I recently received a truly personal surprise. Adria Richards, my computer consultant and social media mentor, presented me with a GelaSkins Protective Cover bookshelf motif for my Kindle DX.  The Kindle is not very glamorous or eye-catching in its visual design, so applying the bookshelf skin really added pizzazz, and anything featuring books appeals to my eye.

Adria, your insight and thoughtfulness into who I am and what appeals to me sincerely touched me. Thank you so very much!

Kindle Observations

As Adria is the person who has encouraged me to blog, and as I have been quite remiss these past few months, I will take this time to also share my thoughts on the Kindle.

I have had my Kindle DX for 8 months now, and I love it.  Has it replaced my first true love of traditional paper books?  No.  It has, however, definitely found a niche in my reading library.  Here are just a few of the features that appeal to me:

Techie cool. As indicated in my previous blog, I think the Kindle is just cool.  Having multiple books available on one device that is easy to read, has a built-in dictionary and can bookmark, highlight and look up content for later reference, is embracing and utilizing technology to enhance my love of reading.  It has also been a great conversational tool. Many people have approached me to inquire about and examine it and always walk away intrigued.

Free 3G Wireless.  At the touch of a button, I can access the internet with no annual contracts, no monthly fees, and no hunting for Wi-Fi hotspots. I can download books from the Kindle within seconds from Amazon.  I haven’t yet used the built-in PDF reader.

Free Book Samples. Downloading to read first chapters of a book for free to decide if you like it is awesome.  I have done this many times.  I wasn’t sure if I would like Pat Conroy’s South of Broad but, after reading the first chapter, I was hooked and bought it.  I was happy I did.

Lightweight and Slim.  The Kindle DX weighs a little over a pound and has the thickness of an average magazine.  This is important when comparing it to the weight of South of Broad or the 1088 pages of Under the Dome by Stephen King.  I picked up Under the Dome at the bookstore and it weighed 3.65 pounds!  No way did I want to lug that around.

Long Battery Life.  Now everyone knows the rotten battery life of the iPhone and most laptops.  Amazon says you can read for up to 1 week on a single charge with wireless on, and I have found this to be true.  However, I usually turn it off when not using it, so I can go a couple of weeks without recharging.  How great is that!

Screensaver Images.  This might seem irrelevant to some people, but I absolutely love the screensaver images. There are over 25 different images that randomly appear when you put the Kindle to sleep.  They evoke and represent so well the passion and delight of all things literary.  

With all the controversy and chatter about the new Apple iPad, which I look forward to checking out, I have been more than satisfied with my Kindle.  I purchased it as a reading device and it has delivered beautifully

A library may look like a single building, but please don’t be misled by the walls. It’s a single link in an enormous chain. It’s a single being in a gigantic ecosystem of words and thoughts and ideas.   ~  Shula Klinger

I recently returned from a relaxing, two-week road trip — destination Manhattan, New York.  While I could write about the benefits of  traveling by car, how truly beautiful America is and the sights, towns and people I encountered, I want to focus on how technology enhanced my trip and made it worry-free.

Internet. Truly this is the most amazing technology I have ever encountered and it still amazes me the vast amount of information available at my fingertips.  The internet allowed us to leisurely plan our trip, research destinations, book hotels and even check the forecasted weather in determining what clothes to pack.

Global Positioning System. As quaint, artful and memory-filled navigating a car using a paper map can be, GPS is the only way to travel.  We have a proprietary system built into our car.  Before even leaving the driveway, we entered our destination, The Blue Moon Hotel, New York City, New York.  It promptly configured our route and approximately how long it would take to arrive.  We could even choose the gender and accent of our personal navigator.

A useful feature of GPS is the ability to check for gas stations, points of interest, hotels, restaurants, etc., by distance from our current location. We used these features to make impromptu stops at the University of Notre Dame, Queen of the Holy Rosary Shrine in Necedah, Wisconsin and the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where we viewed the prison cell occupied by Al Capone.  These were unplanned yet very fun and memorable stops.

The GPS directed us effortlessly all the way with turn-by-turn instructions right to the front door of our hotel.  Even driving in Manhattan was not difficult or stressful.

Bluetooth Car and Cell Phone Synchronization. The ability of my car and iPhone to sync when the car is started allows for a more safe, hands-free use.  The car even reads my telephone directory and can display who is calling, if listed, on the GPS navigation screen.  All controls are located on the steering wheel for easy and safe access.  Upon pushing a button to answer the call, the volume of the radio mutes and your conversation occurs through the vehicle’s speaker system.  When your call is finished, click another button to end the call and the radio resumes. This feature is my favorite on my car.

Cell Phones – iPhone 3Gs. By now we all know the benefits of cell phones, but it still needs to be restated.  I use the iPhone 3Gs and my husband a Samsung.  Aside from the phones allowing us the peace of mind being able to keep in touch with our family at home and employees at work, it came in very useful when we went in different directions from each other and needed to meet back up.

