Boomer Woman Blog

Transformational Cinema

2011-07-04T15:20:00.004-05:00

Over the holiday weekend, I went to two movies. One very expensive. One not quite as expensive. Both still contrast to my sharp memory of a Saturday in 1975 when I told myself that $10 was just too much to spend on my movie outing. And so it was years, perhaps a decade, before I allowed myself that indulgence.

This weekend? Oh, my. Beyond indulgence.

On Saturday, I went to a 3D movie at an iPic cinema. I knew it was a different kind of place. No ticket booth. Rather, a maitre d behind a big, shiny black desk. Did I want to select my seat and have service? Sure. $27.

After being seated, I ordered from a menu. Now, I've done Movie Tavern in Texas. I know how to behave. I was still surprised at my bill of $23.

Did I make clear that this outing was for one person attending one movie?

I do not regret seeing the film. (Never do!) But I will admit that I spent some minutes playing with words: interminable, terminate this, and so forth. Much later I realized I was confusing my movie root word and was, in fact, in a different film altogether. But you get the idea and know what I was watching.

Sunday's movie was a tad cheaper. (Total bill $18: no 3D, no service, the usual dietCoke, and a new treat. Read on.) And a better film. Super 8 is simply super. I will have to see it again, of course. You should, too.

And this different theatre had a different treat. I said, "Do you have a smaller box of Junior Mints?" And the lad said, "No, but I have them frozen. Do you want them frozen?" I said I didn't know. "They're really good. You should try them. Do you want to try them?"

Well, OK. And his prompting was actually a great way to begin the movie. Youthful enthusiasm. We should all try that, too.

© 2011 Mary Bold, PhD, CFLE. The content of this blog or related web sites created by Mary Bold (http://www.marybold.com/, http://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.

Return of the Blog

2011-05-29T20:22:00.003-05:00

I wondered what would make me post again. I've been photographing things for months. Writing blog entries in my mind when I've run across really neat boomer-related factoids. But didn't feel that urge to log on and write. What got me back online? A movie, of course.

The Hangover Part II was recommended to me yesterday by a colleague from another generation. (The sell was not necessary. I laughed out loud when I saw the first Hangover. Cringed a lot. But laughed out loud). What I found charming about her recommendation was the warning of male frontal nudity.

Not to worry. Not offended.

But during today's viewing I had to reflect that the 2011 male frontal nudity is decidedly different from the 1968 mere flash in Planet of the Apes. Context matters, of course.

And today's viewing had another comparison to a past movie that I'm betting some boomer peers will recall. Hangover's loss of a finger is much more raucus (intentionally spelled differently from raucous as I'm seeing a distinction among urban uses, which is not necessarily anything anyone cares about, I know) than the one in True Grit in 1969.

So, in one 2011 film I have updated some memorable images from more than 40 years ago. Well, not really, of course, because I kept my eyes closed a lot today. At least for the finger images.

The Staging Stuff: Decision-Making

2010-08-02T00:01:00.005-05:00

This blog will be a little different in the month of August as we deal with the staging stuff. That is, the household items we removed from our home at the direction of the house stager.

I might not hit the regular posting days of Monday and Friday. I might not even be able to identify a day by its name. My greatest concern is that I won't remember what city I'm in.

That's already happened this month and it's only August 2.

This photo reflects not the biggest of our problems with belongings, rather the most challenging in terms of decision-making. When you rent a storage unit (actually, we rented two) and put stuff in it, eventually you have to decide how to take stuff out. Timing, locations, and hardest of all, the decision to sort and toss as you now admit that you lived without the item for 5 months. Do we really need two wheeled ice chests when the only one we use is a soft-sided smaller version?

© 2010 Mary Bold, PhD, CFLE. The content of this blog or related web sites created by Mary Bold (http://www.marybold.com/, http://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: Real Time Progress Reports

2010-07-30T00:01:00.005-05:00

OK. So, it's not personal personal technology.

A relative ran in the San Francisco Marathon last weekend and paid a grand sum of $1 to have automatic text messages update his progress. Think about that: location, time of day, time in race, and even pace can be reported.

(He told me afterward that he wished he had included reports to his own cell phone.)

Old Movies

2010-07-26T00:01:00.006-05:00

Boomers will recognize my late-night movies of the past month: The Long, Long Trailer from 1953 (Desi was Nicky in this one and the perilous drive across mountains is much funnier when you are old and have done it), 9 to 5 from 1980 (the anecdote of choice is that during the filming the female stars were complaining of the heat one day and Dolly remarked that she could remember when no one had air conditioning and that humbled the ladies), Hello, Dolly from 1969 (in which a very different Dolly is decidedly not wooed by, I had forgotten, Walter Matthau), The Great Race from 1965 (Jack Lemmon chewing scenery, but very well), and Captain Newman, M.D. from 1963 (so, did I know how to place Peck and Darin and Curtis when I was 11 years old?).

The only one of these I shouldn't have seen in a theatre is The Long, Long Trailer. Surely I saw that on television as a child. But for the others, I enjoyed thinking of my age at the time of their release. The scenes I remembered were not necessarily the highlights of the movies....

Recessing: Try India

2010-07-23T00:01:00.007-05:00

And we learn from the young. Travels and Investigations has several topics but the central piece is the author's reason for living in India. With no job prospects in the U.S., the new college grad returned to the site of his semester abroad and found room and board provided for work as a translator and copyeditor. He lives on about $10 cash per week, less than his family would spend on him if he were still in the states, job-seeking.

Within my circle, I regularly point to The Sociologist's offspring, who made similar travels on next-to-zero dollars when jobs were not plentiful when they graduated college. A relative went to Americorps after a lay-off. And another relative is taking a leap of faith in leaving a frustrating job even if it means taking a so-called "lesser" position in the same field. These are the decisions of young people who look around, wonder if there's a better way to spend their day, and then strike out on a new adventure.

I wouldn't call the process opting-out (exactly) but it does require an understanding that the individual cannot control societal circumstances. We humans have a tendency to take responsibility for tough times. The lay-off is experienced as personal failure. The lack of job offers represents not being good enough. It doesn't take much observation to realize that the job market is more than just difficult, and that the individual job-seeker is not responsible for the mess. But when you're the unemployed one, it can be hard to get to that realization.

As the economic downturn has played out, more of the unemployed are getting the message. Trying harder won't produce a job. Every other job applicant is trying harder, too. That leads to other realizations and lots of depression, of course. But we can appreciate the young (and probably some old, too) taking advantage of their mobile opportunities. Not a bad way to spend the Great Recession.

Sunday Morning at the Movies

2010-07-19T00:01:00.005-05:00

In the nicest possible ways, in the olden days, friends sometimes teased gently about my Sunday morning habits. If you are familiar with Texas Wal-Marts, you'll be able to spot the era: a neighbor referred to my Sunday shopping as attending the Church of Hypermart. That was when there was a Hypermart (just for a few years and just in a couple of DFW locations).

In the more recent past, I took up Sunday morning movies. No crowds, even for blockbusters, and sometimes early bird ticket prices. A few friends would point out that most of the community was going to church at that time.

I keep repeating in the past because no one makes such remarks to me anymore. So, yesterday, I was a little at a loss when I had an intense desire to tell someone that church had come to the movies. Literally. My most usual cinema now houses a church meeting on Sunday mornings. Attendees sail past the ticket booth and ticket taker. The Bibles they carry may be their ticket. I have idly wondered if anyone ever stops for popcorn.

Personal Technology: Detergent Dispenser

2010-07-16T00:01:00.007-05:00

Oh, yes, this is personal technology. At least, I'm adopting it for myself. Smart young women around me know all about this new style of dispensing detergent. One week, two younger friends starting talking about laundry detergent that can be squirted into the washer--and the next week, I visited a West Coast friend who had placed one of these pump bottles in my laundry closet.

Perhaps that is not the most startling coincidence of my life but I took it to mean that young women adopt smart products at the same time and then the ideas diffuse slowly across generational lines.

Anyway, despite cost considerations (all my young friends said the same thing, that they were intentionally not calculating the cost), this style of detergent dispensing is the niftiest invention since liquid laundry detergent itself. The terms for dispensing are various: squirt, spray, pump, even projectile. And dosing is recommended for 2, 4, and 6 pump actions depending on size of load. That's not too much to learn. And the benefits are obvious. No pouring. No spilling. (This is not an ad... I have not received any compensation or even free product. Darn. That would have been nice.)

New Touring: Rental RVs

2010-07-12T00:01:00.003-05:00

This is not an ad. It's more like a puzzle. When did RV rentals become so obvious? I thought people rented RVs when they were contemplating buying. (I'm sure that contemplation matter is part of the current marketing around rentals, too.) But these colorful campers lined up in Yellowstone parking lots made a statement: RVing can be temporary and affordable.

Shortly after I saw these Cruiseamerica rentals on the road, I heard Click and Clack on the subject (NPR's Car Talk on Saturday mornings). They were advising a caller to ignore family debate about which car to drive to a national park, and simply fly everyone to Denver and rent an RV. Well, good grief. When did this become travel advice?

About 20 years ago, a boomer friend in Florida flew her family to Denver where they rented a jeep and a plug-in cooler for park touring. We thought that was exotic.

Even wider swath

2010-07-09T02:01:00.003-05:00

I didn't photograph when I drove down a different neighborhood road today. But I will. There's more swath. In the meantime, see photo in my last entry. And just quadruple it.

A wide swath: Neighborhood change

2010-07-05T00:01:00.004-05:00

Most boomers have seen neighborhoods much changed after an absence of several years. And that's what Tom Bold and I discussed for our North Texas home. Assuming we make a planned move in 2010, we will likely return for a business visit within the next two years. And we commented that we'll need to be prepared for the changes in landscape in the surrounding areas. What we didn't expect is that after this summer's 2-week trip we would come home to a new landscape less than a mile from our house. "A wide swath" is the phrase that comes to mind.

Seattle's Big Library

2010-07-02T00:01:00.003-05:00

The Seattle Public Library has a planter that is roughly 20' by 16' and it is just an accent piece. Nothing could dominate the space of this Library. Not even the books.

This city building is striking for its size and architecture. It holds people in a fashion that never seems loud, crowded, or bustling even though many people are present. The Library lets cardholders use a computer for 90 minutes a day. The Library lets people read on site with no limits. The Library even lets people get married there.

