Trip to Florida May 2012

On Saturday, May 26 2012, Denny and I left for our Florida trip.

It had been very pleasant in South Carolina, but it seemed like the temperature rose about 20 degrees when we crossed the Georgia line - and stayed hot until we crossed back into South Carolina nearly a week later! 

Our first stop on the way down to Florida was in Georgia at at a rustic looking gas station that had a shack attached to it that said “BBQ” – where they were apparently cooking whole pigs. We decided to eat a sandwich on their picnic table. It was 95 degrees there – and the flies were so thick that I feared one would go in my mouth with the sandwich. So after two bites I gave it to Denny and went inside the gas station. They had little nets to put over things to protect from the flies INSIDE the convenience store! Nice people, just felt like we were in a different world…

Our first night was spent at Moody Air Force Base near Valdosta Georgia. Wow – beautiful apartment! We had a living room / dining room, kitchen, two bathrooms, and huge bedroom. The only problem here was the officer’s club was closed for the Memorial Day weekend – and the only way to get food was to drive to Valdosta. We drove a long ways and the first place to eat we found was called “Cuz’s Sports Bar”.

Oh my gosh, Cuz’s was an experience! Really rough décor and rough looking patrons!!!! I whispered to Denny “are we safe in here?”. While we were there, someone broke a glass and then would not move for the lady to sweep it up. I wanted to take pictures of the inside but feared for my safety if they thought I was making fun of the place. There was a sign “design your own ceiling tile for $10”. The undesigned ones were horrible looking – and the designed ones were mostly… well…. a bit strange. The only saving grace for the place was in spite of the young people in there, no loud rap music! They actually played some fairly pleasant country music. I’m sure they wondered what the clean cut old fogies were doing in their place!

The next morning we stopped to look at the antique airplanes before leaving Moody Air Force Base. (There seemed to be no modern planes there.)

We spent Sunday driving from Valdosta to Tampa – headed for Macdill Air Force Base. The room was probably the worst Air Force Inn we have ever stayed in – still like a decent hotel – but they are usually like very nice hotels. What this base lacked in billeting, it made up for in scenery. It is surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico. Beautiful!

On Monday morning I talked with my cousin Laura and coordinated going to visit my 95 year old Uncle Jimmy. He is the younger brother of my grandfather (my mother’s father) – who died before I was born. I am so glad we went to see him! I brought my iPad so I could show him some pictures. And I also brought my laptop so I could record some of our conversation. He said he did not think he was strong enough to do that – but then started telling stories – so I just started recording. Later we told him what I was doing and he agreed to do some with a microphone.  He even sang a song!!!  Uncle Jimmy has a very special voice – I always thought it sounded like Jimmy Stewart – so I am very glad I got it recorded. I'm uploading the recordings to YouTube and will post the links at the bottom of this post.

On Tuesday we checked in at the Marriott Waterside in Tampa and I spent the afternoon working on my presentation. What a beautiful place! That evening my cousin John (my Uncle Jimmy’s son who is close to my age) came and had dinner with us – and stayed for a nice chat by the water in front of the hotel. Wednesday I did my presentation – expected ten people – and had a room full (maybe 30 or 40?). John came too! Thursday I had a second session called “Tech Boot Camp”. All of the sessions I attended were great! I especially enjoyed the ones about Google Apps and meeting a Google employee from California. Thursday night I went to a Cuban restaurant with two colleagues from Clemson.  Here is Denny sitting on the hotel boardwalk:

We had a very long trip home after the conference on Friday --- whew --- and it’s taken two days and we’re both still exhausted!!!

