Subj : Re: I'm not back yet.. was: To : Barry Martin From : Nancy Backus Date : Mon Nov 11 2019 02:06:38 -=> Quoting Barry Martin to Nancy Backus on 06-Nov-2019 08:52 <=- BM>> Subject: I'm not back yet.. was: I'm back! NB>> And, of course, now I AM back... and likely to stay so for a while... NB>> but still working through the backlog caused by being gone so much... BM> As long as you don't get to my comment in the previous message about BM> it being the first snow of the year next Spring you'll be fine! NB> I'm a little less than a week behind at the moment... ;) And we're NB> possibly getting our first snow of the year later this week... BM> And if one is smart get the shovels, ice chipper and salt out. Might BM> be a good idea to get the snow equipment for the car ready too. And BM> last Sunday while it was warm checked the air pressure in the car tires BM> and filled. That was wise... ;) Looks like we'll be getting some up and down weather for a while.... after the winter storm, things are supposed to warm up, so the snow probably won't stay.... we shall see.... the weather forecast keeps changing... :) NB>>> And now, somehow, already the 28th, Monday plus a week.... BM>> I saw a Robin this morning! NB>> Poor, poor robin.... Today's only the 4th of November... ok, NB>> another week later from my message above... but I'm making some NB>> progress... ;) BM> I did see some small birds hopping around on the neighbour's roof the BM> other day -- guess they were eating bugs and whatever fell off his BM> tree. Finding something, anyway... ;) There still are some birds around... some stay the winter anyway... not sure about the geese if they are in mid-migration, or come down from Canada to stay the winter here... ;) NB>>> Business being more likely to stay relatively formal, after all... :) BM>> So not like: BM>> Dear Nancy: BM>> We are so sorry :( to lecha know .... NB>> One would hope to not find that in business correspondance... :) BM> It would tend to send up a red flag. And the degree of formality BM> depends on the source/reason. Thinking along the lines of a credit BM> card offer would want to be relatively upbeat to give the impression BM> they are the fun company to do business with. ...Then there could be BM> the other end when the credited money is past due and things aren't so BM> fun. Most credit card offers I've been sent have been quite formal, though friendly... Haven't had experience with the latter (and hope never to have to!).... :) BM>> Brief news-filler recently: Casual Fridays has expanded and sometimes BM>> take over the entire week. Beginning of the segment implied not a BM>> good idea to go too casual but then did the 'bigger picture' and in BM>> some businesses it doesn't matter, such as software development. NB>> Exactly.... it really mostly depends on the specific workplace... NB>> and how much exposure to (and expectations from) the public one NB>> would be dealing with.... :) BM> The store where I worked originally did the Casual Friday as a reward: BM> sales, customer reviews and other metrics all up and we'd get to wear BM> jeans, etc. Went fine until some people took the casual too far: tee BM> shirt vs. polo shirt for example. Of course, in some settings, even the tee shirt wouldn't be considered too casual... :) BM>> There have been a few times when having my e-mail here was useful. As BM>> a general rule I would say not. NB>> When I was posting in the now-defunct Genealogy echo in Fido, I NB>> regularly included my snail-mail address... one never knew what NB>> cousin(s) might be lurking.... occasionally, I did get a package out NB>> of the blue from someone that was reading but not replying in the NB>> echo... Generally now, I'll only put my email out when someone asks NB>> for it, and then generally in a somewhat disguised format.... BM> Yes, it would seem logical to have an address or some sort of BM> additional method of contact in a Genealogy conference where one BM> expects to share family information. I've stumbled on old information BM> while Googling and wished there was a way to contact the person to BM> possibly get an update, or in the instance of one I'm thinking of BM> currently to give information. That would be a place where having had other contact info would have been helpful, too... Of course, even that might be outdated... :) Though, I've had the same email address for decades now, and have had the same snail address for over 40 years.... ;) BM>> ...Another part of my brain is interrupting: would be interesting BM>> (yawn!) to see if those anti-spam formatted addresss like BM>> "barry10. at q dot com" do any good. Seems like it BM>> would be easy enough to programme effectively change the 'at' to BM>> '@' if sees a 'com'. NB>> One would also have to program in removing spaces, and changing dot NB>> to a period.... At the least, a lot of IF-THEN statements.... and NB>> certain assumptions would have to be made as well.... :) BM> Yes; quite sure could be