Grizzly Bears & Humans

2010-06-28T00:01:00.005-05:00

A little more than a week ago, an older man was killed by a Grizzly bear near Yellowstone. The man was a local and knew he was going into a trapping area. Small consolation but in the category of we all get to choose the way we go.

What Tom Bold and I saw the same day in the park represents much less thought and conscious choice. We saw 3 Grizzlies that Thursday. One, from a distance across a meadow, was running and romping. We were struck by how large the bear must be, for us to have such a clear view at a distance.

The next sighting was scary. A mother Grizzly and her cub, with humans standing as close as 20 feet. It was a grove-like area with shade, and very near the paved road. (That's why we had a view for about 30 seconds. We dodged cars and people to drive away from the scene.)

What would make about 50 humans (adults and children) gather around a mother and cub? Why would drivers be comfortable pulling half-way off the road and leaving their cars to approach for a better look?

All I can think is that the humans felt safe because there were other humans around. A group of humans? No animal can take on a group of humans.

And technically that's true. Even a Grizzly cannot attack the whole group. But she could surely take out one or two humans.

Tom Bold pointed out the other risk: any movement by the bear would trigger a group exit in which humans would get hurt by humans.

I am very glad I saw the bears. I am very glad we kept moving.

Personal Technology: Books on iPad

2010-06-25T00:01:00.003-05:00

I didn't imagine myself putting children's books on the iPad but I'm pretty delighted with two that have ended up there.

The Cat in the Hat proves that touchpad technology can, indeed, guide children to reading. I really don't want to hear any more about trends in the ways of teaching people how to read. Just put kids on iPads. Reading will follow. (The Dr. Seuss classic costs a few bucks.)

Toy Story is not quite the powerful teaching tool of the Cat but it has two great features. First, it offers a paint bucket for touchpad artistry (erasure is with the etch-a-sketch technique of shaking the iPad). Second, it's free. Yep, a free app.

Spouse's Best Deal: Worth the Aging

2010-06-21T01:01:00.005-05:00

Boomers may not care to disclose their own ages (wide variety of opinions on that), but they almost always enjoy an older spouse's advancement, for the sake of senior discounts. (Other eligibility, such as Social Security and Medicare, may be welcomed, too.)

For me, last week, that was the case as Tom Bold purchased his National Parks Senior Pass. $10. That's for life, now. It's also worth some discounting on other federal lands.

The free/discounted entry to parks/lands extends to anyone riding in the same car. That is, Tom Bold and his Pass must be in the car. Anyone else (me) in the same car is just as free/discounted.

Is this a deal, or what?

Personal Technology: Driving while in Overdrive

2010-06-18T00:01:00.005-05:00

I mean, literally driving while in Overdrive. Let me clarify, I don't do the driving while in Overdrive. Tom Bold does the driving and I utilize Overdrive (the unit) to access the Internet on a computer or iPad or iPhone (and presumably any other web-based unit).

Here's the plus that I knew but didn't process until recently. With the Overdrive from Sprint, and the iPhone from AT&T, I have lots of coverage, meaning I'm bound to be in a territory for one cellular service or another. Coverage is documented on the cell services' web sites. If I could magically improve one of them, it would be Sprint's map of data service coverage. In today's age of google mapping, it's hard to forgive a clunky, chunky map like Sprint's.

(The AT&T Coverage Viewer looks remarkably similar to the Spring Coverage Tool… but the AT&T version has smoother operation.)

These are the tools of a mobile society. And the specific tools of un-tethered boomers. More on un-tethering later.

Disclosure statement: I have no relationship with any product or company mentioned here and I have not received any compensation or free product for mentioning them. (This blog's only monetary reward comes through google.adsense links, which are selected by Google, not by me.)

New Favorite Retirement Calculator

2010-06-14T00:01:00.005-05:00

I have a new favorite retirement calculator. It's from an independent, Bud Hebeler. That's in contrast to an investment or brokerage house. Hebeler is a former president of Boeing and an all-around smart person on the subject of personal finance.

His web site is Analyze Now! (the exclamation mark is part of the name but the URL is just www.analyzenow.com] It has a lot of explanations, and a fair number of FAQs, but its real strength is in the calculation programs. The programming is presented in Excel spreadsheets. Don't worry that the programs require knowledge of Excel; they don't. When a spreadsheet opens, you just follow the instructions and plug in numbers in the highlighted cells. Results will appear near the top of the screen, with explanation if it's needed.

Hebeler's guided tour of retirement doesn't have the 4-color pizzazz of the commercial web sites. But in its quieter way, with no sales pitches, it inspires confidence in the major source of information, the user. After all, if I can follow the steps to analysis, surely I can follow the steps to action.

Personal Technology: SkyDrive

2010-06-11T00:01:00.004-05:00

I have a new web app: Microsoft's Office online. A web app (application) runs entirely in a browser. So, you do need Internet access. But you do NOT need Microsoft Office on your computer.

These free Office apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote) are lite—they don't have every feature that the hard-drive version of Office provides. But they are free (and the hard-drive version definitey isn't).

Web apps put us up in a cloud. Cloud computing has been promised for a while but it has come with some clunky apps (at least the free ones). Microsoft's version is not clunky. It is very smooth.

The Microsoft cloud also offers a free SkyDrive. That's 25GB of space for storage. (That's a lot of documents. It's even a lot of Powerpoint slideshows.) The downside is that what you create online must be saved to the SkyDrive and not directly to your hard drive. (Uploads and downloads are handled as separate steps.) For a lot of people, that's not really a disadvantage. They want to keep everything floating high above their hardware.

Right now, you can co-author (and co-edit) works in the online Excel and OneNote. Presumably, the rest of the suite will be share-able soon. That's when the online Office will offer all that Google's web app offers.

As a Gmail user, I like Google Docs because it resides nearby. I just click a link in my Gmail account. To use Microsoft's web apps, I must go to a new web site (office.live.com) and enter a new username and password (my Windows Live ID).

I grumbled when I started. Another user name. Potentially another password to match yet another set of rules for security. When I proposed my user name (an email address), the system replied that it was already in existence. Oh, my. Could it be me? I typed in one of my standard passwords. Yes, it linked. I already had a Windows Live ID. With absolutely no memory of it.

Disclosure statement: I have not received any compensation or free product for mentioning this service. (This blog's only monetary reward comes through google.adsense links, which are selected by Google, not by me.)

Foreclosure Insurance... On Holiday

2010-06-07T00:01:00.005-05:00

This isn't about insurance for your own foreclosure. Rather, it's about the possibility that your vacation rental could be in foreclosure.

A friend told me that a recently received trip insurance policy had a new clause: protection in case you get to your vacation house and find it boarded up, locked up, or otherwise unaccessible due to a foreclosure action. Notice I said action, not auction, although the prospect of an auction during your stay is pretty darn interesting.

I'm new to travel insurance, myself. In 2010, for the first time, I was booking travel far enough ahead (more than year) to feel uneasy about the possibility of needing to cancel later. (Insurance doesn't cover all cancellations—just the ones you would approve if you were the insurer.)

I attribute this caution to being a boomer. As a boomer, I was compelled to book that trip far in advance; and, as a boomer, I was nervous that I was booking too far in advance.

Moving Boomers

2010-06-04T00:30:00.004-05:00

What do Las Vegas (Nevada), Bend (Oregon), and Fort Myers (Florida) have in common? All three made it onto two of U.S. News & World Reports' Top 10 lists.

For the full lists, click each of these lines:
10 Cities for Retirement Property Steals
10 Cities Facing a Double Whammy of Default Risks

One way to describe the common set is that 30% of the nation's worst mortgage-foreclosure cities are good places for boomers to relocate to for retirement. And will we? Boomers are more likely to move in retirement years when compared to the previous cohort of retirees. But about 80% want to stay where they are, maintaining their home town ties.

Persia Movies

2010-05-31T00:01:00.006-05:00

If you were a school-aged child in the early 1960s (that's a lot baby boomers), you will like the movie Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. Most of the scenes remind of the desert films we watched in theatres and on TV.

If you were an adult in the early 1960s, you were aware that Persia (the name) had already given way to Iran (the name). But Persia persisted then, and now. As the new movie suggests, Persia existed long ago (years unknown), with heroic leaders (not necessarily matching history), and with magical objects, besides. It's easier to make that happen with a long-ago name that no one can quite put a date on.

Why do I want to go out of my way to say pleasant things about this movie? Last week, after I panned Babies, I didn't hear any disagreement. But a family friend contacted me privately to let me know that Benji was, too, a great movie.

Personal Technology: My Hairbrush

2010-05-28T00:01:00.004-05:00

Yes, I know, there's something wrong with using the word technology with every little tool. I mean, I like to have power behind my technology. Still, I have to admit that hairbrushes have changed. Maybe they deserve the descriptor technology.

This one, purchased after a camping trip (proving once more that fresh air can create loss), is infused with a mineral. Tourmaline. New to me, too.

Or maybe I shouldn't say "too" because maybe I am the only boomer woman on the planet who was not using tourmaline-infused hair care products.

Effect on hair? There is an effect. I just can't articulate it.

Babies: Out on a limb (me, not the babies)

2010-05-24T03:00:00.005-05:00

It is not often that I call a movie boring. I am known for my indiscrimate taste in cinema. I once sat through Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo. Similarly, I made it through The Hangover and Hot Tub Time Machine. The recency of that last one is my proof that I don't wait for cable. No, I sit through these movies at the theatre. I can sit through anything.

Having established my credentials, I will now step out on that limb called socially unacceptable (in case I didn't accomplish that in the first paragraph) and tell you that Babies is so boring I contemplated leaving the theatre. No one would have noticed as I was the only person there.

I did have one admiring thought during the film. With virtually no dialogue (less than a Benji movie for those of you who have only imagined that you have sat through the world's most boring movies), the producers can easily and cheaply change the titles for worldwide distribution.

Personal Technology: iPad

2010-05-21T00:01:00.005-05:00

That image—an iPhone atop an iPad—displays what a boomer loves best about Apple's new offering: size. I probably won't bluetooth to the iPad for the sake of telephoning, but for most other functions of the iPhone I will elect to use the larger unit. What is not visible here, but just may emerge as my favorite app, is the iBooks reader. I'll give a report at a later date.

(For purchase, the Apple store's NotifyMe system worked for me. I ordered one day and received my notice of an available unit two days later. No deposit or commitment was required with the original request for a unit. To satisfy your other question: yes, I bought the cheapest iPad.)

Disclosure statement: I have no relationship with Apple and I have not received any compensation or free product for mentioning their products. (This blog's only monetary reward comes through google.adsense links, which are selected by Google, not by me.)

