar of Wisdom by Leo Tolstoy, 1 January)

Today, I will let go of all I'm trying to cope with. I will pick one or two small, positive things I can do. Then I will do them. (Sefra Kobrin Pitzele, One More Day, 25 December)

******

Today is the first computer club meeting of the new year. Eric will give a presentation on screen capture. I modified the club website to get ready for 2010. I moved the minutes for 2009 and 2008 to a separate page.

Mr. Dickie

Happy New Year

It's often difficult to listen to good advice; it's even harder to accept it. (Sefra Kobrin Pitzele, One More Day, 13 December)

When confronted with a difficult choice, we need to listen carefully for the small voice of conscience which warns us of disaster ahead if we choose foolishly. (Food For Thought, 21 December)

In quiet and solitude, I listen to the whisperings of my higher self. (Susan Smith-Jones, Choose to Live Each Day Fully, Day 349)

As I sit in silence, a time of sacred reverence, I relax and let go of any thought that does not affirm health and wholeness. Colleen Zuck, et al., Daily Word For Healing, p. 294)

******

The End Is In Sight

... allowing others the right to be wrong reaps its own benefits. (Daily Reflections, 21 December)

It is well that there is no one without a fault, for he would not have a friend in the world. (William Hazlitt in One More Day by Sefra Kobrin Pitzele, 16 December)

There is a soul force in the universe, which if we permit it, will flow through us and produce miraculous results. (Mahatma Gandhi in Acts of Faith by Iyanla Vanzant, 2 December)

******

As a result of the Christmas greeting exchange I made another Facebook friend. This year the number of cards received is way down. That's all right, because the number of Christmas Emails is up. I really like the Email greetings because we get more news, along with updated addresses and phone numbers.

I'm on schedule to finish my year-long reading efforts on Thursday. I've set aside two stacks of books as candidates for my 2010 daily reading.

I think I have finished adding names to all of the Notes in my Boughner genealogy GEDCOM file. This project took more time than I thought. I've run some tests while doing the updates. I can make two genealogies from this file. The Daniel and Catherine Boughner family is the larger report, about 300 pages. The report for the family of Adam Henthorn and Nancy Hood is about 260 pages. If things go as planned I'll announce that these reports are ready in early January.

Mr. Dickie

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year - 2009

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
2009

Today, I will let my friends know just how important they are to me. (Sefra Kobrin Pitzele, One More Day, 16 December)

Clear thinking means we don't allow ourselves to become immersed in negativity or unrealistic expectations. (Melody Beattie, The Language of Letting Go, 14 December)

Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. (Hebrews 13:16 (RSV), Daily Guideposts - 2006, 13 December)

******

To everyone who reads Mr. Dickie's Blog either on Google or Facebook we hope the year 2009 has been good to you, that you, your family and friends have had good health and good jobs. To those with health issues we pray that the new year will bring better days.

We appreciate the efforts our friends and family make to stay in touch via letters, telephone calls, Email, blogs, and Facebook. It was great to see more photos this year than ever before.

In spite of another computer disaster when my laptop stopped working I have managed to stay connected to the Internet. This was my year to finally get a high-speed Internet connection from Verizon FIOS. Phone callers to our house like this because after many years the phone line is open.

In October 2008 AOL dropped free website support. This created another mess. The genealogy website I'd maintained on AOL was no longer available. During the year I have been slowly posting some of the information again. Some is on my two Google genealogy blogs and some is on my private Google "group" and "site." If you are interested is seeing the private genealogy information contact me for further instructions. Some documents I made available for the first time.

I've been busy posting to the Internet all year long. I've enjoyed taking an active part in posting to the social networking site, Facebook. On Facebook we kept in touch with relatives in Panama and made friends with several members of the younger generation of our family in this country. As of December 22nd I'd posted over 280 bookmarks to the social bookmarking application Delicious. I posted 208 times to my genealogy "News" blog; 347 times to my Arrow Prayers blog, 124 times to the genealogy "Obits" blog, and 370 times to "Mr. Dickie's" blog. That's approximately 1,330 posts for the year.

It is my hope that if you took the time to find and read anything I posted that you found something interesting, useful or thought provoking from time to time.

Let's stay in touch in 2010.
Mr. Dickie

Holiday Season

In the holidays ahead, I will continue to do the things that have been special . I will abandon any pattern that gives me no joy. (Sefra Kobrin Pitzele, One More Day, 17 December)

******

Today Melva and I are going to attend the Christmas luncheon of the Bowie Seniors Computer Club in Laurel.