The iPhone was indispensable.  I used it to Twitter throughout the trip, take photos for personal as well as business purposes and upload to Twitpic and Flickr, check my email, keep in touch through instant messaging, and also download the iTunes app UpNext 3D NYC for walking directions in Manhattan. Not to mention listening to music, an audio book from Audible.com or watching a video when bored. I watched You’ve Got Mail in anticipation of the sights and sounds of Manhattan. The iPhone rocks!

Car CD Player. Now this device is not new but provided about 20 hours of enjoyable listening to the novel, The Gold Coast by Nelson DeMille.  There is an art to listening to an unabridged book-on-tape.  Your mind tends to wander and you can miss crucial information, but listening with a spouse ensures at least one of you knows what is going on.  We listened on average in two-hour intervals, unless something really exciting was happening and we would just insert another disk.

SiriusXM Satellite Radio. This audio technology was invaluable.  Traveling long distances can mean constant fiddling with the radio to find not only your desired choice of listening but clear reception too.  With satellite radio you have excellent reception all the time with easy access to your favorite stations at your fingertips.  I would have gone through serious withdrawal without Fox News Channel!

Kindle DX. As a self-proclaimed bibliophile, I had to get the Kindle DX.  It cannot replace the feel of holding a book, the anticipation of turning that first page, and pleasurable yet melancholy sigh that escapes as you close the finished tome.  However, the Kindle is lightweight, easily portable, holds hundreds of books and can download a new one with the click of a button, and is just plain techie cool!  I began reading South of Broad by Pat Conroy.

Mac Laptops. I brought my MacBook Air and my husband his heavier MacBook Pro.  My husband uses his mostly for email and internet browsing.  This trip he had items for sale on k-bid and he was able to check nightly on their progress.

My MacBook Air is my travel laptop because of its lightweight.  I have transferred many movies and music onto this laptop. It works seamlessly with my iPhone, so I could transfer photos taken, too.  Using wireless technology and the internet, I was able to pay bills on line, Bo’s college tuition and even connect to my work computer when a question arose.

Wireless Broadband Modem. While many hotels offer free wireless internet, not all do.  Some charge $15 a day per computer or offer only ethernet cable connectivity, which my MacBook Air does not have.  A year ago I purchased a Novatel wireless modem with Sprint as the service provider.  It is a small USB device that you just plug into your computer, click on connect and that’s it. Having this handy tool allows me to access the internet and my business computers pretty much anywhere I ever go at anytime.  This device provides mental freedom for me.

Technology Consultant. My technology consultant is Adria Richards of Aden Networks.  Adria has proven to be the most vital resource in my life of technology.  She introduced me to the software application LogMeIn, which allows me to log into all my business computers from anywhere through the internet.  It is easy to use, fast and allows my Mac to control my PC.  This software has been awesome.

As our IT consultant, Adria maintains our server and computers (ten at the moment), monitors daily backups and software updates, provides online workshops in technology by increasing your presence on the web, and troubleshoots any problems that arise.  All these technology services are routinely done remotely, which allows for immediate help when needed.  The assurance that I have someone so competent that I can rely on when away is the best technology resource of all!

For the first 20 years of our marriage the only weeklong vacation we took was our honeymoon.  Otherwise, a long weekend here and there was it.  Being self-employed, we were pretty much anchored to home and business.  Fortunately, we now take regular get-a-ways and three to four long road trips each year — worry free because of the evolution and utilization of technology.

Let’s see, I think maybe a trip to San Francisco in January ….

– The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.

St. Augustine

I did not plan on having my second post be about a disability.  I didn’t even think I had another disability to write about.  I was wrong.  At least this disability is not mine.

I was reading a blog post at But You’re a Girl by Adria Richards about color blind web designers and her post brought back humorous memories of real life and color deficiency colliding.  My husband and five sons all have varying degrees of color deficiency.

First, I’d like to get the technical jargon out of the way.  When most people use the term color blind, they are usually referring to color vision deficiency. Most people with color deficiency can see colors, but they have difficulty differentiating between shades of reds and greens or blues and yellows.  It is very rare, but people who are totally color blind can only see things as black and white or in shades of gray and is called achromatopsia.  For my purposes, I will use the familiar term color blindness for color deficiency.

I met my husband when I was sixteen years old.  It really was infatuation at first sight and has continued for the last 35 years.  Yes, I am half-a-century old.  Anyway, he was always quite well dressed, but there was this one time…  I vividly remember sitting outside his house while he went and did a quick change of clothes.  Out he comes, bounding down the steps in a pink velour shirt and khaki-green pants.  I looked at him and thought, what the hell?  Not having dated all that long, I didn’t actually say that.  However, there must have been an odd look on my face because he asked me what was wrong.  I asked him why he was wearing a pink shirt with green pants (in 1977 young men really didn’t wear pink).  He said he thought his shirt was green.  I said, nope.  He then told me he was color blind.  Needless to say, he went and changed again.  I have been his color coordinator ever since.