© 2010 Mary Bold, PhD, CFLE. The content of this blog or related web sites created by Mary Bold (http://www.marybold.com/, http://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.

Once a Month Nurturing

2010-05-17T00:01:00.003-05:00

Sans all the pink stuff, that's a cactus. You know that your offspring knows you well when she sends you a cactus for Mother's Day.

Besides the obvious message of you can't grow anything, this cactus is a send-off gift for the intended move to Las Vegas. It requires watering once a month. At the most.

I cannot speak for all boomer women but that's a schedule of nurturing that I like.

© 2010 Mary Bold, PhD, CFLE. The content of this blog or related web sites created by Mary Bold (http://www.marybold.com/, http://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.

Robbers Cave State Park: Recommended

2010-05-14T02:01:00.006-05:00

Although the approach to Robbers Cave State Park (Oklahoma) includes a long accessibility ramp, the terrain changes abruptly to steps like this to climb to the rock hide-out of robbers. We walked a slightly less steep path, mixing rocky trail with strategically placed stepping stones. The walk is supposedly equal to climbing 8 flights of stairs but I'd say it's more like 4. Still, the operative word is climb and I was glad it wasn't raining.

The state park offers camping and cabins. We stayed in a low-end cabin (the type allowing dogs) and, with dog fee, paid about $75/night. All cabins were sold out the weekend before (Mother's Day) and are similarly booked for the end of the month (Memorial Day). Our mid-week timing meant few visitors.

The lakes are pretty. There's a Sonic in the nearby town. And the cave hike makes Robbers Cave State Park a low-stress vacation. Well, except for the tornado warning that first night.... Distractions were the satellite flat-screen TV in the cabin and (surprise) great Internet access with our Sprint Overdrive hotspot. When the satellite TV went out for an hour (!), I tracked the tornado on radar maps on the Internet.

Social Comparison Among Housing Markets

2010-05-10T00:30:00.004-05:00

Measuring foot traffic in real estate is increasingly a matter of web stats usage, or page hits. That's because just about everyone previews housing on the web before house shopping commences. But sometimes the comparison between housing markets is best described the old-fashioned way: literal foot traffic.

So, our Texas foot traffic over 2 months has totaled close to two dozen groups.

And our friends in San Francisco surpassed that number on their first day of listing (a Saturday). And saw more than double that on their second day (Mother's Day Sunday).

In Texas, we didn't even consider having an open house on Mother's Day.

Where do tea towels come from?

2010-05-07T00:30:00.007-05:00

I don't think tea towels separate the generations. Rather, tea towels separate women who care and women who don't have a clue. I'm in that latter group.

The above tea towel has hung on our kitchen stove for almost 9 years. My sister provided it. Just like she provided the previous tea towel. And the one before that. I cannot say exactly how many and I don't recall how long each lasted. Surely not as long as the current one.

My sister has always provided because about 35 years ago I commented that I was surprised at how many of my friends have things like tea towels. My reaction was always a mild curiosity. How do people have tea towels and kitchen shears and other subtleties of home life?

With a generous spirit, my sister simply provided without pointing out that I could learn how to shop for tea towels.

It's fair for you to wonder how the heck a family maintains a single tea towel for 9 years. Very simple. If the family has someone like me in charge of home purchases, all members just understand to leave the tea towel alone. No family discussions. No instructions. Just one of those family truths that everyone knows.

I'm thinking the tea towel should be recycled in the next move. And my sister can shop once more.

Red Hatters: A Sighting

2010-05-03T00:01:00.003-05:00

Red Hatters have existed for only a dozen years. They already make up the largest social group of women. In the world!

I spotted these Red Hatters at a local restaurant last week. My first sighting since I learned of the Society about 5 years ago. That was when a colleague made a joke at a meeting, that I was appropriately aged for a Red Hat. I remember being surprised and mildly irritated. I had never heard of the Red Hat Society but her single sentence communicated it all. And all I could think was, how do you presume to know my age?

Oh, yeah. It would be my aging face.

More important in current day: how to explain Red Hatters to Tom Bold. If you think I don't follow much of popular culture, you cannot imagine where Tom is on that path.

Personal Technology: Overdrive

2010-04-30T00:01:00.006-05:00

Wi-Fi and MiFi and WiMAX and hotspot and air card and airport and router and modem and, well, all that stuff. They all address that burning question: how can I get on the Internet on the road?

Last year, I went the air card route. It's a little USB stick that connects a laptop to the web. Initial cost was about $100. Discounted monthly fee was $40+. I'm using past tense because I canceled the account this week. I definitely liked having an air card. On 3 or 4 occasions, it genuinely saved me: I was able to conduct crucial work on the web. And at least a couple of times a month, it provided a convenient link.

On the downside, it ever only worked on one laptop, a unit running Windows XP. It never provided a connection for my Mac, Windows Vista, or Windows 7 laptops.

OK. That's all the whining behind my personal technology. Here's the fun stuff:

My new mobile Internet solution is the Overdrive. It's a little black box that receives Internet from Sprint's 3G and 4G network... and then broadcasts it to 5 mobile devices near me. To take advantage of this Wi-Fi, those devices must have my password for connection. Cost was about $100 with discounts and the monthly charge is $60. I know, I know.

So, if you're scanning the list of available wireless networks on your computer and you see "Bold" in the list, look for me. I'll be within 150 feet of you, holding my overdrive.

Disclosure statement: I have no relationship with Sprint other than as a customer and I have not received any compensation or free product for mentioning this product or service. (This blog's only monetary reward comes through google.adsense links, which are selected by Google, not by me.)

Boomer Numbers

2010-04-26T00:15:00.007-05:00

Boomer numbers for 2010:

The first boomers were born in 1946. This year, they turn 64.

The last boomers were born in 1964. This year, they turn 46.

OK. Maybe not the most earth shattering set of numbers you'll ever know. Earth shattering was supposed to be 2011. That's the year the leading boomers will reach age 65, a classic age for various qualifying events. The Great Recession may make age 70 more pertinent for Social Security retirement, taking the edge off 2011.

Another view is this: starting in 2011, every year will bring new boomer numbers in terms of retirement, Social Security, Medicare, exemptions or reductions in property tax (in some locales). Every year, a new wave of boomers will qualify for those events. And that annual wave will occur 18 times.

Beautronics: Boomers May Not Be Familiar

2010-04-23T00:01:00.004-05:00

Granted, I am not aware of many advancements in the beauty industry but I daresay most boomer women have not tuned into beautronics. That's Barbie's maker's term for the electronic supports for beauty-making.

In short, you can stick your finger into a special printer for décorating your nails. Rather, a child can. Barbie images as well as holiday motifs are ink-jetted on the nail in seconds. This costs some hundreds of dollars.

Web reviews of beautronics cite only one problem: users have a hard time sitting still so the pumpkins are sometimes blurry.

From Underwater to Foreclosure: One Anecdote

2010-04-19T00:31:00.003-05:00

Most boomers grew up to believe bankruptcy was a sad, sad event. We feel sympathy for people who go through the process. Outside of a few cynical jokes about billionaires who file for such protection, we don't laugh when we hear that a friend has hit hard times and taken that route. Foreclosures? We grew up with no belief at all.

Regardless of what we know about sub-prime mortgages, we are now developing a new understanding of the foreclosures in our neighborhoods. How much of the turmoil is individual responsibility and how much can be attributed to the mortgage industry? That will be easier to say in retrospect. You know, 10 years from now.

In the meantime, I'd say the mood about foreclosures is not as sympathetic as about bankruptcy. Although the contract approach ("my mortgage is nothing more than a contract and my business decision is to walk away from that contract") has logic to it, most homeowners don't support their neighbor taking this route. All values drop as the number of foreclosures in a neighborhood go up.

But in some communities, the contract approach is losing its stigma. That's because so many homes are being foreclosed. I refer to Las Vegas, of course. Here's one explanation that a realtor shared with me:

You live in a $300,000 home, which you purchased at the peak of the housing bubble. You are able to make the payments on your $280,000 note. But you know you're underwater (your note is greater than the house would sell for) because the city's foreclosures are numerous and values have dropped dramatically. Those are the effects of the housing bust.

You notice that the house across the street from you is REO (real estate owned or bank-owned, meaning foreclosed) and listed at $150,000. You apply for a mortgage to buy it "as an investment."

As soon as all the paperwork is completed, you move into that house, paying monthly on a much smaller mortage. You stop making payments on your first home (the one with the $280,000 mortgage) and eventually your bank forecloses on it.

You've moved into a highly similar home, reduced your monthly housing cost, and kept your kids in their familiar school. There is a price to pay: just as it takes time to "recover" credit-wise from bankruptcy, the foreclosure will affect your credit for years.

Are all foreclosures the result of a calculated choice like that? Of course not. But anecdotes like this one help explain how foreclosures are normalized in people's thinking.

Best Tax Day Story

2010-04-16T00:30:00.003-05:00

Lots of folks filed taxes yesterday. Some of them announced it.

A family friend related that a call from one relative was to report that a third relative had gotten his taxes filed on time. Facebook said it was so.

Not such a big deal, right? People announce all sorts of daily tidbits on facebook. But how the report got to facebook is the important part of the story: the tax-filer clicked the facebook link in his tax preparation software. The announcement was immediately created and posted.

In case you care, the tax filer is in Gen Y. But I think this is not dependent on generation.

U-Haul and the Shared Culture

2010-04-12T00:30:00.007-05:00

U-Haul doesn't just move people around the country...it also tallies up the trips and destinations. Publishing the results once a year produces a list of the Top 50 U.S. Destination Cities. For 2009, the top choice of moves over 50 miles was Houston, Texas. Actually, three Texas towns made it to the Top 10 (San Antonio in 4th position and Austin in 5th).

It was the 2nd position city that caught my eye: Las Vegas, Nevada. Most of the time, our actions reflect culural (or societal) trends. The great myth of America is that we are individualistic. We are much more social than we imagine and we are far more socialized than we would care to admit. And since I ascribe to Group Socialization Theory for a number of explanations of human behavior, I turn in that direction again. Society made us think of moving to Las Vegas. We only thought we used logic to make that decision.

To make a really good analysis of the socialization aspects of relocation, I'd like to have all the U-Haul demographics. But here's one prediction: Las Vegas moves are largely the thing of retiring boomers. The city welcomes newcomers, especially those who are not seeking employment.