Here are the links to my conversations with Uncle Jimmy:

Dwight meets Zella

Uncle Jimmy goes to Darlington

John McKey stories

Windows 7 / Office 2010 + SkyDrive

After using Windows 7 for the last couple of years I am still high on it!!! My favorite features include:

• Dock to left and/or Dock to right. Just drag a window to the left or right side of the screen to fill half the screen - letting you see both at one time (and/or drag/drop)!
• Problem Steps Recorder - Search for this it's not on a menu - lets you record the steps (or web sites) you visit to create a little mini recorded session that's easy to email. Great for training or showing someone a problem.
• Windows Paint - yes, Windows Paint! - has some nice new features ("transparent", zoom bar, import/export types and more)
• New dock - right click to reopen recently opened documents
  

Office 2010 also has some great new features with almost no learning curve if you're upgrading from Office 2007!!! Check out:

• Remove background from pictures (super cool --- no need for PhotoShop for this tool!)
• Insert screenshot
• Paste preview
• and my very favorite is.... drum roll please ... Save and send to web (SkyDrive)

SkyDrive is a SUPER cool new MS offering. Go to www.skydrive.com, create an account, and it lets you drag and drop 25 GB of files for FREE!!! Free online storage! Or you can save files directly from Office 2010. Or you can create your own files using the free web based Office applications (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and One Note).

Finally, I use SDEXPLORER - a nifty little app that lets you see a folder in your Computer for your SkyDrive data - and you can drag and drop to get files to it or from it on multiple computers!!! You can share those files with other SkyDrive users - use for backup - or use to share files between computers. It's very "DROPBOX" - like.

Sorry all of you Microsoft haters.... but I think they're doing this one right!!!

August Townes Smith

August Townes Smith was born on January 22, 2011!!!!!!!!!

Number one on my bucket list was to have children. Number two was to have grandchildren. I gave up on number two a few years ago when as far as I knew, neither of my sons had ever had a serious adult relationship.

About a year and a half ago all of that changed. One day Todd told me that he was "in love". A few weeks later I got to meet Holly Stamey - a cute little girl from Spartanburg - a senior biology major at USCS. She was domestic - liked cooking and sewing. I was so happy to see Todd so happy - and a bit surprised that he found a girl just like the girl I might have picked for him! When I got to know her a little more, I found that she was charming and fun to be around too. Soon after I got to meet her parents - Billy and Jaspar - who I liked a lot. She is their only child and they are very close. Jaspar's extended family lives in Spartanburg. The following November I had Thanksgiving dinner with them and got to meet some of her family - and I was thrilled that Todd had found such a nice second family.

Todd called me last spring with the most exciting news! Holly had "passed" a pregnancy test. They thought she could not get pregnant because of health issues - so it was a big surprise. I was at work when I heard this news - walking across campus. I cried the whole way to my meeting because I was so happy.

There were three nice showers and a lot of preparation --- but August Townes was born in the Charleston Birthing Center on Saturday, August 22, 2011. Todd called me that morning - I was in Pendleton Bilo - and said Holly was in labor and they were at the Birthing Center in Charleston. So I went home, packed, and headed down there. My sisters met over there too - and of course Billy, Jaspar, and Holly's grandmother Eleanor were there too.

It was a long difficult labor - they considered going to the hospital - but finally that evening August Townes arrived to an excited and happy extended family!

They went to a hotel a few hours after the birth - and the next morning Daddy and I went over to see them. He was thrilled to meet his new great grandson. The name Townes came from my father's grandfather, Townes Holleman - and was suggested by Daddy's cousins Martha and Sarah at a baby shower held in Clemson. So Townes Holleman was August Townes Smith's great great grandfather.

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Trip to Texas

Our trip was delayed for a couple of days when we got colds. But we finally got away on Monday, April 26. We dropped Grace and George off at the vet’s office – very sad to be leaving our precious kitties. Then we started for Texas.

Monday: The first day we drove through Georgia and Mississippi and stayed at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, MS. The Air Force Inn was beautiful – and we saw them turning away other people – so we felt really lucky to have a room there. Just a block or two outside of the gate was the Gulf of Mexico. We drove down there and saw that Katrina had torn down most of the buildings – but it has all been cleaned up so you see beautiful beaches on one side of the road, and nice empty lots on the other side. We drove all of the way to Gulfport – seeing a number of hotels – one gas station right on the beach (amazing use of prime land!), the Jefferson Davis House (with many buildings gone and lot of remodeling done). But in all of Biloxi, we saw only one restaurant – a nice looking seafood restaurant right on the beach. So we stopped there. We sat on the porch overlooking the beach – and Denny had a seafood platter – and I had buffalo shrimp. It’s been two days and I still cannot get the taste of that shrimp out of my mouth – it was so wonderful.

