Month February 2023

When Earpods go haywire!

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Something really funny happened to me recently. I walk a lot and needed some Earpods. The Powerbeats that Apple recommends are good, but pricey. I have a pair, but they are getting old.

I was at TJ Max the other day and I saw these Earpods that looked pretty snazzy. Great price, around $35, I think. DONE, I decided to stop searching for Powerbeats, buy these instead.

There’s a reason why Apple always recommends using “their” products versus other brands.

Here’s what happened…

I charged these new earpods, which seemed to do well. I put them in my ears and headed out for a walk. My girlfriend called. I could hear her really well. I was feeling proud of my purchase and saving money. BUT WAIT… that didn’t last long.

Here’s where it went haywire. It was really windy, I went to put my hair behind my ear. Doing this, I gently touched the Earpod. Well, that hung up on my girlfriend and turned my audio book on. How weird is that. I didn’t push on anything, just barely touched the headphone. My girlfriend was calling me back and I was still trying to turn the audio book off.

Wait – there’s more. Somehow, these Earpods made my Garmin watch go crazy too. This has NEVER happened. Suddenly, my watch was indicating that I needed to count my breathing. I did E -V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G to get out of that breathing segment. No button I pushed worked. My Garmin watch kept telling me how PROUD they were of me for using the breathing segment. You know, those rah-rah messages they send us. I was really going insane.

Man-O-Man! When I took those Earpods off they were constantly flashing red/blue, red/blue. It was so annoying. I wondered what other device of mine these Earpods were trying to “attack!”

I had renewed appreciation for my Powerbeats. I never had an issue like this.

So, cheaper is not always better. Not in this case.

What electronic issues have you had lately?

Travel: Italy’s Cinque Terre

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Sometimes a photograph is all we need to brighten our day. Winter in Italy.

My friend recently took this beautiful picture of Cinque Terre. I haven’t been there. It looks like we would definitely get our hiking/steps in, right.

Spring will be here soon. Time to go on an adventure somewhere.

Traveling: Italy in winter…

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Whenever I’ve traveled to Italy, it’s usually been in the Spring right before heavy tourist season in June. My daughter was able to find a good flight to Italy, winter rates, so was just there. We’ve learned there are pros/cons to traveling off season.

She noticed not very many tourists, that’s a pro. She could take pictures of special places with no people around. However, major con, many shops and restaurants closed. They had signs on their windows, back in March. I told her, she would have to ask the locals where they go. Also, find grocery stores, she could make sandwiches herself. We chuckled, we like pizza, but not every day for 10 days.

I thought this was a beautiful photograph of St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. I didn’t crop the photo, because the sky is amazing. The light behind the clouds, above the Vatican, it gives us pause to think.

She also took this photograph of the Virgin Mary. I was pleasantly surprised to see she was able to light a candle. In most Italian churches they use the electric candles. Have you seen that? You flip a switch and the electric candle lights up. It’s not very spiritual, prevents fires, so I understand.

I have a few more photos I’ll share of Italy in the next posts.

Right now, airlines are having low fares on winter travel until end of March. BOOK NOW!

Spring is coming. The sun has been shinning.

What special adventures do YOU have planned?

Warning, California Prop 65 – Cancer and Reproductive Harm… on EVERYTHING?

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Have you noticed this issue lately? You look at something, want to buy it, and when you take it out of the package or turn dish around on the bottom you see the CA Prop 65 Cancer and Reproductive Harm Warning.

I ask you, “Why are companies even allowed to make the product if they put that warning label on it?”

Take this flashlight. I found it over the holidays. An outdoor shop had a sample to test. I tried it out. I measured it, so you could see, it’s small, but powerful. I thought it was great. Well, I get home, I pull the NEW flashlight out of the box and THERE is the CANCER WARNING.

It’s funny. As soon as I saw the WARNING, I almost dropped the flashlight on the floor. You know, like if you suddenly saw a spider on your hand. Fling it away. What does that warning really mean? If I keep holding that flashlight I could get cancer?

This is maddening. I was in a furniture store the other day. I saw a leather recliner. Nice looking blue color. I went to look at the tag. It said, “CA Prop 65 – Cancer, etc. WARNING.” Really, a recliner too? Now, who in their right mind would buy this leather recliner? Do you want to sit in your expensive chair with the constant thought of cancer on your mind?. I saw some dishes at the store. Guess what, turned them around and on the bottom — the cancer warning.

I’ve seen the warning in the past, but lately, I seem to see it constantly. No wonder there are so many people sick with cancer. It seems to be everywhere. Did you hear the egg one now? Fried eggs could cause bladder cancer, but boiled eggs are Ok.

So, opinions — What do I do with the flashlight? Take the risk of getting cancer or return it?

Best Snowman of the Year!

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This past weekend Chicago was hit with a lot of snow. It was fun to see a father with his child building a snowman. The hat is so perfect and the green scarf lovely – the perfect photograph!

It’s an artistic snowman. I like how the bottom spreads out, but somehow they made the stomach area look really round. Look at those sticks for arms/hands. This snowman makes me smile.

For me, so far, this is the Snowman of the Year! UNLESS, we get another snow storm, then let’s see what happens.

GUESS WHAT – Feb 2nd is Groundhog Day. Will Phil Punxsutawaney, the groundhog, see his shadow??? It’s a silly tradition. Has anyone ever checked to see if the yearly predictions were true?