Disclosure statement: I have no relationship with U-Haul and I have not received any compensation or free product for mentioning this service. (This blog's only monetary reward comes through google.adsense links, which are selected by Google, not by me.)

Androgynous Boomers

2010-04-09T00:01:00.006-05:00

The photo doesn't appear to be at all related to the principle of increasing androgynous perspective by men and women as they age. But it is. When Tom Bold was on duty for keeping the house staged, that included decorating with flowers. His report: I went to the store and asked myself, "What would a woman get?"

That reflects typical development. At a younger age, he might have asked the same question but not necessarily made the right choice. (No offense is intended toward all the men who arrange flowers expertly at any age.)

Clutter Creep: Selling Your House

2010-04-05T00:01:00.004-05:00

The stager warned us, "Yeah, I know people start dragging their stuff back in after I send it out."

I refer to it as clutter creep. The house is staged. The clutter is gone. You're on task: always ready to show the house on a half-hour's notice. But you get tired of dragging the vacuum cleaner in from the garage. And you really need the play yard for visiting children. And then there are the shoes that are just so much more handy when they're downstairs....

The goal becomes showing the closet with some bare shelving and some bare floor. Note that the holiday clutter has not returned!

When vintage is on the mind...

2010-04-02T00:01:00.008-05:00

I went to Las Vegas looking specifically for vintage (boomers know that stands for the 1950s, '60s, and '70s... not just "old"). So, when I checked into a motel on I-40 on my way to Nevada, I laughed out loud when I opened the door to my room. How fitting!

My next laugh was when I took time to actually read the sign on my door: I was in a suite. And my next laugh was when I noticed that mine was not the only suite.

It's entirely possible that another person might recognize meaning in the name of the suite. I'm guessing sports but I can honestly say that I'm happy to accept it at face value.
© 2010 Mary Bold, PhD, CFLE. The content of this blog or related web sites created by Mary Bold (http://www.marybold.com/, http://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.

Cheap Hotel in Las Vegas

2010-03-29T00:01:00.005-05:00

Robotic animals like this one populate the show in the courtyard at Sam's Town casino hotel (Las Vegas). It's kind of a confusing show. Hard to follow. And hard to end. Lots of shooting fountains in front of the Mystic Falls with lights they call laser. Lots and lots of choral music. And a wolf-kind-of that howls from the top of the fake mountain. You could watch in fascination of the mix of technologies here except that you'd get very tired. As I mentioned... hard to end. The music signals an end but those fountains shoot up again. And again. I was in the hotel for 5 nights, or 20 performances. I couldn't handle more than one show.

So, why go to this casino hotel? Room rent of $26 on weeknights. There's always another charge, of course. In this case, a daily resort fee of $4.50.

Aging in the Casino

2010-03-26T01:00:00.009-05:00

The aging of our society isn't only about health and wellness but those indicators are the most obvious.

The Sociologist and I used to compare airports and shopping malls, looking for the changes that retail and service industries were making (or sometimes not making) for older patrons. Our examination included the finer points, like size of arrows on signs and clarity of information. (Clarity almost always relates to how short you can write an instruction. Short words and sentences benefit the older person trying to read without putting on glasses.)

As baby boomers, we also claimed self-interest in our examination, of course.

But we forgot to consider casinos. They're actually moving faster than other public places. Scooters are available in the lobby. (Enough are in use to produce one or two on every floor of the hotel.) And the loud noise of a slot machine finally has an appreciative audience. Yes, I need the flashing button and the enthusiastic voice telling me it's time to spin the wheel of fortune.

Spring Snow in Texas

2010-03-22T00:01:00.003-05:00

First day of spring in 2010 at the dome. That's in Texas.

The real value of the road atlas

2010-03-19T00:01:00.004-05:00

I bought a new map book today. The road atlas style—with color. I bought it even though the 2009 version is still usable. Usable, but not pretty.

My 2010 options: the big atlas or the compact spiral bound book. That compact style is tempting. Fits anywhere. Folds to any page easily. Has just as much color and clear type as the big atlas.

What doesn't it have? Detail. It's not the little roadways I want the detail for. It's the little blue icons marking rest areas.

Rest areas are not as plentiful as they once were. State governments are quietly slicing budgets and putting "CLOSED" signs on an alarming number of sites. Will my 2010 atlas have updated information?

I did attempt to go digital. Put the Rest Area app on my iPhone. Alas, it is not easily navigated and just plain hard to read in a moving car. Nothing beats scanning a paper page for those little blue houses. Whoever would have thought that boomers would have a tradition for locating rest areas?

Indiscriminate at the Movies

2010-03-15T00:55:00.001-05:00

A colleague asked me over vegan fare what movies I have seen. Of course, I knew full well her intent: expose my indiscriminate taste to humor herself. She would protest this motivation, I know, and so perhaps I will ascribe this to my own defensiveness about my movie-going habit. For most years of my life (starting at about age 10), I have made weekly movies dates—with myself. There were a few years in young adulthood when I could not afford the outing, followed by several years during which children demanded my time, daily.

But I would guess that for about 35 years I have enjoyed a movie a week. Between 1995 and 2005 (roughly), I frequently sat in the theatre alone. (All alone.) In recent years, I have rarely sat alone. Regardless of day and hour, there seem to be enough people available to come to the theatre. A man alone is the rarest patron. But next to that is a woman alone, and that's me.

So, what did I tell my colleague over vegan fare? The two weakest films of late have European capitals in their titles (Rome, Paris). Valentine's Day is amusing. Crazy Heart is more than satisfying.

If I were talking to her today I would add that Green Zone has a plus and a minus. Cop Out is not for children but Percy Jackson is. And I'll probably avoid Shutter Island, even on cable. For 3-D, I enjoyed Avatar but mainly enjoyed Tim Allen's comment on a late-night talk show about his own movie... "Well, it's funnier than that Avatar." But I don't have Alice in Wonderland on my short list. Ah, well, as this post would indicate, I don't actually have a short list, do I?

My New Color Commitment

2010-03-12T00:01:00.007-06:00

Paint has been on my mind. As we readied the dome for sale, we naturally found a number of walls that needed touch-up paint. Not purple, as the paint buckets above might imply, but still an assortment of beautiful neutrals that I remember having great fun selecting. All in the off-white and gray palettes, but do you have any idea how many colors that can imply? The result was that matches could not be made. We had to re-paint several whole walls in order to freshen the look.

My commitment for the future: 3 colors. Period. For the entire house. One should be a white (thousands of shades to choose from). One should be an off-white. One should be a white appropriate to baseboard. My other lesson came from Frank, the painter. "Spend $12 on a lambswool roller. Don't use anything else. Well, it would be good to have 30 years' experience as a professional painter, too."

So, who actually uses purple? TCU, which stands for Texas Christian University. The campus located in Fort Worth takes its school color seriously. So do the employees.

Marketing that lasts longer than a flyer

2010-03-08T00:01:00.006-06:00

This is my favorite element of house marketing. Well, besides the fact that Realtor.com now allows 25 photos.... Still, the idea of putting some of those photos on a complimentary water bottle is pretty darn clever. As older boomers, Tom Bold and I started buying houses back when even a paper flyer was rare. Eventually, the flyers became more plentiful and desktop printing made even color a common feature. (The fact that many flyer boxes outside of listed properties become empty and are never replenished continues to amaze me.)

Disclosure statement: Blogs are required to disclose whether the author has received compensation for any product. 99% of the time, my disclosure statements say something like "I have no relationship with…." But today I am amused and eager to report that the product here (the house for sale, not the water bottle) is mine and I certainly do hope to realize compensation from it. The web site mentioned, Realtor.com, is strictly reporting: I have no relationship with that site and receive no direct compensation from it. (This blog's only monetary reward comes through google.adsense links, which are selected by Google, not by me.)

Teaching boomers new things

2010-03-05T00:01:00.004-06:00

Babies can teach baby boomers new things.

An infant visitor to the dome yesterday brought her own equipment. Aside from the stunning Graco car seat (something I'm not likely to be able to afford) I found these two products inventive:

The pull toy produces short songs. The almost-5-month-old pulled the ring expertly (from the arching piece of that Graco car seat) and I was charmed. Sure enough, the Bright Starts web site produced this image for me, along with a large number of products that I am certain were not available when I had small children. This model is a Tug Tune. But the description of the chime version is compelling.

The other inventive product is not a glue stick. But when it emerged from the diaper bag, that's what came to mind. Rather, it's a Magic Stick All Natural Diaper Ointment. Clear. And it's applied to the baby's skin without any mess because the delivery is all about that glue stick design. When did this get invented?

Disclosure statement: I have no relationship with any product or company mentioned here and I have not received any compensation or free product for mentioning them. (This blog's only monetary reward comes through google.adsense links, which are selected by Google, not by me.) FYI: disclosure statements like these are now required of bloggers.

Health insurance brokers: Consumers' friend

2010-03-01T01:40:00.000-06:00

Health insurance brokers, while essentially insurance sales reps, are nevertheless a consumer's friend in the sorting through of policies and choices. I've talked to a broker for the first time this year. In fact, I didn't even know they existed until this year.

As a boomer woman, my knowledge of individual-purchased insurance was zip. I recall my brothers purchasing "major medical" in their youth. And self-employed relatives lamenting the hard choices they had to make about coverage. So, when the topic came up for us recently, I had no experience in purchasing insurance. We have always had the guidance of employers' HR departments.

An Internet reference to insurance brokers caught my eye as I scoured news articles and blogs about potential sources. (This, realizing that heath care reform via Congress would not be timely for us.) The concept is simple: an insurance broker represents multiple companies (say, a dozen) and works with consumers to find the right match. That may include a recommendation to apply to more than one company in order to compare policies and costs and eligibility, too.

I selected an insurance broker in Houston based solely on the web site. The best surprise so far: help in finding dental insurance independent of health insurance. A little more than $40/month for the two of us. All preventive care covered; 50% of big stuff covered. A good buy or only moderate? Doesn't really matter to me. What matters is maintaining an insurance that I know influences our behavior in having twice-a-year check-ups.

New Perspective on Work Space

2010-02-26T00:01:00.004-06:00

When you see your house on the web, you can't help but feel self-conscious. So, house-after-staging is actually the best circumstance for this unusual level of disclosure. This photo is one-half of my office. What you cannot see is another desk and and a chair. The room dimensions? 30 x 13. You'll agree that there's not a lot of furniture for a room this size. The fuller story: before the stager did her work, there were 8 chairs (total), an air desk (in addition to the 2 desks retained), a third bookshelf, and 4 rolling carts. I am adjusting to the new work space. Slowly.

