Kimberly A. Cook

Military Romance Author

Kimberly A Cook

Tech Gadgets: Tools Or The Devil’s Spawn?

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by Kimberly A. Cook            (Twitter@  WarriorTales)

Know how to blow the mind of a young salesperson? Tell them you don’t want to upgrade your smartphone. Shopping at Target last Saturday I wandered into the electronics section to try and find a gizmo that is supposed to read the card in my smartphone and download the pictures to my computer.

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Galaxy SII meet Card Reader 1. Let’s have a clean fight.

 

Normally this would not be that big a deal, but my computer is eight-years-old and my Galaxy Skyrocket II is a bit past its prime – they refuse to talk to each other. I happened upon the gadget in the store and tried to figure out if it was the right doohickey. Up walked the salesperson.

“Can I help you find something?”

“Yes,” I replied. “Will this download the pictures from the card in my smartphone to my computer?”

“Are the pictures stored on the SD card?”

“Got me,” I said. “I’ve never put one in it.”

“What kind of phone do you have?”

“Samsung Galaxy Skyrocket II.”

“Do you have your phone with you?”

“Yes.” I promptly handed it over to him.

He proceeded to strip it naked from its pink plastic cover and pop off the back. “It’s an SD card,” he said. “This card reader will work.”

“Great!” I snatched up the gadget.

“You know you can upgrade your phone and get a $200 Target gift card,” he said. “They have the Samsung Galaxy S6 now.”

Obviously the dear boy thought I’d been living under a rock and did not know that. Trust me, I do and I’ve seen the price tag. My little phone is paid for and as long as it works, I’m using it until it drops dead.

It’s one of those math story problems; paid for phone + $200 gift certificate – new phone of $600 = $400 more bucks I have to shell out. Not happening.

But it was fun to watch his staggering disbelief that I didn’t want to upgrade. Sometimes being a downgrade is a very good thing. This is the year of tech for me. Glamorous 2015 involved replacing a fence, buying new car tires and a mattress.

Now I have to deal with my aging computer, swapping out my old DVR for the new DVR and figuring out why I can read emails on my phone but can’t send any. It has to do with some extra security setting I think. Or global warming. Or the presidential elections. Or Gouda cheese. I’ll figure it out. Right after I restock my dark chocolate supply.

I promised myself I’d finally deal with my tech issues in 2016. Yes! Right on! I’m on my way…..

It must be time to go work on my taxes.

Got persnickety tech gadgets?

 

 

Need A Doggie Alarm Clock?

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by Kimberly A. Cook              (Twitter@  WarriorTales)

I’m not a big fan of alarm clocks. Think it comes from reveille in the Army and Drill Sergeants screaming at me while in a sound sleep. Peeling myself off the ceiling is not a nice way to start the day. My clock radio with CD player wakes me with Maui music,  unless Spec Ops Cat sits on my face first.

So this big, furry, whiny alarm clock would take some getting used to, even if Caera is gorgeous and smart! Who is really training who here?

Have a great weekend and Happy Quirky Friday!

Up For An Urban Adventure?

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by Kimberly A. Cook                     (Twitter@  WarriorTales)

While the East Coast hunkered down for snowstorm Jonas last Friday, those of us on the West Coast felt a little guilty. On my way back from grocery shopping that day I decided to take a detour and check out a park by the river. I drive by the road to the park each work day on my way to and from the day job, but I’d never taken the turn less travelled, so to speak.

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A river, a boat and tranquility. Ah. 

 

I wound through an industrial area and continued around a few curves and then right there, a park! Motoring into the little gem, I found a nice parking lot with bleachers and restrooms, lots of grass and a boat launch. There were quite a few people out unloading fishing gear, vacant boat trailers and some people just watching the river from their vehicles.

Being close to water calms me down. Not necessarily in it, unless it’s a hot tub, but I love a bubbling brook, stream or the crash of the ocean. One of the books on my nightstand right now is “Writing Wild” by Tina Welling. It’s all about getting in touch with nature to increase your creativity.

