February 23, 2021 - Msg 116239:
MDC, you are correct about names in the military. When I was a junior officer, the enlisted men called me Mister followed by my last name. Senior officers were called by their rank followed by their last name. But our ship's commanding officer was only called Captain no matter what rank he held. And the five flag ranks were all called Admiral. Enlisted men and women were called by their last names. However, all versions of Chief Petty Officers were all called Chief. Chief Warrant officers were called Mister followed by their last name.
It was pretty much the same in the Army National Guard with some exceptions. Commanding Officers, including when I was a Captain, were called by their rank. In combat zones, 2nd and 1st Lieutenants are sometimes called "L T" which is the abbreviation for Lieutenant.

Romeena and MDC, regarding windmills and solar panels being blamed for the power shortage in Texas, check out https://tinyurl.com/44f6tl7c

from Poor Horatio
February 23, 2021 - Msg 116240: Thanks, MDC. Actually, I understand why there's a variation in mileage between city and highway driving. I just don't know why sometimes I get 24-25 on the highway, and sometimes as much as 26-27. Thus, the comment about a tailwind. Also, it's not me figuring the mileage, the car's computer does that, and that's what I go by. However it's figured, and by whom or what, I'm pretty happy with the car's mileage. For a nearly-17 year old car, and a big old heavy thing at that, it's pretty good. I'm keeping her! Yep, Tillie and I will just roll off into the sunset together. She was paid for many years ago, runs me about $2k in repair yearly, at the most, and I couldn't replace her for that. Besides, we understand each other! (: Blessings! --Romeena
February 24, 2021 - Msg 116241:

HI All! I was watching the tags episode where Aunt Bee goes to Mt. Pilot for a few
days, leaving Opie and Andy at home. I guess after my "800th" viewing,
I seem to see more 'small things'... like when Andy walks into the kitchen to do the breakfast
dishes, there are 7 plates on the sink counter? Why would there be 7 plates used
at breakfast for only 3 people? ha!
Also, when Andy gets called to the office, he leaves Opie home alone to get ready for school.
I know it was 1961, but still, Opie was only about 6. In fact, he and a friend
end up jumping on the bed! :) Oh well, it's still a great show and I love it!
PH--thank you for that article, and also for the information on military jargon.
That helps me see why Gilligan could indeed be a last name.
BTW, "Mister' thanks for swabbing the deck. (Good on u for helping out the enlisted folks.) It looks real nice! :)

God bless,
MDC
February 24, 2021 - Msg 116242:
Romeena, I did some research about vehicle fuel economy. And this is what I learned.
#1- Short trips do not allow an engine to warm up sufficiently. Car engines operate more efficiently, such as with highway driving, when they have a sufficient time to warm up.
#2 - The more you brake, that decreases your fuel economy. So since highway driving requires less frequent braking, fuel economy is better.
#3 - I could find no evidence that tailwinds affect fuel economy in vehicles on the road.

And MDC, regarding the extra dirty dishes in that TAGS episode you watched, apparently you have been married a long time. I was a bachelor for over 50 years before I got married. Bachelors see no need to clean dirty plates and utensils until there are no more clean ones left. So we would pile them up on the counter or soak them in the sink and only wash them one day a week.

from Poor Horatio

February 24, 2021 - Msg 116243: Good Wednesday porch folks. I thought I would do a check point chickie this afternoon.

I hope everyone is doing well. I have been praying for Romeena and Boo this past week as I have watched the severe weather and how it affected Texas. Hopefully things are getting back to normal.

We are having some warmer days and sunshine today and tomorrow. In the upper 60's today and tomorrow but I feel sure ole man winter is not done with Northeast Tenn yet.

Not much to report from my end of the porch. busy with work and taking care of things at home.

waiting for my turn to get the covid vaccine. which hopefully will come in the next month or so.

supper menu for today will be: pot roast with carrots, potatoes. green beans, macaroni and cheese. rolls. chocolate layer cake for dessert.
tea, kool aid to drink.

Prayers and blessings to all
Big Maude
February 24, 2021 - Msg 116244: Good morning, porch! And hey, Big Maude. Thanks for the prayers! It's sunny and beautiful here now, with the temp in the upper 60s. Hard to believe we were snow-and-ice bound just a few days ago. There's a soft, balmy breeze blowing, critter traffic is high in my backyard, and it's a lovely day! Sure does feel good! I feel so blessed, with all the damage and deprivation so many have experienced. The worst damage I can see around here so far is the crack in my big window, which I'm assuming came from the extreme cold. It happened about the time we went below zero one night. Going to be expensive to replace, but didn't cause ruin to anything else, like a broken pipe would have done, and my house had power through it all. Aside from that, the extent of damage appears to be limited to my two ornamental kale plants. They turned brown and keeled over, frozen stiff at one point. I can replace them for about $5 for the two! Blessed? Oh, yes!!

