viewHappy Thanksgiving!
Here's wishing a happy Thanksgiving Day for all my family and friends.
And here's a tip to help make the day happier: TURN OFF THE NEWS! Seriously. It's mostly fake news, lies, and fear-mongering anyway, designed to keep you in a panic mode so you'll keep watching and listening (and watching those commercials).
As a former news junkie myself who is in the process of pulling away from that hubbub and hooplah, I find that the further away I get from it the happier and less stressd I am. There's no way to totally avoid it, of course, but a few minutes a day spent with reliable sources is all we need. It's all I need, anyway.
Much healthier for mind, body, and soul is focusing on little things, simple things. Smiling and waving to neighbors, listening to good music, reading, prayer, really relaxing.
I hope you all can find moments of simple happiness on this Thanksgiving Day. I know I will.
The adventure continues.
Published on 25 November 2020, ~ 20:45 Central Time.
#RoscoeEllis #blog #SeniorLiving #Wednesday #Thanksgiving #happiness
by Roscoe
viewIs it time for me to move away from Wordpress?
Perhaps. At least, that's a question I find myself toying with these days.
I own the roscoesstory.com domain that currently directs to my website that uses Wordpress.org as its CMS. I intend to hold onto that domain (had it for several years and kinda like it) but, honestly, I'm getting tired of wrestling with Wordpress on a daily basis.
I do intend to continue blogging. Perhaps pointing my domain to something simpler and more basic like this Roscoe's Notebook blog would satisfy me. Hmm... I wonder.
The adventure continues.
Published on 24 November 2020, ~19:10 Central Time.
#RoscoeEllis #blog #SeniorLiving #Tuesday
by Roscoe
viewSimple, simple setup
My Portal-Mini was delivered earlier this afternoon and is now set up and ready for business in my room. The entire setup process was dead simple.
There are a few things this little device is capable of that I won't be using. It can connect to a user's Pandora and Spotify accounts, but I don't have either of those. And I can't use the Portal App because it requires having the Facebook App installed on my smartphone, and I don't (and I won't).
But I do have it running a screensaver of my FB photos. That's fun. And I've connected it to my Alexa account. So if Big Tech and the Derp State isn't monitoring me the one way it can do it by the other.
And the adventure continues.
Published on 21 November 2020, ~16:10 Central Time.
#RoscoeEllis #blog #SeniorLiving #Portal #technology
by Roscoe
view
Yep. Purchases made today qualify as “early Black Friday,” don't they?
Anyway, I had a quick chat early this morning with my daughter who lives 1,000 miles away and learned she's getting a FB Portal device. And I learned that my granddaughters who also live 1,000 miles away will be getting Portals, too.
Since there will be no travelling over the holidays, these little devices (well, my Portal Mini ordered this morning and that will be delivered tomorrow is small, though I understand the rest of the family is getting bigger models) will make it easier for us to be virtually together. It'll also make it easier to connect with friends and family elsewhere: the Philippines, Germany, ...
And the adventure continues.
Published on 20 November 2020, ~13:40 Central Time.
#RoscoeEllis #blog #SeniorLiving #Friday #shopping #portal
by Roscoe
viewWhite wins quickly
This Correspondence Chess game started in mid-October when I pushed my White Queen's pawn to the d4 square and ended today with my win as Black resigned.
Position of pieces at game's end can be seen in the graphic that leads this blog post, and our full move record is below.
1. d4 d6 2. Ng1f3 Ng8f6 3. g3 Nb8d7 4. Bf1g2 e5 5. dxe5 dxe5 6. Nb1c3 c6 7. O-O h6 8. Rf1e1 Bf8b4 9. a3 Bb4xc3 10. bxc3 Qd8c7 11. c4 e4 12. Nf3h4 Qc7e5 13. Ra1b1 g5 14. Nh4f3 exf3 15. exf3 Qe5xe1 16. Qd1xe1
1-0
The adventure continues.
Published on 19 November 2020, ~11:50 Central Time.
#RoscoeEllis #blog #SeniorLiving #Thursday #chess
by Roscoe
viewChess and Music
Making this Wednesday the best day of the week (so far) I've decided to spend this afternoon working on my Correspondence Chess games with relaxing Boomer music playing in the background.
And with the exception of a gameshow break mid-afternoon (she and I have gotten into the habit of watching Lets Make a Deal together), this THIS is how I intend to spend the next several hours!
The adventure continues.
Published on 18 November 2020, ~12:50 Central Time.
#RoscoeEllis #blog #SeniorLiving #Wednesday #chess #music
by Roscoe
viewMerry Christmas to me.
Yes, I've started my Christmas gift shopping early. Why? Because I want to!
Some items are now on their way for the wife, things I know she'll like. And for Roscoe, because he's been a very good boy this year, a new computer is coming.
This won't be my first Raspberry Pi. Many rears ago I had one of the earliest models and had great fun working with it.
But when my lifestyle changed (work situation, living situation) I no longer had the time nor the physical space to devote to that particular hobby. And that tiny computer in its little case now sits on a shelf in my room, reminding me of the fun we had together.
Now that my working computer, a nearly ten year old laptop (running a Linux OS, of course) is showing its age, it's time to think seriously about replacing it. And since Christmas is approaching, well...
The adventure continues.
Published on 15 November 2020, ~12:10 Central Time.
#RoscoeEllis #blog #SeniorLiving #Sunday #computer #Christmas
by Roscoe
viewA BIG Deal!
Remember that “mini-stampede” of folks I blogged about yesterday? About folks leaving the big social networks of Facebook and Twitter, looking for other places where they can speak freely, where they can post without fear of being censored for not being politically correct?
I'd say 10 MILLION folks leaving in two weeks qualifies as more than a “mini-stampede”. I'd say it looks more like a mass migration. I'd say it's a big deal.
And the adventure continues.
Published on 14 November 2020, ~13:10 Central Time.
#RoscoeEllis #blog #SeniorLiving #Saturday
by Roscoe
viewFollowing the herd?
The past few weeks have seen, and the weeks ahead will continue to see, a mini-stampede of conservative folks leaving the giant social networks of Facebook and Twitter, looking for places on the Internet where they can speak more freely, without fear of censorship.
Given the fact that much of my family seems to be permanently stuck there, and so many folks I personally know from the Philippines use Facebook almost exclusively and will continue to do so, I'll keep my account active there. I already cancelled my Twitter account many weeks (months?) ago, and have no interest in ever going back.
The social networks where I keep an active presence can be found listed in the sidebar of my primary website. Folks leaving Facebook will probably find MeWe their most comfortable landing spot. Probably.
As for me, I'm satisfied with the social sites I haunt, and have no plans to look for any more.
And the adventure continues.
Published on 13 November 2020, ~21:10 Central Time.
#RoscoeEllis #blog #SeniorLiving #Friday #socialsites
by Roscoe
viewIt is discovered that...
... that the great-grandbabies love hot cocoa!
And thank God that children and grandchildren post pictures on the Internet so that grandparents and great-grandparents who live far away can share in the joy and happiness of such moments!
That means SO MUCH to us, especially in these times of forced lockdown and separation!
And the adventure continues.
Published on 12 November 2020, ~11:00 Central Time.
#RoscoeEllis #blog #SeniorLiving #Thursday #greatgrandbabies
by Roscoe