I can’t remember the exact situation when I realized my first son, John, was color blind, but my antenna was up with the rest of the boys.  When they all started school, I would remind each teacher of this. They all went to a close-knit, neighborhood Catholic school where teachers knew families by name.  When John was in 8th grade the school had a new art teacher.  By this time, though, I had forgot to mention to her John’s condition.  One evening I received a telephone call from her and she just starts profusely apologizing for hollering at John.  I had no idea what she was talking about.  She proceeds to tell me of the art project that week where students had to do a chalk drawing of a classmate.  John had drawn a girl and given her a green face!  She then hollered at him for being cruel and gave him an F.  Later she was retelling this incident to fellow teachers when they informed her he was color blind and probably didn’t realize it.  Thus, the phone call to me.  I laughed and told her not to worry about it, as I should have told her in the first place.  When I asked John about it, he told me he had asked someone if the chalk was pink since it had no wrapper (they were taught to always read the color on the wrapper).  The male classmate had said yes.  John had no idea it was green until the teacher blew up.   We all had a good laugh.  She also changed his grade to an A-.

My second son, David, has a few colorful incidents.  David had drawn a bookmark for a school project with colored pencils. When he went to color the main character, a mouse, the names on the pencils were unusual ones he didn’t recognize and ended up coloring the mouse–what else–green!  We were able to cover up the green with brown so it just looked multi-colored and quite nice.  I will also never forget the time he asked me why the Minnesota Vikings were called the Purple People Eaters when the team colors were blue!  Boy, did we have a laugh at that one.  None of the boys can see purple.

My third son, Matthew, experienced his first color drama in first grade.  He had a math test where you had to count different colors of fish.  Obviously, he got some of those problems wrong.  When he showed me his paper he asked why the problems were marked wrong.  When I told him the teacher forgot he couldn’t see the different colors, he didn’t want me to say anything.  It never happened again, as Matthew always made sure he knew what the colors were!

My fourth and fifth sons, Stephen and Bo, had the same experiences with the same teacher.  It was first grade again, this time with Sister Joan.  When I told her Stephen was color blind, she seemed understanding and indicated she would make a note of it.  Well, I guess she meant she would make notice of it as she stood in front of the whole class and said that even though Stephen had a handicap of color blindness, he should be treated just like everyone else.  Consequently, after the first day of school Stephen came home hopping mad and said he hated Sister Joan!

The next year when Bo gets her for first grade, I tell her he has just a slight degree of color blindness, hoping nothing will be made of it.   Unfortunately, that year there was also a girl who was hearing-impaired, and Sister Joan decides to speak of both their handicaps to the whole class because, you know, there is comfort in numbers. Needless to say, Bo came home and informed me he  hated Sister Joan!  We reminisce and laugh.

The boys are now in their late teens and early twenties, but every so often one of them still makes a fashion color faux pas or my husband buys a god-awful color of paint and we all laugh.

Laughter gives us distance. It allows us to step back from an event, deal with it and then move on.

–Bob Newhart

We all have talents that we treasure and that define us.  What happens when your talents turn into disabilities?

Talent One – Public Discourse.  Learning has come easy to me and I enjoy it.  I think it stems back to kindergarten and learning to read.  It came fast and easy and I have never stopped.  Reading allowed me to experience a wide range of ideas and opinions of which my own grew.  Being well informed allows one to engage in public discourse with confidence.  There is nothing better than a lively political discussion.

Talent Two – Artistic Dexterity.  I am not sure if artistic dexterity is the right terminology, but I have always been able to learn tasks that required hand and finger dexterity easily and to my enjoyment.  This first began with penmanship.  I was able to write in many different styles and mediums fluently.  Later I began to draw and realized, with practice, I did fairly well.  I also enjoy music and decided to take piano lessons when I was about 21.  While I am no “pianist,” with practice I play and take pleasure in it.  I also learned the saxophone and then the guitar; however, my guitar skill was sub par as I have small hands and short fingers.  I also like planting flower gardens and landscaping.  All these activities have brought much enjoyment and fulfillment to my life.

So, how have my talents changed?  Three years ago I was diagnosed with a neurological disorder called Myasthenia Gravis.  In my case, it causes a weakness in the muscle dexterity of my fingers/hands and tongue/speech. Great, huh?  I cannot articulate many words clearly, have to speak slowly and have lost much volume to my voice.  I am also not able to play any musical instruments, writing has become slow and uneven, gardening is okay done in small increments, and my typing ability has gone from 120 words per minute to hunt-and-peck at times.  So, what is a person to do?

Without sounding trite, be thankful of the many things I can still do and go on with life.  I have learned to compensate.  It is very humbling to have lost my clarity of speech and ability to converse easily, but I hope I have become a better listener.  The positive expansion of blogs has allowed me the opportunity to express my thoughts in a different format.  I have never been much of a writer of anything, so this is going to be an on-the-job learning experience. Whether anyone else finds value in my musings, I don’t know; however, it will be good for me.