There was an interesting story on page one of The Washington Post this morning about how a young woman used Facebook to locate two people who found her on a doorstep as an abandoned baby many years ago.

Mr. Dickie

Holiday Season

Before you rush into the holiday season, take a few moments to recollect your own favorite Christmas memories. (Elaine St. James, Simplify Your Christmas, p. 5)

One of the most difficult problems is maintaining a balance between dealing with [a] ... chronic problem and wanting to live without it. (Sefra Kobrin Pitzele, One More Day, 7 December)

Keeping Busy

The choices I make today will affect the quality of my future. (Sefra Kobrin Pitzele, One More Day, 29 November)

******

I'm working on a project to improve the ability of the computer club to keep the information about classes up-to-date. Enrollment for the next series of classes begins on December 8th. There's a link on the Senior Center website that needs to be changed to point to the club's website. We rely on someone else to make that change. The goal is to eliminate redundancy and make it unnecessary to make changes on the Senior Center's website in the future.

I'm interested in learning more about two freeware program I found: CSVed and WhizNote. I downloaded and installed both programs on my computer. The CSV program can read comma, separated, value text files and display them in a database table. The WhizNote program can be used to take notes which can be linked together, much like hyperlinked webpages. Both programs appear to have lots of functionality. There is good documentation. Perhaps I'll write more about them if I can find the time to learn how to use them effectively.

Computer Club Website

Accepting our friends and family for what they are rather than what we idealize them to be, is part of growing up emotionally. It is our own weakness and insecurity that causes us to try to make gods out of other people. (Food For Thought, 5 November)

Our lives are happier and our emotions more even when we realize we are choosing our reactions. (Sefra Kobrin Pitzele, One More Day)

******

The website committee meeting of the Computer Club was quite interesting. Five of us were able to attend. Bob brought his laptop and gave a PowerPoint presentation about his view of the website issues. We used the conference room and the projector. The WiFi connection to the Internet worked perfectly. As usual I learned things I didn't know and had to think about issues that had never come to mind. We discussed the fact that we don't have feedback about how much usage the website gets. We all agreed that it would be a good idea to have at least one visitor counter on the website. They also made me aware that it's possible to install a "Message Forum" on a website using free, inserted, HTML code. I became aware that I didn't have a handle on the website password. That's because I have it hard coded in the FTP program. I reviewed my notes to make certain I had that information. Barry suggested looking at the applications of Bravenet. In the evening I installed their visitor counter and message forum software on the website. All of this discussion about the club website reminds me of the saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Mr. Dickie

Shareware

I will not be frightened of growing older, for I intend to do so with the pride and integrity developed with age and experience. (Sefra Kobrin Pitzele, One More Day, 1 November)

Thought is the glorification of truth; therefore, bad thoughts are those which have not been thought through to the end. (Anonymous in A Calendar of Wisdom by Leo Tolstoy, 5 November)

******

I found the website of Vernon Buerg. He was one of the first programmers to offer "shareware." He wrote the very nice DOS program, LIST, that I used for many years. I think the is a Windows version of the program. I'll have to spend more time looking at the website.

I also found a program that can be used to catalog computer files. I intend to go back to that website to learn more about it.

Mr. Dickie

Conger Week

Meditation is something which can always be further developed. ... it is essentially an individual adventure which each one of us works out in his own way. (Daily Reflections, 8 November)

I strive for balance in my life by finding peace in my own company as well as in the presence of others. (Susan Smith-Jones, Choose to Live Each Day Fully, Day 323)

I am the only one who can decide which great things I will begin today. (Sefra Kobrin Pitzele, One More Day, 6 November)

******

Saturday I completed two weeks of posting information about members of the Conger family to my Google genealogy "News" blog. When I started I thought I only had enough articles for one week, so I dubbed the project, CongerWeek. I have no idea whether any members of the Conger family have found the blog.

The fifteen day test period for a program I was testing, ClikView, ended yesterday. I liked the program. Now I need to decide whether I like it enough to spend $35.00 on it. I own several other programs that are much more useful which didn't cost that much including my genealogy program, RootsMagic.

Mr. Dickie

Driving Myself Crazy

I remember those happy days and often wish I could speak into the ears of the dead the gratitude which was due to them in life and so ill-returned. (Gwyn Thomas in One More Day by Sefra Kobrin Pitzele, 5 November)

Our parents ... provide the buffer between life and death. (Suzanne Somers, 365 Ways to Change Your Life, Day 333)

******

I downloaded and installed another copy of Ancestral Author. I was able to get it running. There are many program settings. Of course I've forgotten what most of them do and how I had them set on the other computer.