Living Generically: Life After Staging

2010-02-22T00:01:00.003-06:00

Having been staged (the house, that is), we expected to feel a bit plain. Or even generic, like a hotel room. The above photo is where I am right now. It's plain. It's generic. But here's the real what it's like: living in a staged home is like living in a hotel room with Sherman.

Sherman's our dog. When we are in a hotel with Sherman we must keep soap tucked away. Trash cans tucked away. Clothes hung. Papers in briefcases. Cords hidden. And, of course, absolutely no food or cutlery left in sight.

Relying on a young friend

2010-02-19T00:01:00.002-06:00

The stager (for the house that's going on the market) have us many instructions but a very short list of purchases to make. This was lucky.

Even so, we didn't want to assume that our boomer generation eyes would be up to the task. (Generational taste. And interest. Those are the problems.) So, we asked a young friend to do the shopping for us. A few bedside lamps, a chandelier for the kitchen table, and fluffy towels in just the right color.

She did a good job.

Staging. Stripping. Eliminating.

2010-02-15T00:01:00.006-06:00

This wall is now actually a highly decorated space in our home. Its spines (part of the dome ceiling) are built-in design, in contrast to the vast blank spaces that we now call home.

You see, the stager came. Only younger boomers understand staging. Older boomers missed that introduction to the real estate industry—but if they relocate now, they're going to meet a stager. In fact, I think that a visit from a stager should be mandatory in preparing a house for sale. Not so much for the staging as the stripping.

You see, a real stager does not necessarily match the picture we get from TV. Those "selling" shows bring in stagers who put pizzazz in the properties. Our stager insisted that pizzazz doesn't sell. Rather, it interrupts the buyer's train of thought and brings too much attention to the furnishings (or the current owner). Of course, if a buyer falls in love with the furniture, the stager has the opportunity to make a profit, along with the realtor, but my guess is that's not so common.

I have come to appreciate what our real-life stager did: strip the house of personality. Virtually all traces of us are gone. And about 1/3 of the furnishings are gone. What's left is lots of floor space, lots of blank canvas.

The reason I think that staging should be required is that it sews up the seller. If you go through this elimination process, you invest time and then cannot imagine bringing the old stuff back home. So, you're committeed to sell. Good for realtors.

In the meantime, we are clearing to the level of the photo above. And getting ready to tackle the garage. Oh, my.

What can you get for $2 anymore?

2010-02-12T00:01:00.004-06:00

For an incredible $2/hour, you can get play care. (Get it? Play care instead of day care.) It's for your dog: off-leash outside play with other dogs. That's not so common in the kennel world. I decided on the facility even before I knew the price. When I saw this photo on the web site, I laughed out loud and called them immediately.

For the record: I receive no compensation from the Paw Spaw for mention of the facility. In fact, I give the Paw Spaw money (for letting Sherman attend play care).

Self-Storage: An Urban Tale

2010-02-08T00:01:00.003-06:00

In my growing up years, putting something in storage meant taking it out to a barn or a chicken house. (Most things never came back out, which is just as well. I can conjure up the dust now, 40 years later.) My experience with commercial storage was limited to taking wool coats to a cleaners for seasonal storage. I stopped that during college. And then I went a long, long time before I needed to seek out a storage place other than my attic or garage. That time was last week.

My inexperience was obvious. I had to ask elementary questions like, "what kind of items need to go into climate controlled storage?" It finally wasn't the temperature factor that made me select two inside units, it was the agent's explanation that anything in an outside unit ends up collecting a lot more dust. More than your garage at home. Well, there's that dust issue again.

After a round of Internet comparison shopping, I visited a single self-storage facility and latched on to two small units with "first month free" rather than a large, full-priced unit. Did I visit the facility that looked like the best deal (from the Internet)? Nope. I went to the one that is most convenient to our grocery store and dog park. Familiar path and maybe an efficient path.

And what did I learn? To get two locks (for two units) that use the same key. And to label boxes with boring codes. You see, the manager once lost some valuable items in a storage facility because she carefully printed "Antiques" on selected boxes. Those were the only boxes the thieves took. (At a far-away facility, not mine, of course.)

The self-storage business is down a little due to the economy but holding its own as people preserve their house stuffs even if they are between houses. Baby boomers will help this industry in the next few years as retirement and relocation decisions increase in number.

Where would you live if...

2010-02-05T00:01:00.002-06:00

Even though our mobile society is not so mobile anymore, retirees are. And the leading boomers who officially retire in 2011 (if they're not already out of their jobs due to lay-offs) will make us all look mobile even if only a fraction of them start traveling or moving. They will also talk about it more than most people do....

So, the #1 question becomes, Where would you live if you could live anywhere? Some typical answers are back home, where family is, and where it's warm.

Tom Bold and I chose the climate route with a sub-answer of where it's warm on the way to where family is. But there's another sub-answer and Tom gets credit for articulating it.

"You know, we've always had two priorities for neighborhood. We sure don't, now."

Those priorities were quality of schools (that affected one of our home purchases) and length of the commute to work (that affected all of our home purchases, four of them). Now? Except for a very slight interest in resale value, and I'll emphasize slight, we don't much care about the schools. The commute to work is even less of a consideration. Commuting now centers on Internet access, not road access.

One commute is of interest: number of minutes it takes to reach an off-leash dog park. Happily, with 18 dog parks, the greater Las Vegas area can be called dog-friendly.

What drives us, then, toward a neighborhood choice? So far, it's what is missing that calls to us: sidewalks. The best morning walks with a dog happen off pavement. So, it's just possible that the house hunting will be defined by concrete.

Looking for Neighborhoods

2010-02-01T00:01:00.003-06:00

Visiting a potential next community means learning about neighborhoods as much as looking at houses. So, when a realtor says, you don't want to live over there... well, that's where you end up at the end of the day.

As I drove through that not-recommended neighborhood of Las Vegas, I found myself saying, How bad can it be? There's an Olive Garden.

Retirement Flexibility: Every day is like...

2010-01-29T01:20:00.003-06:00

Lots of retirees say, "every day is like every other day" to describe availability for, well, just about everything.

Today, Tom Bold and I reached one of those days. We left home on a trip to look at a possible relocation city to escape wintry weather. And we ran into wintry weather.

It took only a few minutes to pull out the map and re-route our travel along a warmer route. (Same destination but different driving hours, to be sure.)

What did we learn?

First, we were able to re-route without a concern because we could easily (easily!) reschedule our activites. No "must-be-back" worries (as long as I reserve 2/3 of the day to maintain my work schedule, combining on-the-road computing with in-the-hotel computing).

Second, the events of the day underscored our purpose. Escaping wintry weather.

Three Realtors on Staging

2010-01-25T00:01:00.003-06:00

I put on shoulder pads for the realtors. Not Bea Arthur shoulder pads, but shoulder pads nonetheless.

I also stripped the house of clutter and (most of) personal paraphernalia. I knew I could not reach the level of "staging the house" but I desperately needed to communicate that I knew the basics even though I do not.

Our three prospective realtors made these comments about staging.

Realtor #1: Well, you might try hanging a decoration on the front door.

Realtor #2: To price the house where I want it to be, you'll need to hire a stager. That's $3000 to $5000 depending on what they have to bring in.

Realtor #3: We pay the stager. She works for us.

All three said the barn door hangers could stay in the house. I'll explain that another day.

Transition Decisions

2010-01-22T00:01:00.004-06:00

It's one thing to talk about making this year a transition year for retirement and relocation. It's another thing to start casting the talk as decisions. Any one thing can take you to the point of making decisions. For me, it was seeing 3 realtor appointments lined up for one very busy afternoon.

The appointments in question are with realtors in our current town. Why even visit potential next towns if we aren't sure the current house can be sold? That's a new concept for us. All previous moves (into 4 houses across 30 years) were prompted by employment decisions. So, moving was a next step—not an initial step.

Our old concept also involved an important assumption: of course, our house would sell. All houses sold. We were part of the mobile society. Just as we needed to move for employment, others were doing the same. And a goodly number were coming to the place we were leaving. The longest we ever waited for a sale was 5 months. And that was the darkest house we ever had. And that's what potential buyers always said... it's just too dark. Two price drops later, it wasn't too dark.

Of course, this year is different. We make no assumptions about all houses having buyers. The Great Recession is a major reason. But there's another: our society is not so mobile anymore and that slow-down occurred long before our current economic ills. Our society is aging (thanks to us boomers) and when that happens, people just don't move around as much. So, society is less mobile and actually Tom Bold and I haven't made a cross-country move in more than 20 years.

Lucky for us, our daughter told us about HGTV. Now, of course, I knew that such a cable channel existed. (I'm not sure that Tom Bold knew but, after all, this is the man who made it to 2006 before he saw his first 10-minute Oprah segment.) I just had never tuned in to the house shows.

Let me tell you. I am now educated. I know about unsellable houses, interventions (different sort than I knew about before), getting it sold (they don't even have to explain the it because everyone knows what isn't selling), and staging. Oh, my, staging is quite the rage.

We have transformed from the mobile society to the staging society.

Transition Questions

2010-01-18T00:01:00.003-06:00

Transition year. Some of the leading boomers—born 1946 and not yet officially at retirement age—are transitioning to retirement by choice or lay-off. The old prediction was that when the leading boomers retired in 2011, the economy would slow and all of the U.S. would begin to feel the effects of this life stage of the big cohort. But instead of causing a change in the economy, boomers are responding to one. With the Great Recession, net worths dropped, careers ended before anticipated, and (for some) bankruptcy loomed due to mortgage foreclosure.

So, 2010 is a different transition than we imagined. The standard questions were supposed to be:
(a) What date should we set for the last day at work?
(b) How should we re-balance the 401K?
(c) When should we move to the perfect climate?

For Tom and me, those questions are replaced with:
(a) How will we bridge health insurance from now to Medicare?
(b) Does our house value allow us to make a move?
(c) Is a retirement location's cost-of-living more important than climate, now?

So? COBRA ends soon and we'll move on to private insurance or high risk pool. We don't know how house values have held up in our neighborhood but we'll talk to realtors soon. And cost-of-living must be balanced with climate... but climate remains important.

Transition before Event. Of course.

2010-01-15T00:09:00.000-06:00

A demographer would have spotted it... I didn't until I got right up to the edge.

