387 - Smartphones and end of 2022

 

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Still drifting along almost post-pandemic

11/1/22

Smartphone

After avoiding owning a smartphone for many years (27 years, by my count) I finally had to give in and buy one in 2021 -- long boring story. After a year and a half, I’m still getting used to the advantages of a smartphone, but I have to admit that I love it. And it isn’t costing me any more than my old, dumb phone. My cheap plan has very limited phone minutes so I only use it for work and emergencies. My text minutes are unlimited so I use this a lot, and it is much easier to text than before. Data is also very limited, so I try to avoid that, but it’s there when I need it. 

The camera is probably my favorite feature and I’m still learning how best to use it. Taking photos of things rather than writing notes is one of the ways. Because the thing is almost always in my pocket, I can always take a photo of something -- like a broken part -- and then show it to a salesperson or contractor. And now that I have the Flickr app on my phone, this is a much easier way to shift my photos to my cloud based photo collection. 

I don’t use my smartphone nearly as much as other people seem to, but I’m really glad I have it. And there are still a million little things I have trouble doing that I’m sure a more SP savvy person could do. And since Android phones are so different, it’s hard to find information that applies to my particular device.

11/2/22

I had forgotten how much routine mail you get from Kaiser as a member. For an institution that uses email so well, they still generate a ton of routine mail. It will be a challenge to manage this and determine what I need to actually keep. I do have my new card now. And they’ve preserved my number and basic information from before, so that’s good. I wonder if my old PCP is still there? It’s only been four years. (I had to choose a new PCP, but there has been virtually no mail since I became a member six months ago. So better than I was expecting.)

11/11/22

We were supposed to have an HOA BOD meeting yesterday but 3 people didn’t show up for the Zoom. We had a quorum, but wanted to involve more people so we are rescheduling the meeting. I will also give people the option of giving their 2 cents in emails prior to the meeting. Nothing is really time critical. We have a legal deadline at the end of the month, but that really shouldn’t apply to us since all our owners are on the Board. This causes us so many problems.

12/8/22 - I lust therefore I am.

12/15/22 - An older, mentally ill woman is sitting next to me on the mezzanine level of my office. She is talking to herself in part about the homeless and how they can’t control themselves. The same odd vocal noise at the end of most statements. She started out asking the room for the time and the date. Just asked for the time again. She is mostly here to charge her phone. Strangely emotionless voice considering that it sounds like she is talking to someone.