Not much else to report here, except to note that pansy plants can tolerate -3° temps. I have a few little stands of pansies both in the front and back yard beds, and they're all blooming beautifully right now. I knew pansies were tolerant of cold weather (they don't particularly care for hot weather) but I didn't know they could go that low. I don't know if they could take it for long periods, but our few days of freezing, and even sub-zero nights didn't seem to bother them at all. Tough little things!

Well, the supper Big Maude has planned for us sounds really good. Sure beats the pot of lentils I was about to put on the stove. I haven't made a pot roast in a while, at least not directly. A couple of weeks ago, my David called and asked for directions to cook a pot roast. Brittney was busy all day, showing houses (she's a realtor) and he wanted to surprise her with a good dinner. He was hungry for pot roast, and wasn't sure how to make one, so he called me. I just sat down and typed out instructions, from choosing the right cut of meat, to finishing it off with a good in-the-pot gravy. Judging by the comments from his family - including Brittany - he did it right! Incidentally, I saved those instructions, and can email them to any of you "chief cook and bottle-washer" guys that might want them.

Well, off I go. Trinket thinks it's time for us to settle down and do a little serious lap time. She's not just spoiled, she's downright rotten! Who cares? Certainly not I! Blessings, friends. Stay warm, stay well, and keep looking up! --Romeena
February 24, 2021 - Msg 116245: Thank you, Maude. We appreciate your prayers and things are getting back to normal. My outdoor landscaping is black and my grass is brown, but that's just the way it is. The grass will come back but Im not sure about the plants. Bruce will cut them back and we will see what happens. The Lantana will probably survive but don't know about the hibiscus. Other than that, we are ok now. I don't have to boil my water now and the weather is perfect.

Boo
February 25, 2021 - Msg 116246: Good morning, porch! We're a bit cold this morning at 48°, but after last week's ridiculous -3°, it feels like a spring day.

Boo, your yard sounds like mine. The grass is brown, mostly. I'm pretty sure all my shrubbery is okay, a little nipped here and there, but it should recover. The irises, which were starting to put up little short swords, look okay. It will be interesting to see if they bloom. I have amaryllis spotted here and there around the yard, and when they bloom, they're spectacular. They may not make it, I guess we'll see. They bloom shortly after the irises, so it will be a little while before I know. I hope they survived, because they are so beautiful.

One thing that probably survived would be the seeds from those wretched little "dwarf" zinnias I planted two years ago, which grew into 5 ft tall plants, topped by tiny little flowers. Ridiculous. Eddie and I tried to eliminate them by pulling them up before the flowers dried and went to seed, but we were too late, would have had to pull up plants every day, and they bloomed vigorously. So, they came up like cat hair in the bed last year, and I'm betting they'll do it again. Why would the package say they would get 8-10" tall, and then they grow to 5 feet? I am 5'2", and when I would go out to cut some of them, they were at eye level. Grrrr. I'll admit, when I cut them and put them into little vases, they made cute little bouquets. The flowers are tiny, about 2" wide, but pretty. However, to get a little vase of about a dozen flowers, I have to have a jungle of overgrown stalks, with brown and droopy leaves, in my flowerbed. Huge, ugly plant, crowned by a few sweet little flowers. Hardly worth it. Grrr again.

Well, Trinket has an appointment with Dr. Mike in less than an hour. Guess I'd better get moving. She needs grooming terribly, her groomer is still not able to catch up after her van was in the shop for so long, and then the weather, etc. So Trinket's nails are like sabers, and I like the way Dr. Mike cuts them better anyway, so we're going to let him do it. I never knew a 10 lb dog could grow such talons. A grizzly bear would be jealous.