Tuesday: On Tuesday morning, William called Denny and seemed to be saying he would not see us in Houston. We had been in contact with Keith’s wife Julie – with plans to meet her and the three month old baby (Isabelle) at a restaurant in Houston. So we got in the car and started driving towards Houston. Along the way, William called again and said he would meet us at the restaurant – and he would bring along his girlfriend, his girlfriend’s mother, the four day old baby Ari, and the two year old little girl Devon. So Denny would get to meet all three of his granddaughters for the first time!

We checked in at the Extended Stay America in Houston and went to the Café Express to meet everyone. Julie (Keith’s wife) brought her mother and Isabelle. Isabelle was adorable – dressed in a precious dress and even black patent leather shoes. Her grandmother was an elegant looking lady – and seemed really nice – but her English skills are not strong so communication was not easy. I did understand that she was insisting that we stay at her house the next time we come. She was wonderful with Isabelle – and said that her husband loves to take care of her too.

William, his fiancé Courtney, William’s two year old daughter Devon (a different mother), their four day old daughter Ari, and Courtney’s mother Lorrie arrived next. Devon was very shy. Ari was tiny (four days old) and really cute. Lorrie looked a bit like Marie – and seemed about Marie’s age – was very nice and sweet with both little girls. Courtney is 19. Her parents were transferred to Ohio nine months ago and she stayed in Houston – working at Best Buy – having a baby nine months later. Her parents came – and her mother was staying to help for three weeks.

We were at the restaurant for several hours and amazingly – there was no crying. All three little girls were so good! Denny got to hold them all (I did not because of my cold).

Grandmother Delores and baby Isabelle, Grandfather Denny, Grandmother Lorrie and baby Ari

Wednesday: We left Houston Wednesday morning headed towards San Antonio. We passed a sign that said “Bastrop” – which was where Denny lived when he was in first grade. I asked if he wanted to go there (thinking it was right off the interstate) and he said yes. It turned out that it took more than an hour to get there. But wow – it was worth it! I felt like we were in a movie set for a Western. The buildings were all really quaint and interesting. We ate at a little diner in the middle of it – and you felt like you were in the 1950s – or earlier. Country fried steak (okay, we abandoned our diets for this meal…). Amazingly, Denny walked up and down the street! We tried really hard to find the house he lived in – saw all kinds of beautiful old houses – but did not find it. Several hours later we left for Lackland Air Force Base.

After numerous calls, the only room they could give us was in visiting student quarters with a shared bath. We decided to take it – and I am shocked to see another really nice room. No crown molding or beautiful wallpaper – but still great and in a very nice setting. The room we are sharing a bathroom with seems to be unoccupied. We do have our own sink, two closets, dressing room separate from the bedroom.

Thursday: We spent Thursday in San Antonio. In the morning, we visited the Alamo. Then we went to the Riverwalk. We had a nice lunch at Dick's Last Resort. Then we took the riverboat cruise. It was really beautiful! We picked Keith up at Fort Sam Houston and took him to Rudy's for barbecue.

Friday: We did our laundry - then drove down to Mi Tierra's Mexican restaurant. Wow! Fabulous atmosphere and food.

Then we went outside and caught a trolley tour of San Antonio. We had a colorful bus driver named Leroy Johnson who played bassoon in an armed forces band for 31 years in Washington DC for presidents and such. We went to the San Jose Mission - and saw a lot of San Antonio. It was boiling hot for April - but a great day other than that!

Saturday: We drove to Baton Rouge, LA and spent the night in a hotel there.

Sunday: We drove to Fort Benning, GA. Wow - what a beautiful huge base! Big old trees, beautiful buildings, really nice... We're staying on base in a beautiful suite - mohagany cabinets in the kitchen - soft bed - beautiful wide porch. I wish we could stay here for three days!

Monday: We drove home in the rain - but got here in time to retrieve Grace and George from the kitty hotel! It was a great trip!

