Kitchen Privileges

So, do other dogs sit on couches and car seats with their front legs on the floor for balance? Is this normal? If I asked a dog trainer would I simply be told to stop letting the dog sit on couches and car seats?

I fear I am entirely too amused by Sherman, the Labradoodle. As Tom Bold confesses, "When he stands up next to me at the kitchen counter and we're eye to eye, I can't help but laugh."

Tom. I thought we agreed that Sherman wouldn't have kitchen privileges.
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© 2009 Mary Bold, PhD, CFLE. The content of this blog or related web sites created by Mary Bold (www.marybold.com, www.boldproductions.com, College Intern Blog) is not under any circumstances to be regarded as professional, legal, financial, or medical advice. Or education advice. Or marital advice. Or even a tip.

DOT Provides Wifi on All Roads

Clearly, I've been in a lot of highway rest areas in Texas this month. Here's my observation about my observation skills: I jumped to a conclusion about where Texas was installing wifi.

When I first spotted a Texas rest area with wireless access to the Internet, it was on I-35. So, I concluded that the interstate highways were the lucky spots.

Well, the Texas Department of Transportation (DOT) tends to all roads. And that's why wifi is turning up in rest areas on all sizes of road. Above sign is from the Safety Rest Area at Donley County on 287.

And as a boomer reader commented to me in email last week, it's amazing that as some states are cutting back on rest areas, Texas is building them bigger and better than ever.

© 2009 Mary Bold, PhD, CFLE. The content of this blog or related web sites created by Mary Bold (www.marybold.com, www.boldproductions.com, College Intern Blog) is not under any circumstances to be regarded as professional, legal, financial, or medical advice. Or education advice. Or marital advice. Or even a tip.

Personal Technology: Impulse Buys at Target

Ten years ago—or even five years ago—I would not have believed that a 1 gigabyte flash drive for the computer would sell for $8.99. And I certainly wouldn't have believed that I would find it among the hanging items at the check-out counter, in place for impulse purchase.

You don't have to be a baby boomer to be impressed by this placement. But I imagine boomers are the first to notice because we have sharp memory of the prices we used to pay for such flash drives. In fact, they were often behind lock and key!

© 2008 Mary Bold, PhD, CFLE. The content of this blog or related web sites created by Mary Bold (www.marybold.com, www.boldproductions.com, College Intern Blog) is not under any circumstances to be regarded as professional, legal, financial, or medical advice. Or education advice. Or marital advice. Or even a tip.

When you're the slowest dog at the dog park...

No one likes to be the slowest of the pack. Sherman is. At every dog park, he plays with as many dogs as possible. But when they start running, he is the last in line.

Perhaps because he is still growing? Or perhaps he is just not a runner. At home, he chases squirrels to no avail.

But last week he found an animal slower than himself. And brought the turtle into the house. Tom Bold waited for distraction and returned the turtle to the outdoors.

© 2009 Mary Bold, PhD, CFLE. The content of this blog or related web sites created by Mary Bold (www.marybold.com, www.boldproductions.com, College Intern Blog) is not under any circumstances to be regarded as professional, legal, financial, or medical advice. Or education advice. Or marital advice. Or even a tip.

Texas Welcome

Pretty spot: the Texas welcome center on Highway 69, entering from Oklahoma.

The park-like setting (or we could just call it a park) makes this welcome center a show-off stop. The building closes by early evening although bathrooms are unlocked 24/7. The walks are wonderful, with lush landscaping.

At night, the best walk is straight to the restroom entry. Reach that by driving to the mid-way point along the driveway, and walking the shortest distance from drive to west side of building.

There is no closed area for pets. Dogs need to be on a leash to be safe.

© 2009 Mary Bold, PhD, CFLE. The content of this blog or related web sites created by Mary Bold (www.marybold.com, www.boldproductions.com, College Intern Blog) is not under any circumstances to be regarded as professional, legal, financial, or medical advice. Or education advice. Or marital advice. Or even a tip.

Roughing It, More or Less

All that hinting about camping and vans... the result was a short trip to Natural Falls State Park in Oklahoma.

Few children were among the campers and those that were emerged from tents. Most of the campers last weekend were baby boomers in big, blooming RVs. The ranger told me the park would be about half-full and that looked right. I made a reservation anyway. Yep. Wanted that slot near the bathroom and shower.

I have never traveled in an RV and my experience is limited to the sea of white that fills the area around the Texas Motor Speedway near our home. That's on I-35 in North Texas, if you're not familiar with the NASCAR circuit.

Sea of white refers to the predominant color of RVs and campers. So, at Natural Falls I was not surprised by the rows of white RVs around us. We were in the red minivan....

Natural Falls features falls, of course. The trail to the bottom of the falls is short but steep. Paved trail and concrete steps make it easy although I was pleased not be walking it in rain. The "long" trail is less than 2 miles so this is not the park for dedicated walkers.

Wildlife we spotted: a deer leaping across the road, turtles not leaping at all, woodpeckers in their traditional activity.

Roughing it we accomplished: van camping for a night in stormy weather, working online into the night thanks to the electrical outlet in our space and an air card for Internet access, sleeping with Sherman the labradoodle at our feet and sometimes alongside, too.

OK. So, maybe that's not roughing it. But if you had a 75-pound dog bringing you a red ball for fetch at 2am, you might call it a rough night, at least.

© 2009 Mary Bold, PhD, CFLE. The content of this blog or related web sites created by Mary Bold (www.marybold.com, www.boldproductions.com, College Intern Blog) is not under any circumstances to be regarded as professional, legal, financial, or medical advice. Or education advice. Or marital advice. Or even a tip.