Blessings, friends! Stay warm, stay well, and keep looking up! --Romeena
February 25, 2021 - Msg 116247: In case you're wondering why I don't cut my dog's nails myself, I'll tell you. Years ago, I used to do it. I have one of the "guillotine" style clippers that the vets recommend, and would cut Sugarplum's nails easily. Well, one day, just as I had the clipper placed and ready to close it, she moved her foot, and pushed the nail too deeply into the clipper just as I closed it. It cut through the quick, it bled profusely, she cried, I cried, and it was all just horrible. That was it. I have never clipped a dog's nails since, and I never will. Trinket needs help now, though. The lengthy nails are bothering her, and I caught her chewing them herself! Poor little girl. So, off to Dr. Mike we go. --Romeena
February 25, 2021 - Msg 116248: Afternoon Porchsters
Just stopping in real fast to ask for prayers and positive energies for my friend John one of our jousters at the faire. One of his horses, Sally crossed the rainbow bridge last week and he is so upset. Sally was a rescue from Gentle Giants Draft Horse Rescue and he used her mainly in his Civil War reenactments.
Thanks y'all

*Mavis
February 25, 2021 - Msg 116249: Hey, Mavis. I'm sorry for your friend John, in the loss of his horse. Animal lover in general that I am, and specifically a lover of dogs and horses, my heart goes out to him. I had a horse when I was a teenager, and spent many, many happy hours with him, telling him all my secrets and letting his calm, gentle ways help me settle my normal teenage turmoil. He had a sense of humor too, and seemed to know when I needed cheering up. He was a master at doing just that. I might be feeling down for whatever dramatic teenage girl reason, and would go for a ride. We would just be ambling along a country road, and sometimes a huge butterfly would rise from the roadside grasses as we passed. Ace would rear up a little, stomp his feet, shake his head and snort, as dramatically as if he'd seen a pterodactyl. It was all a big act, and we both knew it, and it would make me laugh. After that, he would walk a little faster, maybe trot a little, and would often turn his head back and look at me, like he was checking on me. His act would cheer me so much that after a while we would turn toward home, and cover the last two or three miles in a canter, sometimes a dead run! He was a character, and I loved him very much. Anyone who has never known the love of a good horse, or a good dog (and aren't they all good?) has missed one of God's blessings to this world. Your friend has my prayers. --Romeena
February 25, 2021 - Msg 116250:
Mavis, sorry to learn about John's lost horse. Maybe in time, they will be able to find him or her.

from Poor Horatio
February 25, 2021 - Msg 116251: Hey, porch! I'm watching TAGS again, and I have a question. Why would a savvy farmer like Mr. Flint have that poor little goat tied to the fence post, on a short rope, with no water or grass or other feed in sight? --Romeena
February 26, 2021 - Msg 116252: Does anybody know if a picture of Aunt Bea in the plane when she solo’s exists? My daughter loves that episode.
February 26, 2021 - Msg 116253:
Good evening all. RO, I saw the Flint episode tonight too, and I guess I missed the part about the goat. BTW, it has sure been a long while since our Frankie has sat on the porch. I sure hope she is OK.
Then on Gomer Pyle, there was Susan Oliver as Miss Camp Henderson!
I guess she mended her criminal ways! ha
All is well here, beautiful weather! When I mentioned my bike ride the other day, I failed to say that we have some really nicely landscaped, and meandering bike and walking paths in my neighborhood. The city did a great job on them. I bike about 2 or 3 times a week.
Good dinner Maudie, thanks. glad all is OK with you and yours.
RO--wonderful story about your Ace. Yes, amazing animals indeed! :)
Mavis, my prayers for your friend John.
PH--that was pretty funny about your bachelor days. Believe it or not, in my college apt, we used paper plates so we wouldn't have to wash any! haha
ASA, GF, and Others, please check in when you can.
Prayers,
MDC




February 26, 2021 - Msg 116254: Here’s a picture of Aunt Bee in the airplane ✈️ https://www.pinterest.com/pin/65794844535550070/
February 26, 2021 - Msg 116255: Or just Google “Aunt Bee Airplane”, There’s more if you click on images...G-F
February 26, 2021 - Msg 116256: Romeena...The goat question...Probably the same reason he didn’t want Frankie Flint to have those “Female Embellishments” Cuz he’s a Mean Old Man!...Lol...
Or maybe he just got a haircut from Floyd the Barber 💈 and those tiny little hairs on his neck were bothering him?..🤣🤣🤷🏼‍♂️

G-F
February 26, 2021 - Msg 116257:
To whomever posted Msg 116252, the picture you requested appears below,

from Poor Horatio
February 26, 2021 - Msg 116258:
In Aunt Bee's first few landings, she had control problems. You can watch a few of her early landings at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHS1jiDd-YM

from Poor Horatio
February 27, 2021 - Msg 116259:

