Thankful Sunday--December 7, 2014

I am thankful for 

DIY stores.

Ward and I are working on a Christmas present that will cost about half of what it would if we weren't doing the work ourselves. I am thankful that there are stores where we can get our supplies to do this. I am also thankful that they have generous coupons.

Help me understand

Recently, a friend of Miss Landers, Jack, passed away and she helped his wife with a luncheon after the funeral. Among other things, she decorated 10 round tables with centerpieces depicting things that were part of Jack's life. One table had toy car mustangs and a map representing a hobby of his, another had books from a famous author that he was friends with, and yet another had a group of Beanie Babies showing that he was an animal lover. The other tables were decorated in a similar way and really gave a good idea of who Jack was. It was a total surprise to his wife and she was quite moved by it. Miss Landers bought some of the things she used to decorate with and borrowed other things from friends and family.

Now here's the part you have to help me understand. People started leaving with parts of the centerpieces. Not just one person, but many. Miss Landers was able to stop a couple of people from taking things that she had borrowed, but they had no explanation when they gave them back to her. They just gave them back.

What do you think was going on? There was no announcement to help yourself or suggestion that there would be a drawing for them. They weren't in a basket by the door suggesting that they were “party favors” for the grieving crowd. Was this a custom that I don't know about? Or was this just a crowd mentality where one person took something and everyone else followed? Or was this just tacky behavior that was totally inappropriate especially in the setting it was in? Help me understand.

Upload/Download?

Okay, I admit it. I am confused by the terms upload and download. I know I should understand them, but I don't. I know upload and download deal with computer data transfer, but I'm never quite sure which direction is which. I usually just use both words to cover myself such as, “I'm going to upload these pictures, or download them, or whatever.” I am confused and I think it's finally time to get myself straight.

I asked one of many experts around me, Wally, to help. He said that they were such basic terms that he hadn't thought about explaining them before. But he tried anyway using the floor and a high shelf to help me visualize. I listened to his explanation and thought, “So simple. So very simple.” I thought I had it and wrote down the definitions with examples.

But then Ward read what I had written and he told me that I was still confused. So I didn't have it. He says it's better to think of it as a client/server relationship. And then he proceeded to tell me things about restaurants and UPS stores to help me understand. When I tried to repeat back to him to make sure I understood, he said I made sense, but I was wrong.

So I thought about both Wally and Ward's examples for a while and I think I finally have it. Let's only use two devices in my explanation: my personal computer and the Internet. We will call the computer the initiating device or the client and the Internet the server. If the computer asks for data and gets it from the Internet that would be downloading data. Or if the computer sends data to the Internet like a picture to Facebook or Blogger that would be uploading. In other words, if data is coming to the computer/client/initiator then the data is being downloaded. If data is being sent away from the computer/client/initiator, then it is being uploaded.

Now it starts to get confusing when you add peripherals like your camera or phone. I think throwing these into the mix has been the complicating factor for me all along. Depending on the device, the computer or the device could be doing the asking for the data transfer so there could be either uploading or downloading going on. And if the data goes back and forth from peripheral to peripheral, I understand that sometimes there is no name for that—neither uploading or downloading.

So there you have it. Downloading and uploading. So simple. So very simple.  Or not.

A Second Look--December 3, 2014

I've gone into hibernation mode for the winter and these Second Looks are getting shorter and shorter. The weather has been all over the place this week, but today was cold, rainy, and sleety. Meaning hibernation started as soon as I got home from work. Nevertheless here a couple of things I saw this week during a Second Look.

We traveled for Thanksgiving, but timed our travel just right. The snow and ice was cleared from the roads before we got to the snowy areas. (Picture out car window.)

Do you see all four deer in this picture?

The white-breasted nuthatches have recently returned to the feeder.

We've had a lot of noisy crows around.

A Second Look--November 26, 2014

We're preparing for the first snow today and depending on where you live, they are calling for a couple of inches to a foot. However before this, we were treated to a lovely weekend in the 60's when we took the opportunity to do some yard work. However, it was less successful than I had anticipated because the ground was still frozen hard. All I hope for in this fluctuating weather is that it is safe to travel early Thanksgiving day when we are taking a seven hour trip for a family filled holiday.

Here's what I saw this week 

during a Second Look.

Despite the cold weather, the volunteer petunia has not totally died yet.

 

However, the cold weather has rendered these hosta leaves translucent.

 

All that are left of the balloon flowers are their seed pods.

Even though they are wilted, the mums are still adding a bit of color to the landscape.

 This woolly worm was frozen hard. I assume that this is just part of its winter hibernation.