To see all of the pictures from our trip, click here.

Netbook and Win CE 6

I had the terrible idea of buying a $125 7" netbook for my son who is mentally ill and homeless in California. It was advertised as working with Skype - so I thought we could communicate that way. I also wanted him to be able to do emails, web searches, some word documents (he likes to write), and YouTube - and save it all in a DropBox.

Well the cute little netbook arrived and immediately I discovered you could not install much of anything on it. There was no Skype (even though it was advertised as a part of the software), YouTube did not work, and it was painfully slow. The keyboard was tiny, the screen was tiny, and the battery did not last very long. With my son's poor vision and difficulty finding electricity I knew pretty quickly it was probably a bad choice.

After a few hours of working with it - using Internet Explorer and my home wireless - I got this nasty error message "IESAMPLE has encountered an error and must shut down" which made Internet Explorer impossible to use. If I clicked OK, it shut down IE. If I did not, the message covered the tiny screen. I researched high and low and could not find a way to get another browser on it.

Finally I contacted the Chinese company I bought it from. No one could speak much English so the only option was to mail it back to them. I did - asking to swap it for a Linux model - but they were "out" of them. It cost $30 to mail it to China! When it came back, it was the same netbook - but the IESAMPLE error was gone. About 3 hours later it was back!!! Grrrrrr...

I contacted them again and they wanted me to send it back again! This time I asked them to send me the files so I could reload the OS. They agreed - it took several tries over several days - but I finally got it.

But I could not get the darned thing to load. It kept erasing all of my programs and most of my settings. I figured out I could copy the folders back one at a time and get it going again (with the IESAMPLE error still there).

After many long impossible "chats" with Chinese tech support people named Lily and Sara (?) I started searching for a solution. Finally I found a Linux forum talking about the same subject on the same netbook - an ARM VT8500. I put the question of how to reload the OS there - and the next day had the answer!!! Hooray!!! Here was the trick:

Get a SD card and make a folder in the root of it named \script.
Put the autorun.exe and four other files in this folder
Put the \system disk folder in this folder
Turn the netbook off
Put in the SD card
Turn the netbook on

It booted to the SD card and installed the OS!! It's the best it's ever run - even better than when it first arrived!

I'm thinking of contacting the Chinese company and offering to rewrite their manual... It is completely butchered.

I ended up buying a different netbook for my son. He's not using Skype - but he's using email and enjoying the netbook.

Old Town Blues - Islander

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Foot Surgery

I want to share my foot surgery story since I read an awful lot of them before my surgery, and my experience was so different from the ones I read about. It occurred to me that perhaps people with good experiences do not write about them...


My foot problems began three years ago. I believe that they were caused by tennis - since I seemed to always be hurting myself playing tennis. I am an avid, but not athletic tennis player and nothing will ever stop me from loving the game. But I first noticed the pain in my feet while helping with workshops at Clemson - where I had to be on my feet a lot. I was definitely wearing the wrong kind of shoes - very flat similar to ballet slippers (the only ones that felt good and looked okay with dresses - I have "difficult" feet...)


My doctor declared the problem to be Plantar Fasciitis and Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome. I started the stretches but they helped very little. We did physical therapy twice, custom orthotics, and a cortisone injection. Finally surgery was mentioned. I checked and was told the name of the best foot doctor around - another doctor in the same practice I was already using (Blue Ridge Orthopedics). I was very comfortable with this doctor - he seemed quite special. He had me try one more insert which I could not walk in. Then we scheduled surgery.

I had the surgery in the spring. The hospital (Anmed) was wonderful. The recovery was much easier than I expected. I used a knee walker for several months - and had a great electric wheelchair for the first few months. The wound even healed great. I usually have terrible scarring - but not with this one.

It is now October and I still cannot walk comfortably. The last time I went to the doctor he said it might take a year. But I'm getting very discouraged about ever playing tennis again or wearing regular shoes. All I can wear is tennis shoes or Tevas.

Postscript: About a year later I could walk without much pain - and actually played tennis a few times. But various injuries continue to plague me...