POOR Horatio, those are pretty funny computer- generated landings! It took 3 however for me to figure that out! Also, now I have to find out how you posted a pic on the porch. I have tried a attempts at times, but have never succeeded.
Tonight's ep was Quiet Sam, and sure enough, I discovered a small blooper... When Sam is holding the new baby, it cuts from a wide shot of Sam with the 'baby,' to a close-up of the real baby,
and in that close-up, 'Sam's' shirt is suddenly a multi-colored sweater! Then it cuts again to a wide shot and its back to Sam's flannel shirt.
Gomer USMC follows tags in my locale, and there was Opie's hobo
conning Gomer and Sgt. Carter. Yup, still up to his tricks! ha
Oh, and in one scene, it says 'Bluebird Cafe' on the window.
Isn't that in Mayberry? :)
Well, off to bed, sweet dreams to all,
MDC


February 27, 2021 - Msg 116260: Good afternoon, porch. Cloudy and kinda grim-looking outside my window today. Not too cold, at 60°, but sure looks colder. I'm just going to stay in today, with a warm puppy in my lap, and take it easy. Got a "misery" in my ankle for some reason. Exquisitely sore to any movement. Feels like gout, but no redness, heat or swelling. Probably just arthritis, and a little Advil does help a little. So does Voltaren, when rubbed in well. Oh well, this too shall pass.

A few days ago, I was sort of half-watching TAGS, can't remember which ep, but Andy and Barney were walking along the sidewalk, talking about someone. Barney said the person was just "grinnin' like a mule eatin' briars!" I had to laugh, because here in Texas that line would have been "grinnin' like a jacka$$ eatin' pr-ickly pear." (The dash is in deference to the censor.) I've heard (and used) that expression all my life. It's as common as "a duck lookin' at thunder" or "a calf lookin' at a new gate", or even "proud as a peac@ck with two tails!" Another one is "he's so dumb he couldn't pour p-- out of a boot with the instructions written on the heel". You have to admit, our local vernacular is pretty colorful. What are some local expressions from other parts of the country?

MDC, you're very sharp-eyed. I watched that ep too, with Sam and the new baby, and I never noticed that. There are other eps where things such as that happen, and if you watch closely you can see that a portion of the scene has been cut out to make room for a commercial, but that's not what happened there. That's where they pushed two separate takes together.

You can always tell when someone is holding a real baby, or a doll wrapped in a blanket. Babies conform, dolls are stiff. Another thing that gives me a smile - when someone is carrying an armload of suitcases, and you can easily tell that they're empty. When they can pick it up and swing it, it's not loaded.

Well, I think I'll go have an apple and some peanut butter. That's a very good combination, by the way, especially if the apple is really tart-sweet. Yum! Blessings, friends. Stay warm, stay well, and keep looking up! --Romeena
February 27, 2021 - Msg 116261:

MDC here are the steps I used to post Aunt Bee's photo in an airplane.
- I used the following keywords "Aunt Bee flying lessons" in Google search.
- I then clicked on the IMAGES link at the top of the page to view only photos associated with my keywords.
- Although many photos appeared, I saw only three that showed Aunt Bee inside of an airplane. And two of them were duplicates.
- I chose one of those duplicates that did not have any graphics superimposed over the photo.
- I moved my cursor over that photo and right clicked so I could left click on the COPY IMAGE LOCATION in the drop down menu.
- I then moved my cursor to the address bar near the top of the page, There I pasted the image location, then pressed the ENTER key to load that address.
- Unfortunately, a very small image appeared. But I wanted something larger. So rather than trying to use trial and error to adjust the size with HTML commands, I tried something else.
- I clicked on the BACK button to return to the page with all the images.
- This time, I left clicked on Aunt Bee's image inside the airplane, the version without the superimposed graphics. That brought up a larger image on the right hand side.
- I right clicked on that larger image. Then I left clicked on COPY IMAGE LOCATION from the drop down menu.
- Once again, I pasted that location address into the address bar and then pressed the ENTER key.
- This time, a much larger image appeared.
- For posting on The Front Porch, to include this larger image, first I had to first press the BACK key to return to the images page with the mid size image on the right side.
- I then left clicked on that mid size image and that took me to a page titled "11 rare behind-the-scenes photos from 'The Andy Griffith Show'"
- Notice above that title is a "Saved from metv.com" link. I left clicked on the metc.com portion that took me to a metv.com page which is the source for that larger Aunt Bee image that I want.
- Scroll down about 3/4 of the page until you see Aunt Bee sitting in an airplane c@ckpit.
- Right click on that image, paste that into the address bar, then press the ENTER key and you should see the larger image.
- Finally, I had to include an HTML command in my posting. I used . But I needed to include the address from the previous step which is still in your computer's clipboard memory.
This address of the larger image needs to be pasted in between the quotation marks of so that your HTML command looks like the following < img src="https://metvcdn.metv.com/Yky5v-1461693450-embed-andy_auntbeebigmoment_plane.jpg" >. I had to include a space after and before the < > brackets otherwise the image would post again. Be sure to delete the spaces if you want the HTML command to work.
- I used this complete HTML command in my Front Porch posting along with the text message.

