Updates

This week, some updates of past blogs.

Re:  Bluetooth Blues, 1 February blog. In the world of technology there is nothing more frustrating than a renegade mobile device. Bluetooth has now ceased communications with my Droid entirely. A few weeks ago I dialed a phone number on my Droid but no sound came from the Bluetooth in my ear. However, I could tell by looking at my phone that the other party’s phone was ringing. I talked, but they could not hear me and I could not hear them. I redialed the number but the results were the same. Then I made the mistake of pressing on Bluetooth in an effort to end the attempted call. Bluetooth took it upon itself to dial one lucky person from my Contact List. In the past Bluetooth usually liked to dial Janet H when it got the chance, but this time the special person was Robin C. I could not hear anything coming from my earpiece. So how did I know Bluetooth had dialed Robin? I heard a little voice coming from my purse, “Hello. Hello.” (My phone was in my purse.) I called Robin back immediately, but how do you explain that your mobile device has a mind of its own and is out of control? A simple apology was best.  At least Bluetooth didn’t call her early in the morning. No more Bluetooth Blues for me. Bluetooth has been relegated to silence in a drawer.

Re: Tombstone Tuesday–Jacob Miller, 29 March. Jacob Miller was my great-grandfather and in this blog I transcribed his lengthy obituary. At the time I did not know where that obituary came from. On a recent research trip to the Brumback Library in Van Wert I discovered that his obituary was in the 5 July 1918 edition of The Willshire Herald. I also learned that there was a short obituary published in the 21 June 1918 edition of the same paper: Jacob Miller, aged 75 Years, residing 5 miles south of town, died Saturday afternoon, June 15. He leaves a wife and five children to mourn his loss. Burial took place at the Chattanooga mausoleum.

Re: I’ve Been Working on the Railroad, Part 2, 10 March. This blog was about Joe’s grandfather, Ed Roesner. The 27 April 1917 issue of The Daily Standard reported that Ed Roesner was married when he lost his arm in the railroad accident. I believe this was a reporting error. I searched the Van Wert probate court marriage records and Ed Roesner was not married in Van Wert County before his accident in 1917. I also found reports of his railroad accident in several Van Wert newspapers, but none mentioned a wife. On his WWI Draft Registration card, dated June 1917, and on his marriage license to Goldie Helen Lee, in 1921, Ed stated that he had never been married.

Re: We Are For the Birds, 24 June. In this blog I told about seeing hundreds of Dickcissels in a neighboring field. This was a type of bird that we had never seen before. About a week after I wrote that blog the little birds were evicted when the farmer mowed the field. Hopefully the Dickcissels were able to relocate to another alfalfa field. On happier note, we recently saw another bird that was new to us and to our lot. A Summer Tanager visited one of our bird baths and perched in a tree long enough for me to get a photo. We usually see some Scarlet Tanagers every spring but we have never seen this Tanager variety.

Summer Tanager, July 2011

Re: Ten Tech Tools and Tips, 13 May. So far the portable scanners have worked very well. I took my Flip Pal Scanner to my Aunt Amy’s a few weeks ago and scanned some Schumm photos. I visited with her while I scanned photos. The nice thing was that her photos didn’t have to leave her house. I haven’t used the Magic Wand Scanner a lot, but some color pages that I scanned turned out great. I will be using both devices this weekend at the Miller reunion. I have asked family members to bring photos and I will be able to scan them right there at the reunion. I just need to remember to take extra batteries.

Re: What I’m Reading Now, 30 January. I have since finished the Hallows series of books by Kim Harrison. There are 9 books in the series so far and I hope Kim continues the series with several more books. I really like the characters and Kim’s imagination. Then I went back to the Southern Vampires/Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris and read Dead Reckoning, the 11th book in that series. It was published in May of this year. The HBO True Blood TV series is based on these books.  I enjoy these books almost as much as the Hallows books. I started a new series a couple weeks ago—Kate Daniels/Magic series by Ilona Andrews. The first book is Magic Bites and I couldn’t put it down. Like the other books I have been reading, these also feature a female lead character, our heroine, who lives in a fantasy world and fights all sorts of evil creatures. These books are set in an alternate Atlanta and they combine fantasy and mystery. Ilona doesn’t come right out and give you all the details of who or what Kate actually is or the circumstances of the setting. You feel your way through and I like that. So far there are 5 books in this series. For me this summer’s reading will include more vampires, shapeshifters, wares, witches and magic.

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