I spent time on the phone talking to a lady in Utah about Conger genealogy. Afterwards I tried to extract some information for her from a Conger file I have on a Zip disk. There must be something wrong with the file. I'm not sure I will be able to do what I wanted to do.

As part of my program to "drive myself crazy" I straightened up the 3x5 cards and other notes laying on the table beside the computer. Then, later in the day, I realized that the notes I need to finish my CongerWeek project disappeared. I looked through all of the papers several times and didn't find the note. Just before I turned out the lights in the computer room I looked at the 3x5 cards one more time. This time I looked at both sides of each card. I wonder why I didn't think about doing this before. I found the note I needed to do my posting today.

Mr. Dickie

We Are Not In Charge

If you want to do a good deed, do it now. The time will pass, and you will not have the chance again. (Anonymous in A Calendar of Wisdom by Leo Tolstoy, 18 October)

It's ... essential to find some time to be alone every day so you can turn within and pay attention to what your higher self is telling you. (Susan Smith Jones, Choose to Live Each Day Fully, Day 282)

I can find a healthy balance between my time with others and my time along. (Sefra Kobrin Pitzele, One More Day, 27 October)

******

I tried to register online so we could add funds to our Western Union phone card. I couldn't get through the process and I couldn't understand their cryptic error messages. When I called the 800 number they wouldn't help me because the card is in Melva's name. I have a hunch that it would have been possible to help without violating any security issues if the person on the phone had been willing to work on the problem. When I got fed up with the conversation I just hung up and went back to adding funds by making a phone call to another 800 number like I have been doing for a couple of years.

I watched a report last night about the demolition of houses in Flint, Michigan. There are about 10,000 abandoned houses. It looked like many of them have been burned or trashed by squatters. The city is knocking down the houses and clearing the land. One of the leaders said they will turn the land into gardens and parks. I suppose there are other cities where the same thing is happening. The home owners in our development need to put our county authorities under pressure to stay on top of the situation where we have vacant homes.

Mr. Dickie

Amphibian Death Traps

There are good days and bad days and mediocre days. (Food For Thought, 19 October)

Do not be concerned too much with what will happen. Everything which happens will be good and useful for you. (Anonymous in A Calendar of Wisdom by Leo Tolstoy, 21 October)

Changed circumstances can play havoc with our lives. (Sefra Kobrin Pitzele, One More Day, 16 October)

You must clear your mind in order to think clearly. (REH after Suzanne Somers in 365 Ways to Change Your Life, Day 316)

******

I read an interesting report I found on the Internet, written by the NTSB in 2000, about the seaworthiness of amphibians of World War II (Ducks) and Vietnam Era (LARCs). There are still something less than 300 of them in use. Many are used to give rides to tourists at the various tourist traps such as Branson, MO. Neither vessel was designed to transport people. The old Ducks have eight to twelve inches of freeboard at the stern when loaded. This means that the vessel can be swamped and sink in six or seven minutes if the hull is breached. The report listed the names and locations of the companies that use these vessels to carry tourists. There were recommendations that water-tight bulkheads and additional flotation devices be installed in all vessels. I suppose NTSB didn't have authority to mandate that these safety improvements be made. Please think about this before you let any of your family members take a ride in any of these death traps.

I found the Zip disc with my genealogy GIF image files. I also found some additional free genealogy GIF files on the Internet. I'll use some of them on my genealogy blogs in the days ahead. This morning when I started the computer it ran a check on the Zip disc. I wonder what that was about.

Mr. Dickie

I Did It Again

Some people have a way of acting as if their life is not their responsibility. (Iyanla Vanzant, Until Today! 19 October)

I will work on keeping a peaceful mind in order to smooth out my rougher days. (Sefra Kobrin Pitzele, One More Day, 20 October)

Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake. (Victor Hugo in Courage to Change, 19 October)

******

I woke up at 5:30 a.m. Both sides of my nose were blocked. Once I was awake I didn't try to go back to sleep. I did my daily reading, read some of the newspaper, put on a Brahms CD and the headset, and turned on the computer. I'm ready for another day.

I did it again. Twice in the last month I bought CDs at the thrift store that weren't really CDs. I mean to say, they were samples or promos. They looked like CDs but both of them only had two songs. Oh well, I only spent a dollar. I hope I got the message. I'm not really looking at what I am buying.