from Poor Horatio
February 28, 2021 - Msg 116262: Easy as 1-2-3..?....MDC maybe you better just “Call the Man” ..PH Your education was worth every penny..G-F
February 28, 2021 - Msg 116263:
G-F, thanks for that compliment. Here's a funny story. Way back in the early 1970s, I was in college studying Engineering. After taking a required computer programming course, I was considering changing my major to Computer Science. But since personal computers had not been invented yet, I was apprehensive about seeking a career in computers. So I played it safe and stayed with engineering. Within ten years, I learned I had made the wrong decision. So after another 10 years, I returned to college to study Information Systems and Computer Programming. But it was too late for me to change careers since I was doing well in Engineering. At least I received college level training in six different computer languages.

from Poor Horatio
February 28, 2021 - Msg 116264: Good morning, porch. I should be in my SS classroom right now, but I chose to stay home this morning and attend services online. I miss seeing my church family, but I've got a big old misery in my ankle. I'm not sure what it is, but walking is an adventure, and I'm glad I've got enough furniture in this house that I can get wherever I need to go and always have something to hold onto. I call it furniture-surfing! Since I have on occasion had mild attacks of gout in one big toe, and I know that gout can and does attack any joint, including ankles, I'm tempted to think it's gout, but none of the other signs are there. No swelling, redness or heat. The foot and ankle look perfectly fine. It's just exquisitely tender to anything that moves the joint. I can stand flat, and walk if I don't let the joint bend at all, and it's not bad. Just let that ankle joint bend a tad though, and it's like somebody shot it. So, I just walk like Chester, hold onto furniture, and I'm good. I'm rubbing it with Voltaren, taking an Advil tablet now and then, and just trying to wear it out. I may try a little heat on it later.

Wow, PH, no wonder you can do all sorts of magic on this website. My computer experience goes back to about 1982-83, when the hospital where I worked brought computers in for the first time. Most of the nurses were pretty scared of them, but I was fascinated. Didn't have sense enough to be scared, I guess. Actually, "computers" was a misnomer, in a way. All we actually had were terminal monitors and keyboards, and all we could do was order labs, xrays, enter diet orders, look up lab results, and type in our nurse's notes. That was about it. We didn't "compute" anything. I was a fast typist, considering I had spent about 20 years as a secretary, and loved keyboards. At that time, I could type about 110 words per minute, accurately. That really intimidated my fellow nurses, who still preferred to hand-write their shift notes. The hospital decreed that all notes must go into the computer system, and you would be amazed at how many of the nurses couldn't type at all! They learned, most of them, but a few used the hunt-and-p#ck system until they retired. I began to observe, and study up on computers, and realized I really liked them. Somewhere I picked up on the idea that when one started acting hinky, you could turn it off, let it sit a minute, and turn it back on, and it usually fixed the problem. The other nurses thought I was magic!

After about a year of using them at work, I told my Dale I wanted one at home. He asked why, and I said I didn't know, but I knew I wanted one. So, we bought an Epson Equity, which boasted a big old 256k of memory, (a FitBit has more than that, I think). It had dual floppy drives, with the big floppy disks. To operate the computer, you had to turn it on, insert the "driver" disk, and wait while the machine moaned and groaned and made noises for a while, then you could remove it and insert your program disk. Your files were stored on other disks, put there by the program disk. To access a certain file, you had to change disks. I learned to flip those floppies in rapid order! I even built a very complicated spreadsheet, to keep the records for Dale, who ran a crew of carriers for the Dallas Morning News. Until then, he had been keeping it all on paper, on the form provided by the News, and it took about three hours every day, plus a whole day at the end of the month. With my spreadsheet, and me punching in the info, it was done in half an hour a day, and with just a few keystrokes at the month's end, to sum it all up. When he turned in the first copy, the city manager nearly had apoplexy, then recovered and praised it.

My first, very rudimentary email was a program called Prodigy. It only worked with other people who had Prodigy. Seems to me that only lasted a year or so.

