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.

Spending habits

My first savings bank

I've been thinking recently about the way we spend our money, and how and why we have developed the style we have. This is a huge topic involving at least a hundred years and multiple generations. However, I'm going to try to summarize it in this blog post.

Ward and I both came from parents who had difficult lives growing up. Tragic circumstances as well as effects from the Great Depression often left them wondering where their next meal was coming from and where they would sleep that night. However, through the foresight of their parents, they learned that education and hard work were the way out. How did this translate into how they raised their kids? I'll give you a glimpse through my eyes.

The result of my mother not always knowing where her next meal was coming from was to make sure that food was never an issue. When I was growing up, we always had plenty to eat. We grew most of our food and got our meat from hunting, but there was never any concern about whether there was enough money for baking a cake or making a pizza. My mother had ideas about good nutrition that sometimes limited what we ate, but we were never deprived in any way.

My mother, the 1st one in her family to graduate high school.

Also, self sufficiency and education were top values. Early on, I heard that you should always be able to take care of yourself. You might get married someday, but you should have enough education for a job that can support your family. You never know what might happen. My mother was the fortunate one in her family to get an education and she saw how much better she fared than her siblings. Thus while we worked very hard at home, an extra job outside was not a priority until after our studies were done. And my parents made sure that each of their four kids had a college education. My father worked overtime and my mother worked two jobs to make sure this happened. Because like having enough food, education was a priority.

How did this translate into the way that Ward and I managed our lives? Because we had a good education, we had a decent jobs. However, we followed in our parents footsteps and we were careful with the way we spent our money. We never bought a house that we couldn't afford on one salary. Before I quit my job to be home with the kids, we put all of our new spending habits into practice to make sure that it was what we wanted to do. I knew the savings of our groceries down to the penny. I volunteered in a thrift shop and most of our clothes and toys came from there. We knew every free activity in the area. Ward and I enjoyed game nights and meals with our friends. Our every day frugal habits allowed us to contribute to college and retirement funds and take trips back to see the relatives. It also allowed us to eat out occasionally or go to a special museum or to buy furniture for our house.

Then we made another move to be closer to our relatives which is where we live now. We moved into an area that had a much higher cost of living. Our new house was ½ the size for twice the money from what we left. Groceries cost more, gas cost more, clothing cost more. We were uncomfortable in the beginning, but it was worth it to be closer to relatives. However, we soon adjusted to our new finances. We were still able to grow the college and retirement funds and pay off our house early.

Now we're sitting in a pretty good spot. We have enough money coming in and good benefits to go with that. (However in this expensive area, we're below the median income). Our kids are almost educated (one down, and one almost down) with no student debt. We are in our fifties and thinking seriously about early retirement. We don't have enough money that we can abandon our frugal ways, but we do have enough money to not fret. Life is good. We know that we have been lucky with only minor set backs along the way (especially compared to our grandparents), but Ward often reminds me that we have also been smart with the way we've lived. And that slow and steady wins the race.

All of grandparents are gone now, but I think they were happy that the cycle of poverty was broken, and I know our parents are happy that we learned from their lessons.

Thankful Sunday--November 23, 2014

We are thankful for new gloves.

Ward cleaned the gutters and put up some of our Christmas lights this weekend. He got new gloves for the job and is very thankful that his hands stayed drier and warmer than they ever have before. And of course, I am very thankful that Ward does this job for us.