For the past decade I have pegged 2011 as a turning point year. That's because it's the year that the country's first official baby boomers reach the classic retirement age and presumably make decisions that will affect the whole of society simply by nature of their numbers. I'm not in that cohort but Tom Bold is, so I have had a personal perspective on the upcoming turning point.

You've no doubt realized what I'm writing about today. The transition never starts in the event year. It starts a year before, or even more. So, of course, the first boomers are already unemployed (if not officially retired), already moving, already realigning insurance of all types, and already moving their money.

Granted, the Great Recession prompted and accelerated some of these things. But a goodly number of the decisions we are now making are the 2011 decisions. Transition begun.

The Sister Cruise: With Perspective

2009-12-21T00:22:00.002-06:00

The Sister Cruise (nothing institutionalized, just 4 boomer women taking a cruise together) was a test in patience last week. Fog delayed our departure by 24 hours but before the Coast Guard and Carnival decided on that delay, we sat in the Mobile (Alabama) Civic Center for 7 hours. We finally bailed to Holiday Inn without waiting for the cruise line-arranged hotel discount. That was good because we paid $88/room and at least some who waited for the arranged room paid $130 (same hotel).

Our shortened cruise to Cozumel was cloudy. Not a problem for us: we preferred the beach without sun. And with a partial refund promised, The Sisters were satisfied that the salvaged cruise would suffice.

Ah, we spoke too soon. Our Fun Day at Sea back to Mobile saw 12' to 15' waves and 50 mph winds. Part of the crew became ill. Lots of passengers were ill. Two Navy sailors near us felt ill, too.

One Sister was particularly aware of the clock and reported that the waves quieted at 3am, about 4 hours before our scheduled docking.

Of course, we didn't dock on schedule. The Coast Guard had closed the channel again—due to bouys blown out of position. More patience as we waited for the all clear.

You might think that we would wish for a different week for the cruise, like this week with its beautiful weather at sea and at the ports. The question is put in perspective with one fact about the cruise following ours: 900 children on board. That makes our experience on The Sister Cruise a tad more tolerable.

© 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.

YO-YO: You're on your own

2009-12-18T00:01:00.003-06:00

YO-YO (you're on your own) joins another favorite, YMMV (your mileage may vary), as watchwords for the holidays. These advisories may be uttered best in more gentle language but I think of them as initials before crafting the more congenial translations of "You can make your own choice for lunch and then we'll plan a joint meal for dinner" and "If you'd rather not go to the movie/mall/museum with us, maybe you can think of something you'd enjoy more."

Family holidays!

Carry a big stick

2009-12-14T00:01:00.002-06:00

Sometimes Sherman finds whole branches on the ground. There is tremendous noise as he drags them through his flap door. And we feel compelled to let him keep them in the house for an hour or so because, after all, we have favorite leisure pursuits, also.

DIY Dog Wash: $6 Soapings

2009-12-11T01:05:00.001-06:00

You know the DIY car washes where you are wise to bring your own quarters rather than rely on the change machines? Well, think smaller. We now have dog washes. For a mere $6 you can soap up a canine and try to rinse him off. If you think that $6 is a lot to pay for a bath, then you haven't ever paid a dog groomer for the service. Truth told, Tom Bold and I did not soap up the dog. We actually came to see the "dog park" that a trainer told Tom about. The park is not really a park. It is a commercial establishment (the dog wash) in Colleyville, Texas, with two play yards. One for big dogs and one for small dogs. The big-dog yard has a nice set of structures for an agility course. I'm impressed with the wisdom of the entrepreneur because we will eventually make it back for a $6 DIY soaping. It's that platform that is attractive. And the ramp up to it. And access being possible by two or more humans.

New SF Favorite: Hotel Milano

2009-12-07T00:01:00.002-06:00

I landed in San Francisco last month for a conference and ended with a hotel night on my own tab. It's usually a good idea to leave the conference hotel when the expense account ends. A happy discovery was Hotel Milano, just off Market and literally at the end of the block of the Westfield Mall.

Rooms are neat, clean, and big enough when you're upgraded. (I am not sure of the size of the intended smaller unit.) Internet access was fine and the view of neighboring buildings no worse than any other San Francisco hotel. For convenience to the Westfield, movies, and the Apple store, the Milano cannot be beat—because its room rent is low. I paid under $100.

I made a similar shift in lodging for a subsequent conference in Atlanta. I stayed in the conference hotel for one night (because I was scheduled to receive one night's lodging on expense account) and then moved to a less costly motel on my own dollars. That would be a drop from $190 per night to $50 per night. You've already guessed it: Motel 6 with AAA discount.

Personal Technology: Beach Advisory

2009-12-04T00:01:00.000-06:00

Even when the Wave (Google's new email-conversation software) isn't operating, I learn from it. Chillax. The contraction for chill out and relax. With this sort of advisory from my email provider, I am reminded that life is all about chillaxing.

Animals in Movie Titles

2009-11-30T00:01:00.004-06:00

On my way to the movies last week, I uttered to myself, "If I could sit through Wild Hogs, I can sit through Old Dogs." And that's the moment I made the connection between the titles. You can fairly ask why I would go to a movie if that were my sentiment. Well, I had read the abysmal reviews of Old Dogs but also the cast list. I really did want to see what script would put Ann-Margret, Justin Long, Bernie Mac, Matt Dillon, Rita Wilson, and Amy Sedaris together. (As it turned out, these actors appeared very briefly in scenes that were more skit than story).

That's my cinematic defense. There's also the matter of language: I don't relate to the words wild and hogs. But I'm pretty comfortable with old and dogs.

(Next movie? I'm determined to move to the fox.)

Personal Technology: Target Technology

2009-11-27T00:01:00.004-06:00

Target gets the award for best web marketing this season. An email message linked me to the Target web site advertising Black Friday sales plus the sweepstakes entry. I bit.

I had to work a lot. The site advised me that I would need the printed target symbol from the newspaper ad—or I could print one out right there on the web. (That's what I did.)

I followed every instruction, even folding my print-out on the guide lines so that the image was on a smaller field. More crucial to the exercise was the instruction to "allow" the site to access by web cam. My check mark also represented permission for possible videotaping on their side.

Next instruction was to hold my print-out target 18" from the camera and tilt it. Oh, my. The spinning wheel of gifts on the screen started rotating. Next instruction: to select the gift I want, put it in the center spot and hold the paper target close to the camera. Oh, my, oh, my. I was told my gift would be unwrapped. And it was. That step took about 20 seconds. The result: a free soft drink at Target's in-store cafe on specific dates. (I won't make it to Target on those dates.)

So, all that explains how my image appeared on the Target web site (see screen capture above). At least, on my view of the Target web site. Target generated an amazing amount of interaction between me and the web site. I can hardly wait for Christmas.

Mainly for Humans: Three Dog Bakery

2009-11-23T00:01:00.004-06:00

Happily, Sherman was welcomed in this bakery. It's Three Dog Bakery. We visited the Indianapolis store in October. What's kept behind glass (bakery shelf style) are the delicacies. See below photo for Drooly Dream Bars. No chocolate, so sugar. Just carefully crafted dog food to sell to humans. Although, admittedly, some of the displays spoke to Sherman. Buckets and buckets of bagels make an impression.

Birthday Cake but Mainly Post Offices

2009-11-20T00:01:00.002-06:00

I went to a birthday lunch yesterday and had wonderful cake at the Cheesecake Factory. This one really did have cheesecake, plus red velvet cake, plus sour cream frosting, plus white chocolate shavings. We intended to photograph it at start but instead dove in. Above photo is saved only by the artistic shadow of the fork.

My companion nodded with recognition when I told her about my USPS visit just before lunch. It marked the first time a postal worker has pointed out to me the most expensive route to send a thick envelope instead of the least expensive. He started pitching the $15.44 express method, then the $4-something priority. I pointed out that my side of the monitor showed regular 1st class (at $1-something) as the same 2 business days delivery time as the priority price. He agreed that it did. And finally sold me that stamp.

My lunch companion said something similar happened to her the previous day at her Post Office. The worker asked her if she would like to rent a box. And that's the first time in her life that's been offered across a postal counter.

We wonder if everyone is raising money....

Personal Happiness: Got a Measure?

2009-11-16T00:01:00.003-06:00

On a scale of 1 to 4.... or do you know the phrase, I love what I do and I do what I love? Because I am often the last o hear catchy phrases, it was new to me when I heard it in an auditorium in early 2009. At the start of a conference at Claremont Graduate University (the headliner was Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi), a sound technician tested the mikes with that I love phrase. And he sounded genuine. And I was especially impressed because it was before 8:00 in the morning.

Happiness gets a lot of attention in our culture. Some of that attention is on baby boomers, who are said to expect happiness. And because we all assume that the doing generating happiness must be in paid employment, we look to research into job satisfaction. I like this report from a U of Chicago researcher in 2007 on job and general happiness. If you want the fast version (lists), go straight to pages 6 and 7.

Looking at anything from 2007 means looking at stats collected before the Great Recession. So, the next good research will be on happiness in spite of un- and low-employment. And the question of how much happiness today's young adults expect in life and career and will be far more interesting that what boomers expect.

Posted from 30,000 feet. Yep, WIFI on the plane. This bit of fancy cost $7.95.

2009-11-15T03:35:00.000-06:00

Could not resist.

WYSIWYG not editable.

. Posting with HTML. Clunky. Slow. Still fun.

Personal Technology: I'm Waving

2009-11-13T00:01:00.004-06:00

Do you remember the anticipation of gmail? Waiting for an invitation? It took months for me. Once initiated to the email system, I have never gone back to Outlook. Well, except for when clients require it, which, as it happens, two do.

I admire universities that have settled on commercial vendors like Google and Yahoo for their email systems. And admire even more those universities that simply say, use any email system (and address) you care to. The key to such a liberal policy is to not try to administer any of it, of course.

Contrasting gmail to everything else, the obvious winner is gmail. Ah, until wave turned up. And it is turning up. I imagine we'll know in a few months whether it's the next obvious winner.

Wave is all about conversation and my early experimentation with it suggests that it's also about speed. Streamlined access to communicating means that email and IM merge (to a ping, even) and then extras are thrown in, too. Like Google Gears. I don't have that loaded yet. But I think it's the drag and drop functionality that just worked its way into gmail this year, too.

OK. So, back to anticipation. Wave is coming by invitation just as gmail did. Good reasons for that, likely. Good way to beta or preview while error reports can be tracked and responded to. Good way to take advantage of early adopters who will tend to do anything for novelty. Good way to market a new product. You know, maximizing that anticipation factor.