About three years later, our computer supply guy told us about "hard drives" that were coming. A little later, he called us to come try one out. We did, and I was sold. So we bought our first Dell (I think, or was it an IBM?), and I gave my old Epson to my grandson, who used it to play computer games, and believe it or not, it still works, if you can find games on a big disk. Since then, I've replaced my computers about every five or six years, some longer than that. I now have a Dell that's nearing two years old, I love it, and it has ten times the capacity of the one it replaced, which was nearly full, at 94%, and getting slow. That's the one I wrote my book on. I cannot imagine writing a book with paper and pen! Eeek!

Well, enough of that. Computers - love 'em, hate 'em, can't live with 'em and can't live without 'em! Blessings, friends. Stay warm, stay well, and keep looking up! --Romeena
February 28, 2021 - Msg 116265: Good Sabbath all.

Romeena, I was thinking it might be a gout flare before you even said so yourself. I can tell you I feel your pain for sure my dear. As you know I deal with that myself and know just how painful it can be. And in my case I know what will cause mine to flare up. Weight loss. The more I lose and/or the faster I lose it, the worse will be my flare. So just something for you to think about. I take colcrys when I do have a flare and it does work very well most of the time. I hope it gets better soon.

Between my computers and my very problematic wifi service I have not been on line much. I pay Centurylink for high speed service but it is not available out here in the area I live in yet, so most of the time it is dial up speed, if even that. Lately it seems to be out more than on. Very frustrating.

Anyway, just thought I'd pop in between meetings. I need to run to a Zoon meeting now.

Prayers for all.

Asa
February 28, 2021 - Msg 116266:
Wow Romeena, I did not know how experienced you were with personal computers. Had I known how popular they would become over time, I would have switched my major. After using personal computers at my work, I decided to get one for my home. It was a black and white Apple Macintosh computer loaded with whopping 512k of memory along with an Image Writer dot matrix printer. I still own both of them since they still work. About ten years later, I purchased an IBM desktop style computer so I could learn DOS on my own. Using these computers allowed me to increase my typing speed, but not as fast as your. Although I peaked at about 60 words per minute with 100% accuracy, I usually type slower, using both hands, since I am not in any hurry.
I stopped buying desktop computers about ten years ago and prefer to use laptops with the larger screens.
Finally, this is why I considered changing my major to Computer Science. When I tool my very first computer programming course in 1971, I was surprised how much I enjoyed it even though I had no previous computer experience. When the professor told us to work the even numbered problems for homework, I also did the odd numbered problems. On exams, I did all the problems including the extra credit ones. I would often correct the professor when he made a mistake. In the computer lab, if the professor was not present, I would answer questions from my fellow students. But here is what made me most proud. I was the only student in my class who did not have to take the final exam because my grade was so high with all the extra credit work I did. As a result, I regret not having changed my major to Computer Science.

from Poor Horatio

February 28, 2021 - Msg 116267:
I forgot to mention how much computers have changed during my time. As I posted before, there were no personal computers back in 1971. We learned programming on the IBM 360 and IBM 1620 computers. These were called mainframe computers because they took up a lot of space. They were nothing like the smaller personal computers that were about ten years away from being invented. Our programs had to be entered using punch cards (https://tinyurl.com/spf848jf) where one line of computer code was punched on each card. And if the entire program had hundreds of lines of code, that would require hundreds of punch cards. These cards needed to be fed into the computer in the proper sequence in order to load the program. With the IBM 1620, we usually got our results within a few minutes. But with the IBM 360, this computer was shared over a network with the other campuses of our university. So we would submit our complete program of punch cards as a batch file and wait a couple of days before we got our results.

from Poor Horatio
February 28, 2021 - Msg 116268:
Sorry for the long posts, but when it comes to computers, I get excited and start to babble.

from Poor Horatio
February 28, 2021 - Msg 116269: HaHa...PH...You made me laugh 😂 on your last post!...Some of us find computers to be frustrating and aggravating at times but these days it’s a necessity evil to me...I guess our IT guys had me spoiled when I was working, when I had a problem I just had to “Call the Man” and he’d come and fix it...

Thank goodness for Guys like you!.....G-F
February 28, 2021 - Msg 116270:
Thanks again G-F

Asa, I think your internet provider owes you a credit or refund. When I complain to our provider during service interruptions, I often get a credit for the number of days that my service slowed or was interrupted.
Before you contact them, perform a speed test. Either your service provider has one available on their web site or you can search the internet for one. Run it to see what your download and upload speeds are. Then contact your service provider to learn what speeds you are paying for. If their is a difference, demand a credit or refund.

from Poor Horatio
February 28, 2021 - Msg 116271:

RO--as Andy said to Sarah, "Try soaking it." :)
Seriously, try it in some epson salts. Just might help, and certainly won't hurt.