In these days of hurry, rush, too much traffic, noise and digital everything its the perfect time to reconnect with nature and take a calm break. Now the folks back East got a little too much nature this past weekend, but some hardy souls enjoyed it if they had power and snacks.

Saw people on tv playing in the snow in Central Park and Times Square in New York and sledding down the “Rocky” steps at the art museum in Philadelphia. Definitely a one-of-a-kind urban snow adventure.

Do you have natural places close by you pass and never visit?  Do you take them for granted? Maybe it’s time to stop and smell the trees!

 

Can You Cuddle With Mr. Spock?

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by Kimberly A. Cook           (Twitter@  WarriorTales)

Right now Nashville is getting hit with a snow and ice mess and Washington, D.C., is bracing for two feet of snow. I saw a news report about a new Blizzard Buddy app for folks to use to try and date while snowed in – creative!

Here in Oregon it’s 53 degrees today and rainy, so I wanted to offer some snuggle suggestions from those of us not being beat up by winter weather. How about cuddling up with a large feline who goes by the name Mr. Spock? He keeps getting reported to authorities for being a Bobcat! He’s not, just a big boy Maine Coon cat kind of guy.

Stay warm out there, take care, have a great weekend and Happy Quirky Friday!

Signs of Spring?

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by Kimberly A. Cook               (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Spent part of Sunday dragging things out of the house into the garage between football games; some folks call it cleaning, I call it pile management. On one such trip I heard a chorus of birds that sounded like an invasion. Looking up I tried to find geese, but no birds.

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A reminder of one of my favorite roses, the Double Delight. These blooms will return right after Spring!  

 

Following the cacophony around to the front of the house, I spied a bird convention taking place across the street in a very large tree. Birds were packed in like sardines; which is an odd visual if you think about it.

Too dark outside to grab the camera, I fished the camcorder out and tried to focus and get the sound. Got a few clips, but still couldn’t tell which kind of birds. Maybe crows? Either way, it’s a sure sign of Spring when the birdies start to return and congregate.

I noticed the heads of daffodils peaking above the ground over at my Mom’s house on Saturday. Since she’s in a warmer area her daffodils always beat my daffodils out of the ground. Her yard maintenance folks had also trimmed the roses, which I wait to do until President’s Day. Yet another sign of Spring.

Since we were drowned in December with 17 inches of rain, any sign of the round yellow orb causes us to rush out of our homes like Meerkats and squint at the sky. Monday was a no rain day and I had to scramble to find my sunglasses. That sun thing is bright!

Of course, according to the retail world, Valentine’s Day shopping started two days after Christmas. I kid you not. I went to the store to find holiday bows and wrapping on sale.

The bows had vanished and the only gift wrapping paper left was the weird designs, you know the ones, grumpy Santa’s, odd elves and goth reindeer. I walked around the end of the holiday treats on markdown and smacked into the Valentine’s Day candy. Rows of it. On December 28th!

While I can’t wait for Spring, my favorite time of year, I think I’ll pay attention to nature’s calendar and ignore the retail buying calendar. On Jan. 4th we had snow and ice. This past weekend the retail ads had bikinis on sale. Stock up on flip flops now!

Got signs of Spring?

Got A Squirrel Snow Plow?

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by Kimberly A. Cook               (Twitter@  WarriorTales)

Sunday before last on Jan. 3rd we all woke up to snow. It was quite the surprise since we were expecting freezing rain at 4 p.m. not snow at 7 a.m. But Mother Nature doesn’t like to disappoint, so we got freezing rain later in the day too. Fantastic!

Us Portlanders who listened to the weather reports swarmed the grocery stores on Saturday; one must not be iced in without snacks and junk food. I’d filled the bird and squirrel feeders too, just in case they had those YakTrax non-slippy things for their feet.

Spotted bird tracks in the snow, but no squirrel prints. Until I saw this video, little did I know he might have been out working the power lines with our PGE crews. How good is this squirrel at plowing? Would you do this for peanuts? He did! Bet his nose was cold too.

Have a great weekend and Happy Quirky Friday!