A Sherman Tank

Sherman at 7 months (72 pounds) is not often still for photographs. And never still for height measurement. So, we don't really know how tall he is. We know he is shorter than a Mastiff. But we also know he is taller than the back seats of our cars. When he rides in a car he fills the rearview mirror. Turning one's head to look for cars in the blind spot is fruitless. All one can see is yellow and white fluff.

So, for all the years that I have been amused by people who purchased special vehicles for their dogs, I am now understanding of their choice. And I am now amused by our choice of last week: a minivan for Sherman. (Or, as The Sociologist pointed out for me: a Sherman Tank.)

What else is in this glimpse into two boomers' lives? (I'm referring to Tom Bold and me, not to Sherman and anyone.) The incredible experience of going car shopping during the Great Recession. The only busy car lot we visited was CarMax. All the others were deserted. (We purchased at one of the deserted lots.) Negotiating a price was streamlined by what I interpreted as the lot manager's interest in cash flow. (The manufacturer declared bankruptcy the very next day.)

We traded in the little white truck, which was in both of our names. We hadn't discussed how we would title the minivan but we both knew—instantly—when the salesman said, "Do you want this in both names or just yours, Tom?" Any boomer woman reading this knows what happened next. It's the 3rd or 4th car that's gone under just my name.

© 2009 Mary Bold, PhD, CFLE. The content of this blog or related web sites created by Mary Bold (www.marybold.com, www.boldproductions.com, College Intern Blog) is not under any circumstances to be regarded as professional, legal, financial, or medical advice. Or education advice. Or marital advice. Or even a tip.

On Not Hunting

A fair number of friends will despair that I've been to Cabela's, where one can buy hunting, fishing, and camping supplies beyond one's imagining. And also see displays of animals, museum style. That's the polite way of saying stuffed.

But for every friend dismayed by my trip to Cabela's, there are two friends or relatives not impressed at all. Because they were at a similar establishment a week ago or, even more grandiosely, may state, "Why, I've got one bigger than that out in the garage."

Regardless of one's orientation toward hunting (my brothers converted a bedroom into a shell room, machinery and all), you can't be less than impressed by the wildlife displays at Cabela's. They even include animatronics, Disney style: an old-timer storytelling.

What in the world took me to Cabela's? A strong urge to go camping, which has more to do with the difficulty of hotel life with Sherman the dog than with a love for the outdoors. I know you are all relieved that I'm not taking up hunting.


© 2009 Mary Bold, PhD, CFLE. The content of this blog or related web sites created by Mary Bold (www.marybold.com, www.boldproductions.com, College Intern Blog) is not under any circumstances to be regarded as professional, legal, financial, or medical advice. Or education advice. Or marital advice. Or even a tip.

Working during the Pandemic: Can You Telecommute?

As a telecommuter, I am grateful that I can continue to work during pandemics, snowstorms, and holidays. In the current environment of closures due to swine flu, I am humble in acknowledging that personal impact is slight.

Workplaces are directly affected if there is need to close and they are also affected if employees' children's schools must close. (In Texas, whole school districts are suspending classes. Communities are canceling large public events.)

Should everyone be a telecommuter? Should school children have distance learning alternatives? The realities: no one becomes a telecommuter in one day or one week, and schools must coordinate many systems to accomplish distance learning. (College campuses have similar challenge although Hurricane Katrina provided a wake-up call on the need for contingency planning, also called academic continuity planning.)

Here's my major theme: no one becomes a telecommuter in one day or one week. Or even one month. (Try six months.) The key components of telecommuting can be listed but then must be mastered by the individual. No amount of training can replace personal experience.

1 - Buy-in. That means the boss, the co-workers, and the customers all must believe that you can produce good work at a distance.

2 - Productivity. So, you actually have to produce good work at a distance! It can take months to adjust to a schedule that works.

3 - Communication. And you must commit time and practice to multiple means of communicating with the boss, the co-workers, the customers.

4 - Technology Investment. My personal tools include 3 laptops (2 of which have built-in webcams), 1 desktop computer, 1 high-quality data projector, 1 tiny portable projector of lower quality, Internet access 3 ways (fiber optic, smartphone, air card), industrial-strength laser printer that prints on 11x17 paper, well, you get the idea. If these are the tools for one person, imagine what's needed for an office, a company, an educational institution.

What's my thinking on telecommuting during the pandemic? By all means, businesses and schools should begin the messy process. And when the pandemic is "downgraded" and normal operations resume, they should continue the messy process. Telecommuting part-time is the best protection for the future.

What the graphic refers to: I have a favorite free tool for "face-to-face" communication: ooVoo. I've been using it off and on for two years. But a recent commitment to a wholly online staff project is providing the real work-out. Once a week, I work with two colleagues for a couple of hours, strictly online. Phone is a back-up measure. A goal of the project is to create a comfort zone in desktop videoconferencing so that we can then use the technology with other people involved in the project. So far, we've concentrated on ooVoo and vRoom. We plan to use other platforms, too. How are we doing? After a month of consistent use, we are becoming more skilled. (We are not ready to include other people, yet.)

© 2009 Mary Bold, PhD, CFLE. The content of this blog or related web sites created by Mary Bold (www.marybold.com, www.boldproductions.com, College Intern Blog) is not under any circumstances to be regarded as professional, legal, financial, or medical advice. Or education advice. Or marital advice. Or even a tip.