GF-Spring training games start here today with limited spectators. I may try to attend one.
I'll keep an eye on your Indians for ya.

I heard today that POSSUMS like all-spice!
Who knew that Clara's advice would be good for our resident possum! haha

PH--thank you for that detailed information. I will try it,
and see what happens. I will probably blow up my computer! lol Very interesting about your career choices. BTW, I remember years ago getting our city services invoices on those punch cards, and it had a notice: "Do not bend, staple, or mutilate!" :)

ASA, For my internet service I just use a hotspot by T-Mobile. It is called a Falcon Z, and it works great.
It might be worth looking into at a T-Mobile store.
What i like about it, is when we travel, I just plug the little unit into my laptop and it works anywhere without going onto the motels public Wi-Fi.

GOOD SABBATH to all!
MDC



February 28, 2021 - Msg 116272: 2021-new tempe bike-walk path

February 28, 2021 - Msg 116273:
HA! Well, I tried to post a pic. Will try again later! mdc
February 28, 2021 - Msg 116274: Yep MDC...You better take advantage of one of my Indians games before the change their name...I believe they share the complex with the Cincinnati “Reds”...I guess they are Ok since they were named after their socks 🧦 and not after people.

Don’t you find the irony in some of the names? Like when the Dodgers left Brooklyn to go to LA, they sure weren't dodging street cars anymore...They shoulda renamed them the “Traffic Jammers”.....Just Sayin’ 🤷🏼‍♂️

G-F....
February 28, 2021 - Msg 116275:
MDC, was Msg 116272 your failed attempt to post a pic? If it is, I examined your source code and can explain to you what is wrong and how to correct it. Just confirm please.

from Poor Horatio
February 28, 2021 - Msg 116276:
Yup! That was me.
MDC Steve (:
March 01, 2021 - Msg 116277:
MDC, I did not see the HTML command nor the address of your image in MSG 116272. That is why it did not work. Apparently my instruction were not clear enough for you to understand. Sorry about that.
to post an image on The Front Porch, you have to use the proper HTML command that is listed in my Msg 116261. You begin by typing the following in the COMMENTS box at the Front Porch as shown below:

< img src="" >. Notice there is a space after the first bracket < and a space before the last bracket >. I did this so you can see the syntax of the command and not have the command activate. So when you type this command in, do not include those two spaces.

However this command only tells the web site that something is about to be posted. But that command above needs to include the URL address of the location for the image plus the name of the image. And since it is an image, this address will probably end with .jpg to indicate that it is a JPEG image. So to complete the HTML command, you need to include the address between the quotation marks in the command above such as in
< img src="https://metvcdn.metv.com/embed-andy_auntbeebigmoment_plane.jpg" >
So what you need to do is go to the internet page that has the image that you want to post. Left click on that image and select COPY IMAGE LOCATION from the drop down menu. Then go to the COMMENTS section of the Front Porch page where you have the < img src="" > command already typed in. Move your cursor in between the two quotation marks and then paste the address of your image there. Add some text if you want, then cross your fingers before clicking on POST YOUR COMMENTS.

from Poor Horatio
March 01, 2021 - Msg 116278:
MDC, oops,I made a mistake. Where I said to left click on that image and select COPY IMAGE LOCATION, I meant to say right click on that image.
Hey, I am typing this after midnight so I am entitled to one error.

from Poor Horatio
March 01, 2021 - Msg 116279: Or you can just do this MDC if you want to post a picture of you and your new bike...🚴🏻‍♂️💨 🤷🏼‍♂️ G-F
March 01, 2021 - Msg 116280: Good morning, porch! Yuck! It's cold and rainy here this morning, and I think I should have just stayed in bed and snuggled with Trinket. She's a wonderful snuggler!

PH, your education was surely worth every penny! There was a time when I would have been on that great explanation of yours, learning and digging until I mastered it. However, these days, I don't think I could even build that spreadsheet again. At times, I'm baffled by some of the functions of MS Word, the new version! Maybe it's just the decline of motivation, but my attention span is not what it used to be. I'm too easily distracted, like at this moment when I'm focused on watching two squirrels playing the courting game in my back yard.