So, how did I get wave? Well, it wasn't Google deciding to include boomers although surely there are a few accidentally in the first wave of wave. More likely, the first wave is composed of people just as young as those showing up on my contact list. You see, when I log into wave, it produces a list of wave-enabled users who are also on my gmail list of 2,093 contacts. (Yes, that was a wake-up call.)

I was invited to wave by one of the 5 people that appear on my wave contact list. I'm pretty sure the oldest person there is about 30. No, maybe 35. But the other 4 are 30 or younger. One is a professional staffer at Sloan-C (consortium on distance learning). Two are PhD-holders who are technical managers at Texas universities. One is a PhD student at Stanford. And one is a PhD alum from Princeton who now works in a non-profit. (And I am merely the old person that one of them fondly thought to share a wave with.)

Here's how compelling a wave can be... my laptop is on its last leg, which is to say that Tom Bold inherits it very soon. So, I'm tending it cautiously to keep functioning while I wait for holiday sales. You know what that means: lots of back-ups and no new software. Until wave popped up it's advisory that I need a newer or different browser in order to use the conversation system. (See how I'm already learning the new lingo.) I did not hesitate. I downloaded chrome on the spot.

I hope you are similarly compelled to catch the next wave. I plan to invite all my friends. Of course, it will take a while to work through my gmail contact list....

Boomers Among the Health Insurance Statistics

2009-11-09T00:01:00.002-06:00

As analysts predict the percentage of Americans who will access a public option for health insurance, I continue to wonder if the analysts know the baby boomer mindset about employment in the years approaching retirement. Most women my age (that I know) readily acknowledge that they are working only "for the bennies." If they were able to access health insurance independently (and affordably), they would walk off the job and look for contract work, instead. More of my colleagues than you might guess are in their employers' health plans because of their own pre-existing conditions or their spouses'. Thus, the threat of leaving employment has to do with both cost and acceptance of those pre-existing conditions. Add one more feature: a lot of us are female primary wage earners, our boomer husbands already having been laid off or "retired" early due to the economic downturn.

The economic downturn is a psychological factor, as well, and one could argue that boomers will cling to employment as long as possible. But even on that score, I question the conventional wisdom. The boomers I know say they will cheerfully work part-time or as self-employed independent contractors under this assumption: they are going to have to work forever, anyway, so they want to do it as flexibly as possible in the early years when they still feel like traveling.

These scenarios are not mentioned in the analyses of the health care legislation emerging from Congress. Indeed, there's no good statistical reason that my thinking about "everyone I know" should be reflected in the national dialogue. After all, we are years away from the real impact of whatever legislation is decided. Whatever public option emerges won't do it until 2013 or thereabouts. And so what's the immediate impact? A whole lot of boomers (like me) factoring in the number of years we need to pay for expensive coverage before we can benefit from a more affordable version. So, as house mortgages are paid off, the dollars will shift to health insurance premiums and the new owners of those premiums will...have to work forever, anyway.

Personal Technology: Internet on the Road... and In Flight

2009-11-06T00:01:00.002-06:00

With the help of an air card (AKA data card), I kept on computing last week while crossing the country on an Interstate highway. (I wasn't driving.) That is, I kept online, not just computing. Any place I could get cell phone service, I could get the Internet on my laptop because I had the air card in a USB slot. Think of it this way: the air card is my computer's cell phone for one function, to access the Internet.

Now, as nifty as I consider this capability, I have to admit there's something fancier: Internet in flight. A colleague emailed me as she crossed the country via plane. Her access cost $7. Necessary? Nope. Nifty? Absolutely.

Toy Story 2 Quiz Easier Than the GRE

2009-11-02T00:01:00.004-06:00

I spent more than a week waffling on committing nearly 3 hours to the Toy Story double feature. I'm not so much a fan of animation even though the 3D Up caught my fancy earlier this year and Wild Things captured my cinema dollars most recently. I also had no fond memories of the Toy Story movies. I didn't know why. I certainly knew of the films. Why wouldn't I have seen them in first release? Ah... look at the year: 1995. I was taking the GRE. So, I went to the local Harkins for the double feature. And found a test in 2009! The intermission tested our knowledge about the characters. When the quiz at the 3-minute mark asked, "What was the name of Jessie's previous owner?" I didn't have a clue. I didn't even know who Jessie was. Happily, the sequel started just 3 minutes later and I learned all about Jessie and Emily. And I delighted that my quiz this year was so much easier than the GRE.

Who buys "live" gourmet lettuce?

2009-10-30T00:20:00.002-05:00

I cannot imagine that there's a market for gourmet lettuce that arrives in the grocery in the same shape it left the earth. Who would spend $8 on a head of lettuce even if it came with its own dirt? Oh, my gosh. I did. But I'm also the person who buys wine bottles for the sake of their label designs (and then leaves the bottle in the sunny kitchen window in order to see the label every day, which is bad for the wine, I am told).

So, what's the real benefit of this vegetable purchase? Puts in perspective the price I pay for bagged and washed butter lettuce. I used to think a bag at $3.50 was expensive. Now, I think it's downright cheap.

Take Good Care: Part 2

2009-10-26T00:01:00.002-05:00

A colleague shared this story after a vacation trip with her elderly mother:

"We needed the help of two security guards to locate Mother. She was missing about 15 minutes. She was an emotional wreck by then and so were we. One of the guards tapped me on the arm and said, Let me give you a tip. Put her photograph on your phone.

"So, for the rest of the trip, I took her picture every morning so it would show the clothes she had on that day."

Take Good Care: Part 1

2009-10-23T00:01:00.004-05:00

If you have ever tried to help a friend or family through a rough time, with meals and errands, for example, you know the logistical problems. Online calendars ease the difficulty and the ones designed for care-taking are especially easy. I received a link to CareCalendar through email—clicked on it—and immediately saw the "needs" in red for a family with a new baby. The password-protected site provides as much information as the family chooses to share (photos, directions to house, etc.) and maps out a plan that everyone can check 24/7.

More Dodge. And Biggner.

2009-10-19T00:01:00.002-05:00

Just a few days ago, I said that the Dodge insignia was popping up all around me. And later that day, it popped up again. This time in large fashion on the back window of a Dodge Charger. It seems there are literally thousands of images you can choose from to display your ram dedication. Layouts for your Facebook page, too. I had no idea.

A Dodge Look

2009-10-16T00:01:00.002-05:00

It's not the angle of the shot. Certain cars really do have this charging look about them. I react with a nostalgia even though I can't quite place the source. In any case, these cars with the Dodge insignia are turning up all around me. This is because we recently bought one. Not this style. But a Dodge Grand Caravan. (I blogged about that: people who buy minivans for their dogs. And then we became those people. You can fill in the blanks.) I propose that people didn't start buying Dodge cars in huge droves (in fact, we know there have been no droves). I just became aware of the insignia.

Comparing Health Care Policy Proposals

2009-10-12T00:01:00.002-05:00

Yes, there's the NYTimes blog about health care policy and legislation. But there's another tool that I recommend: Kaiser Family Foundation's Side by Side Comparison of Major Health Care Reform Proposals. In a big blue box, you can select 2 to 12 "sources" such as Senate Finance Committee and House Tri-Committee and then advance to the next blue box to select your topics (e.g., individual mandate, expansion of public programs). When your checkboxes are marked, a button appears above the top blue box: Generate Comparisons. Click it for a clear and easy-to-read chart. When the chart is visible, notice new buttons: Print This Comparison and Create a Different Comparison.

KFF hasn't held shares in the various Kaiser health companies since the 1980s. KFF is regarded as a leading research and policy foundation involved in health issues globally.

Name Your Flu

2009-10-09T00:01:00.002-05:00

A colleague referred to Hy-Nee Flu and it took me a while (and required confirmation) that she was referring to H1N1. So, we now have three names for the stuff if we count "swine flu," too. We have also added the term seasonal flu to refer to non-H1N1. Used to be, it was just the flu.

Among my friends and colleagues, I actually have a number of folks who need to care. Two are pregnant. Three have compromised immune systems. And a couple are over 65. I'm friends with a preschooler, too. She's not worried but her parents are aware. And many friends work on college campuses where H1N1 is routinely discussed in terms prevention as well as response.

Baby boomers are luckiest, with presumed immunity or least resistance. That's if you were born before 1957, at least. So, there's also the matter of historic flu. Boomers are also probably the most opinionated about what to do about the flu. To move away from opinion, I recommend flu.gov, which comes in 4 flavors: English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese. The web site describes the most vulnerable populations. And provides perspective with maps and facts.

Stay healthy,
Lida

Sonic Cruiser: Me

2009-10-05T00:01:00.004-05:00

I used to have graduate students in my life. And they frequently gave me Sonic gift cards. Holidays, I would receive at least a couple of $5 cards. Now, I occasionally receive a Sonic card from a former student and, egads, her daughter. (How did I get to be this age?) But most of the time I'm using my own cash at Sonic. And since many of the drive-ins accept only a Sonic card for auto pay, I have no opportunity to use a credit card. Ah, well, then, I need to buy my own Sonic card and "load it" online using my credit card. You know where that's going: miles.

So, onto the Sonic web site. I learn that it takes many steps to load a card and become a Cruiser. I see a mention of maintaining a balance. That's not necessarily a good place to park my money. On the other hand, it takes many steps to load a card. I go right back into the site and take those many steps again in order to set up a year's plan for auto-loading the card whenever it drops to $30. (It will zoom to $100 within 24 hours with a charge to my credit card. You know: miles.)

As tiresome as this tale is (for me, too, by the way), I am compelled to relate why $30 is my threshold for re-loading. Just last week, I picked up lunch for colleagues on my way to a client's office. The bill at Sonic was $23. So, of course, I want to always have $23 on my Sonic card. (Ironically, that lunch group included two former grad students, both of whom can recite my preferred Sonic drink because, well, they used to bring it to me in another setting.)

When I ended the loading process online and the graphic above appeared on screen, it came with the designation PREFERRED. I can only assume that the demographic for Sonic card loading is an age that recognizes that term. And is amused.

Personal Technology: Zap2it for TV listings

2009-10-02T00:01:00.003-05:00

I mean, I used to subscribe to TV Guide. Back in the days of the digest size. When I was a child. Or at least 12 or 13. Yes, that's still a child, I'm sure. Finally, in adulthood, I despaired at the timing of the magazine's arrival in the mail. It arrived just in time, not days ahead so that I could preview. (Do all boomers like television this much?)