done, More or less one of those quirky BM> little mental exercises I tend to do occasionally. Could be done, but maybe not worth the effort to really do it... :) BM>>> "All depends!" What process works for one person doesn't for another. NB>>> Yup... And one develops one's own ways of dealing... BM>> Including calling back when one gets home and discovers got double- BM>> booked! ...I don't know if I could do without a paper calendar for BM>> reminders: use a month-at-a-glance here and to me handy to see a blob BM>> on a date to remind me of something in the future. ...Can do the same BM>> with the electronic calendar, would just have to get used to it. NB>> And need to make sure everything gets entered into the electronic NB>> one, along with the paper ones.... ;) I still find it easier to have NB>> the pocket calendar with me when I'm out, along with the phone, and NB>> just use the former for entering in new appointments.... BM> Yes; it seems the busier a person is the easier it is to have a paper BM> calendar, though that seems to work only for one or two person BM> operations. Start getting in to small businesses and the electronic BM> calendar is more convenient as multiple people need access to the one BM> schedule. Which is somewhat a different situation than we've been discussing... Here, to keep things simpler, Richard's designated me the keeper of the schedules, so everything goes into my pocket calendar, and then onto the one on the fridge (by the downstairs phone extension).... And I'm the one to make sure that we don't have conflicts in schedulings... :) BM>> And the $200 rental isn't bad; as you said, peace of mind, when you BM>> knew there was a problem. NB>> Along the lines of my mother-in-law getting me AAA coverage... for NB>> HER peace of mind... ;) I've continued that for myself now that NB>> she's gone.... BM> My Mother continued the AAA coverage Dad had; not used all that often BM> but very handy when needed. I used to have coverage by AAA, also BM> didn't use it all that often (which was another reason why I was BM> annoyed with them during that period when I had a series of issues with BM> my car at the time and they threatened to cancel). My current car BM> insurance offers similar rescue coverage so cancelled the AAA as BM> duplication. I get most of my money back just from the maps and triptiks... and if we'd put the kid on the membership a little sooner, it would have saved LOTS of money when his Jeep went into the drink (drainage pond)... ;) Dunno how much rescue coverage I have with my car insurance, but they did pay for most of the rental when I had the car in the collision shop.... BM>>> True. At this point not necessary as stay with my Mother for a week BM>>> before we zoom off. Would be kind of funny if was the common plane BM>>> flight: I go from Chicago to Boston and meet my Mother on the plane BM>>> there! NB>>> If you weren't planning on the stopover, that could be convenient... :) BM>> Yes! If had to go to Vienna due to an emergency would make sense to BM>> meet my Mother in Boston. Flight route doesn't make that work out so BM>> back to Moline to Detroit to Manchester to Boston to Zurich to Vienna. BM>> Could be done all in one day, though I think I'd definitely be BM>> sleep-deprived! NB>> Unless you are one that can sleep on the plane.... ;) BM> I do doze off: multiple short naps. My Mother claims she doesn't BM> sleep at all though I know she does. Maybe she's just resting her eyes....? Or is there snoring accompanying.... ;) NB>>> A quick decline into fall.... Today the high was into the 60s... NB>>> tomorrow pretty close to 70 again... and then plummeting back to NB>>> the 50s, with that white stuff a possibility by the weekend.... BM>> LIS at the top of my first message in this packet there's snow BM>> outside! Yesterday's temperature graph from the Norwegian service was BM>> essentially a flat line dropping off at the end: temperatures did stay BM>> in the low 40's all day and then cooled into the 30'd at night. NB>> We had one day recently where the low of the night before was actually NB>> a little higher than the high of the following day.... not quite sure NB>> how that worked.... ;0 BM> We've also had "the high for today was at midnight": cold front comes BM> through and the temperatures drop. Does seem odd. And earlier this BM> week we had the day's high at 11 a.m.: cold front came through and BM> didn't allow the temperature to continue to warm for the normal mid- BM> afternoon high point. (And "cold front" may not be the correct term.) Probably close enough... and yes, that's happened here as well, a number of times.... BM>>> ... What happens when fall in love w/ elevator operator? He lets you BM>>> down. NB>>> He could also bring you up, though... ;) BM>> That was at the beginning of things. NB>> I suppose.... ;) BM> And with a long-term relationship multiple ups and downs?! But of course... :) ttyl neb .... 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