Back in the day, I was fairly familiar with DOS code language (I had the big book, "DOS for Dummies") and could enter those DOS commands with relative ease. Then came my hard-drive computers, and pre-written programs that could be summoned, and gradually I forgot all the DOS stuff. Just out of curiosity, I searched online for "computer programming languages" and came up with the nine programs considered most popular today, and I recognized only two - "Java" and "JavaScript". Others, like "Swift", "Python" and "Ruby" - I've never heard of. It doesn't matter, since I guess I won't be doing any programming anyway, but things have really moved along. My daughter, years ago, took a programming course at our local junior college, and I can't remember the name of the programming language she was learning. It's not even on the list where I found "Swift" and the others. Oh, well. I'm still working on learning my native spoken language (English) and my very weak second spoken language - Spanish. Again, it comes down to motivation. No one is going to pay an old granny like me a nickel for learning a computer language, and life will give me great reward for learning a spoken language. At the hospital, when a Spanish-speaking patient was admitted to my care, terrified because of the inability to communicate her needs and fears, there was tremendous reward in the relief on her face when I could understand her and respond, however clumsily. Unlike computer languages, which must be absolutely correct and clear, my broken Spanish could be filled with errors, but it didn't matter. Just as I can understand very broken English, they can understand broken Spanish. It's the effort and the caring that matters. That's something I learned a long time ago. Many times, I received a new patient and was told in report that he or she "speaks no English at all." Still, when I used my very limited Spanish, suddenly they would begin using some English - broken and very limited, yes - but they tried, encouraged by my use of my poor Spanish. Between the two of us, we could communicate. Very gratifying!

Well, that became a lengthy rabbit trail, didn't it? I look forward to Heaven, where we will all speak the same language!

PH, I've copied and pasted the explanation about posting pictures to a Word file. I will give it a shot one of these days. I made the correction on the Right click/Left click thing. Thanks for posting that.

Well, guess I'd better go feed Trinket. She acts like she thinks she's going to dry up and blow away, but when I put her food in her bowl, she'll nibble at it and walk away. It will take her all day to finish off a bowl of kibble. The problem is, she wants me to put little goodies in it, like shredded cheese, some blueberries, stir in a little peanut butter, or some canned dog food - things like that. Of course, I will, but I would really appreciate it if she'd just eat the kibble. She picks up little pieces of it and deposits them on the washable rug in front of my stove, where I step on them with my bare feet, and that hurts! The little lovable wretch!

Blessings, friends! Stay warm, stay well, and keep looking up! --Romeena
March 01, 2021 - Msg 116281:
Romeena, I loved reading your last post . It even made me laugh "dry up and blow away" LOL. Trinket seems to be giving you lots of joy. But one thing I noticed is that it seems that she is training you and not you training her.
As for computer languages, the six that I received training in include:
- Basic
- Fortran
- C
- Assembler
- COBOL
- HTML
And the only one that I still use on occasion is HTML.
Where I used to live back in the USA, I was in a minority. The Hispanics outnumbered all nationalities. So I took a college Spanish course and would watch Spanish television and music videos. My favorite television program to watch was Sabado Gigante, a variety program hosted by Don Francisco ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phJ5TcgsAN4 ). And I loved listening to music videos by such performers as Flans ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fY-NP2YcGk )
Bye for now.

from Poor Horatio
March 01, 2021 - Msg 116282: After reading Poor Horatio's easy explanation how to post a picture, it reminds me of when Goober says something like "Say it again?"

Billy Ray the Postman
March 01, 2021 - Msg 116283: Wow,we've got pictures on the porch!! Wonder what else I've missed by staying under my rock? Will get caught up on the archives and all the goings on real soon. I just popped in to say hello and Happy March to all! Oh, and Ron "Opie" Howard turns 67 today!

Boy, pics on the Porch! I'm impressed!

Y'all take care & remember to Act Like Somebody!

*************
possum u.a.r.
March 01, 2021 - Msg 116284:



March 01, 2021 - Msg 116285:
HEY! It worked! PH, I had been trying to copy one from my computer files on my many past attempts (on my own), but
now I understand that it must be a html image! very cool!
Anyway, possum came out from under her rock to set for a spell! ha
Thanks,
MDC :)

March 01, 2021 - Msg 116286:

PH, I actually help keep up my high school alumni website where I can go in 'the back door' and update/add etc, but our 'webmaster' does all the other stuff. Like recently he switched us from
a platform called Drupal to one called Backdrop.
He starts explaining it all to me, and then my eyes gloss over,
and he says,You aren't getting this are you?". haha
MDC