And then the price started going up. I persisted in buying TV Guide at the grocery store because I relied on it for keeping up with popular culture. It's where I learned about Y necklaces in time to sound alert when my teenaged daughter wanted one. I kept up with a slice of Hollywood gossip without having to ever buy People. That's right. I have never purchased People. Same with the tabloids. These are small stands against promoting paparazzi.

Eventually, the price for TV Guide ended my devotion to the publication. My purchases became fewer and fewer and I began to rely on the online version for TV listings. I smiled broadly when I saw the magazine increase its physical size to a standard format (and I started buying occasionally, no doubt influenced by the cover, proving that to capture boomers' attention you have to make the pictures big). Aha! Enlarged print to satisfy an aging population! Boomers being served! Because I cannot imagine that the demographic includes that younger set of folks who have an entirely different perspective on television, let along television listings.

Where does this get us? Heavy reliance on the online web site, tvguide.com. And so when it reconfigured this Fall to (presumably) create a flashier display, I lost patience. I will not wait for the web site to be perfected. Clicking on a listing used to create a pop-up description. Today, the click expands the grid to (presumably) display a description that can be toggled for display and hide. Well, it doesn't work.

Guess what does? Zap2it. com—with smooth functionality and better customization than tvguide.com's offering.

Now, if you try it out, you might want to go ahead and register before you start customizing. And when you fill in the questionnaire, you might want to leave blank the space for nickname. Rule-follower that I am, I filled in a nickname. "Already taken." So, I filled in another. "Already taken." It took multiple efforts to get to a viable nickname. That's when I realized that the purpose is to have a "handle" for posting comments; it actually wasn't a required field.

So, not that I ever post to any commercial web site, or even to listservs, you'll know it's me if you see sweetpotato on your Zap2it screen.

Van travel with dog, a close companion

2009-09-28T00:07:00.004-05:00

On a cross-country travel, I learned just how close I can be to a dog. The reason was simple: Tom Bold was traveling separately. So, Sherman had to rely on me as his companion. Top shot: he insisted on sharing my computer desk in the van. For him, it served as a head rest. And that's what my lap was, also, when driving. Photo below is hard to make out...but that's the scene when an 80-pound dog wants to sleep on the front seat. He has to stretch out across the space between seats and put his head on the driver's leg. Sherman, like most dogs, would really prefer a bench seat in a pick-up truck.

© 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: but someone else's personal event

2009-09-25T00:12:00.004-05:00

Besides being a striking study in black and white, this photograph documents another shattered iPhone. Oh, it still works. But I've now seen similar sight for older owners of iPhones, younger owners of iPhones, and in-between-agers, too.

I am certain that I dropped previous cell phones. I had one that frequently split into parts when it hit the pavement. But I could always snap it back together. (One challenging day, that phone scattered into enough pieces that I had to scoop them into a plastic bag. I carried it into the lecture hall, held it high, and was rescued by a student who volunteered to reconstruct it for me. I wouldn't be surprised if it were her most productive and happy day of the semester.)

Of course, with the iPhone, the risk is higher. It shatters instead of scatters (good) but it also resists reconstruction....

Remarkably Memorable Pet Store

2009-09-21T00:01:00.002-05:00

Portland no doubt has many fine attributes but the one I saw up close is the welcome to dogs at this Nature's Pet store. Notice the cat scratching post that I was thankful Sherman did not scale. Notice the water bottle that provided him with refreshment on a hot September day. Notice the propped open door that, yes, he entered without hesitation.

Remarkably Memorable Market

2009-09-18T00:01:00.003-05:00

There are a few remarkably memorable markets in the country and the Sanitary Public Market of Seattle is one of them. Seattle in sunshine is equally memorable. Sights/sites include the original Starbucks and more people in sandals than I've seen in a long time.

Travel in the Sherman Tank

2009-09-14T00:01:00.002-05:00

Travel in the Sherman Tank has nothing to do with military history. We bought a minivan for the dog (the rationale for which is clear to me although admittedly for decades I didn't understand why other people did this) when he grew to such a size that he blocked our entire rear view in the Prius. The minivan solved that: Sherman can stand but we still have clearance above his head. Until today. En route to a relative's house, with boxes filling the back of the van, we once more had blocked rear view. That's because Sherman simply jumped atop the boxes and rummaged merrily through the contents. He is big. And curious about his environment. We can hardly wait to get him back to the floor of the van.

© 2009 Mary Bold, PhD, CFLE. The content of this blog or related web sites created by Mary Bold (http://www.marybold.com/, http://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.

Corporate and Kid -- Welcome Home, Troops

2009-09-11T00:01:00.004-05:00

Over Labor Day weekend, I saw my first Welcome Home, Troops display at an airport. Just hadn't run across that before, and this one was minus the actual soldiers. Several hallways of a DFW Airport reception area were plastered with a mix of corporate and child-decorated signage. There's a level of energy in such a display that has nothing to do with its size (although I suspect a large airport could make a small display appear even smaller). I have absolutely no idea what happens afterward but I hope a few families take home some of the signs.

Spartan Lodgings a Plus

2009-09-07T00:52:00.002-05:00

We have adopted (a dog) and adapted (to dog life). So, that means that our new favorite motel chain is the Red Roof Inn. It is spartan. It is plain. Those are great characteristics for a room where a dog will sleep on vacation. Sherman cannot find anything to chew on. We stay only at hotels where he is legal. Our recent stay, just a couple of miles from a big dog park, was in a facility that allows dogs up to 80 pounds. We drove to Houston quickly as Sherman weighed in at 79 that week.

So far, we have not had to pay a deposit or extra fee. I imagine we'll make that a goal.

When Coach is Roomier Than First Class

2009-09-04T00:01:00.004-05:00

My DFW-BWI-DFW round-trip flight had the expected "full-up" first class sections. Yep. Every seat taken. So, it was the ride in Coach (both directions) that was superior. I had my own row of seats (both directions) as did the majority of passengers (both directions).

You couldn't miss the message on those planes. But just in case I might be unobservant, I could rely on the article in USA Today that I read during take-off: American's lay-off of 921 flight attendants and Southwest's reduction in routes are "examples of airlines trying to cope with a steep drop in air travel." The article went on to provide startling statistics but I had my own in view.

I had one more surprise on that flight: the announcement that "We no longer accept cash on board. We do accept these cards...."

Tour of the Nation's Dog Parks

2009-08-31T00:01:00.003-05:00

Like many retiring boomers, we have looked forward to making a tour of the National Parks (spread over several years, not a single tour). But we actually spend more time locating and visiting dog parks. They are sometimes called bark parks, which I find far too cute to actually say, of course.

The agility course (photo above) for canines is actually not the show-off feature of the Congressman Bill Archer Dog Park in Houston. The outstanding and much more popular feature is the set of swimming pools for the dogs. The pools are well maintained and deep enough for even large dogs to get some real swimming experience. Smart dog owners come to the park armed with towels.

How did Sherman do? He visited twice across two days. The second visit was for 3.5 hours. He played non-stop among about 60 animals. And then he slept all the way home to Dallas. And then he slept all the way through the night. (That's a lot more rest than his daily 1.3-hour walk generates.) So, all we have to do to tire out this dog is drive him to Houston for a proper play day.

Boxes. Just lots of boxes.

2009-08-28T01:05:00.002-05:00

My trip to the Container Store included many temptations. These mahogany boxes were among them. Wood. Boxes. Think of the fun.

But I have found in the past few years a new perspective. Those boxes now represent dusting. Collecting. More dusting. And eventually throwing out the contents.

The boxes themselves would make their way to the garage after a number of years of service (dusting, collecting, dusting, throwing out) in the house. They would be presumed as being "put to use" organizing things in the garage.

In actuality, that's where they would really become dusty, the sort of dust that doesn't wipe off so easily. Eventually, they would become coated with enough sticky residue that they would qualify to hold oil cans. You know the kind.

And so I didn't buy them.

Window dressing

2009-08-24T00:01:00.003-05:00

Maybe the Container Store in Southlake (and other locales) would say this painted closet is nothing new. But it was to me. I'm still pretty much charmed at the idea of window dressing that's just an IMAGE of what's inside. It reminds of Katy Bold's explanation to me of an informal dress code communicated at a business she consulted for: if you can find the article clothing on the Banana Republic web site, you can wear it to work. That doesn't have a lot to do with the Container Store's window dressing but it's what it reminded me of.

Hanging around motels

2009-08-21T00:01:00.003-05:00

Quite pleased with myself. It's taken only 5 decades to figure out how to close the view of the drapes in the motel room on the ground floor. Have you noticed that there's always a gap between the panels? And that the stick pulls just don't work?

There's one more circumstance I want to use hotel closet hangers with: the billowing drape. That's when the air conditioner is directly below the drapes.

Pre-Medicare Lessons

2009-08-17T00:01:00.002-05:00

The nice thing about visiting hospitals is all you can learn from the social worker. Baby boomers are still pre-Medicare but close enough to have teachable moments.

That was our experience last week when we asked how Medicare would cover a hospital expense, which of course is a commentary on just how close we are to Medicare. The social worker's answer surprised us. Medicare patients have a pretty good deductible of just a little more than a thousand dollars. But that's good for only 60 days.

Get sick right away and land back in the hospital? Your deductible is already paid.

Get healthy for several months and then land back in the hospital? You have to pay another deductible.

That's why people carry secondary insurance and, according to the social worker, it's cheap. (We haven't checked. But I'm sure we will.)

Hospital Heuristic

2009-08-14T00:01:00.003-05:00

Tip for communicating around hospital life: When cell phones won't operate, log into whatever ultra-slow Internet connection you pick up, and email messages using only the subject line. Think about it—messages in and out of hospitals can be pretty darn short and don't deserve the long wait for the message to open.

To wit:

OK?
Waiting dr.
OK?
more blood draw
OK?
Waiting lunch
OK?
bring robe.

Social Savings

2009-08-10T00:01:00.003-05:00

The tabs at the top of the Smarty Pig web site tell the full story of the piggy-bank savings site. This is a place to socially network your way to savings. As in, invite others to contribute to your savings goal. It's a place for alternative wedding registry and just the old-fashioned Help Maggie Get to Space Camp campaign. For those of us who remember, it's also the old Christmas Club at the bank. I never actually had a Christmas Club but I grew up hearing women say they were going to open one next year.... That was in the 1960s.