I noticed in the book I am reading about Google Apps that I can assign "labels" to my document files that I save in the Docs App. I missed that the first time I read the chapter about this application.

We are trying to get all of the plants Melva brought inside under the lights. I made some adjustments to how the trays sit under the lights. I also moved some of the chains that suspend the shoplights in order to make better use of the length of each chain. I didn't do a good job when I bought the chain and cut it into pieces. Some pieces are too short. We get the best results when the lamps are close to the plants.

Mr. Dickie

Phone Calls

The purpose of your life is not to do as the majority does, but to live according to the inner law which you understand in yourself. Do not act against your conscience or against the truth. Live like this, and you will fulfill the task of your life. (Marcus Aurelius in A Calendar of Wisdom by Leo Tolstoy, 23 October)

Don't let life discourage you; everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was. (Richard L. Evans in One More Day by Sefra Kobrin Pitzele, 16 October)

The educated person sins greatly if he continues to behave in a way he knows is wrong. (Anonymous in A Calendar of Wisdom by Leo Tolstoy, 24 September)

******

I'm behind one day in my daily reading. It seems as soon as I catch up I'm willing to slack off the next day. I think today is the 298th day of the year. I need to stay on top of my reading program if I am going to finish all of the books on the last day of the year. I've already set aside two stacks of books that I want to read in 2010.

This morning I had a nice long phone conversation with one of my former co-workers from The Library of Congress. I'm trying to remember to take advantage of the fact that we now have unlimited long distance calling. During the week I called, Jo, my long friend in genealogy. We also keep in touch via Email.

I've been reading some of the accounts about the Vietnam tours of duty written by members of the 1099th Transportation Company (Medium Boat). I'm impressed. I don't think I had much of an idea about what was going on in this unit while I was in Vietnam. I take my hat off to all of the men who served in that unit.

Mr. Dickie

I Can't Remember

Just for today, make sure that what you know about yourself is reflected in what you say about yourself, because what you say about yourself influences what you believe about yourself. (Iyanla Vanzant, Until today!, 1 October)

I face challenges every day - some public, but many private. I will try to do my personal best. (Sefra Kobrin Pitzele, One More Day, 24 September)

The joys that today offers must be personally claimed, by each of us, or they will pass by unnoticed. (Sefra Kobrin Pitzele, One More Day, 12 October)

******

I've started to gather the books I plan to read from each day in 2010. So far I've been able to find all of the ones that came to mind. I was surprised by how many I found that I've never read. I have a few favorites, that I'm reading now, I intend to read some of them again next year. I wish I could remember how many years I have been following this practice.

Today there is an article in the Style section of The Washington Post about Facebook. The author's contention is that Facebook has now run its course. It's strange that the press is writing these articles when Facebook just became profitable and passed the 300 million member mark. Does the press invent stories when they have nothing else to report? If you don't think so, just reflect back to last week to examine the coverage given to "The Balloon Boy" story.

Yesterday I had trouble with my memory. I was trying to remember where my old website pages (in HTML) are stored. The worst part of it was only a few days have gone by since I last looked at the files. I know from past experience to just "let it go" when this happens. The more I obsess about it the less likelihood there is of getting what I want out of my brain. Oh well, I suppose my self-help books tell me that this is part of the joys of growing older.

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Mr. Dickie

Windows 7

To be what we are, and to become what we are capable of becoming is the only end of life. (Robert Louis Stevenson in One More Day by Sefra Kobrin Pitzele, 24 September)

[I'll] ... add a spiritual dimension to my life; then I will never be alone in dealing with whatever troubles may appear. (One Day at a Time in Al-Anon, 4 September)

We can change negatives into positives, but it requires time and great emotional effort. (Sefra Kobrin Pitzele, One More Day, 9 October)

The kiss of the sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth,
One is nearer God's heart in a garden,
Than anywhere else on earth.

******

Yesterday at the Computer Club meeting one of the members talked about the factors to consider before making a decision whether to upgrade your computer to Windows 7. Afterwards I got to thinking, "I've become obsolete." He discussed what people using Windows XP would need to consider and what people using Windows Vista would need to consider. He didn't mention Windows 2000 and I didn't bother to ask. Windows 2000 Professional is the operating system installed on my laptop that broke and the desktop computer I'm using now. Maybe that's fortunate. If I want to use Windows 7 all I need to do is buy a new computer with the operating system installed.

I'm having fun making Facebook friends with some family members of the younger generation. For the first time some of our relatives in the United States have become my friends.

Mr. Dickie