Evolution of the Portable Camp Chair

I think it is hilarious, and a comment on our consumer culture, to see the increasingly complicated designs of portable camp chairs.  Go, Capitalism, Go!

Garmin Not Turning On or Having Issues Powering On? Replace the Battery

I am not a big fan of Garmin car GPS units. They are a valuable tool, especially when I can't use Google Maps or Waze on my cell phone -- but the company has chosen to put out their car GPS (nuvi) products with really crappy batteries.

I bought a Garmin 2599LMT unit about a year ago. In recent weeks, it started keeping a battery charge for fewer and fewer days. I'd charge it, and in two days, the battery would have discharged. I'd have to turn on the car and use the car charger, since plugging the unit with a USB cable in the house would make it think it was attached toa computer, and it would not charge (I've since learned that putting it on a USB charger that puts out at least 2 amps solves this problem).

A few times recently, the Garmin would not turn on, but once I connected it to the car charger while driving, it would start up. It was not there when I needed it, and it was dangerous fumbling with all the cords and the Garmin unit when I was driving.

Finally, a week ago, it died completely. I could not get it to turn on. I decided to see if replacing the battery would solve the problem, so I looked at videos on YouTube, then bought a battery for my Garmin unit on Ebay for $15.75. The battery came in yesterday, it was easy to install, and the Garmin unit worked immediately! am now a happy camper; the new battery seems to be holding a charge and the nuvi 2599LMT starts up right away.  (Update 6-14-18: installing this new battery has solved all the problems -- I can use the Garmin without the charger for about 30 minutes or more -- makes a huge difference in how useful the Garmin unit is). 

With any other electronic item, if the unit is plugged in, the unit will work, even with a dead battery. This seems to me to be a huge design flaw. Garmin surely can do better by fixing this flaw and supplying its products with better, longer-lasting, higher-quality batteries!

More Bad Websites

I've seen this absurd security question and answer on websites before.  It's obvious that this sort of question was coded into computers years ago and has remained since, with no one correcting the  contradiction in the question and the stated rules for the answers:

So, am I supposed to give a one-word answer to a question that demands two words? 
Or a two-word answer when I am told to "Use one word" in the instructions?

Sunrays and Diver in a Yucatan Cenote

A couple of years ago, I traveled with my former assistant and all-around good guy, Mike Ready, to dive the cenotes near Akumal and Tulum, Mexico.  Sev Regehr lives there and was kind enough to show me some of these incredible dive sites.  These images are of Sev in a  cenote, with sunrays (godbeams) streaming through the water.  Thanks, Sev!  Sorry it took so long to get around to editing these images. 

Calla Lilies, Monterey Coast, California

Spring on the central California coast is a wonderful time. The flowers come out with the sun.

Pacific Grove's magic carpet of flowers, however, has died out in some places. And the monarch butterflies are probably dying out: according to the Coast Weekly, "Volunteers counted just 500 butterflies in the P.G. Monarch Sanctuary on Feb. 18, the end of the 2017-18 overwintering season."

Wild Irises Starting to Bloom in a Georgia Bog

In late March, I flew on a plane again, for the first time since October 2016 (when I returned from South Africa).  I have not missed flying, and feeling like a prisoner (thanks airlines) much at all.  Instead, I've been driving back and forth from our "summer house" in Olympia WA and our regular place in Monterey, CA.  In the summers, I've been trying to visit swimming holes in Oregon, WA, and CA.  The ipad app "Swimming Holes of Oregon" has been an invaluable tool. 

I flew to Savannah, Georgia, to visit my old pal Andy.  Andy works as a field biologist for the Georgia DNR, always part time, as he does not want to work full time.  His job now and for the past 15 years or so has been to survey kites, a bird of prey.  Kites are rare -- not quite declared federally endangered.  He spends all day, every day, for four months boating and hiking to find kite nests and surveying kites.  There are not that many.  The rest of the year he travels or has held jobs where he walks around and looks for indigo snakes. 

Andy has been exactly the same since I knew him in the second grade when we used to wander around in the woods in Atlanta looking for snakes and turtles.  Still doing the same thing.  The government somehow lowered his pay from ridiculously low to insanely low!  He never has cared much about money. 

He always seems to get government or nonprofit housing.  I've visited him in a few places where he's worked, and the government housing has always been adequate, even really nice, in the middle of wildernesses -- perfect for folks like him.  I am kind of stunned to see how much money is spent on this, both state and federal funds, and nonprofit funds. 

He lives and works now in a swamp-filled, snake-infested wilderness reserve near Savannah with too many ticks and mosquitoes for me.  I attach a photo of irises in a bog there that are just starting to bloom.  These wild iris are just starting to open.  In a week or two it will be incredible.  I will have to come back at the right time sometime.  Mosquitoes ate me up, and three tick bite areas have lasted over two weeks now!  I think that it was almost worth the insect bites to see wild irises like this.  Insects don't seem to bother Andy at all.

No one ever reads emails or texts carefully any longer

I sell my old stuff on Ebay and Craigslist, and it's nice to get rid of my old stuff, and to free up space in my garage. 

But -- my god man.  The amount of emailing and texting involved in setting up an appointment to meet ANYONE these days is horrific!  Because I have a smartphone to see my emails and texts, as well as a desktop program for emails and text, I see every email and text about four times.  My system is not good when I get a bunch of texts from anyone, particularly a bunch of small texts that are unnecessary. 

I think that most people are in the same boat.  They are being barraged with texts and emails. 

The result is that no one ever reads emails or texts carefully.  No wonder no one can concentrate any longer:

Here's an example, where "Horacio" on craigslist contacted me about a hard drive that I had for sale:

On Mon, Feb 26, 2018 at 6:08 PM
Horacio: Still have the hard drive ? Also advertised as 2tb but you have written as 3tb
https://monterey.craigslist.org/sys/d/western-digital-my-passport/6507539339.html

Me: Thanks for letting me know about the error in the listing.  It's a 2Tb drive.  It's still for sale.  I can meet between 9-5 at Juice and Java in downtown Pacific Grove if you are interested. 

Horacio: I get off work @4

2/27/18 4:13 PM
Me: Sorry, I just got your emails. Do you still want to meet? If so, 430pm at Juice and Java, downtown Pacific Grove. Let me know. I'm the guy with the hard drive on Craigslist. 4:05 PM
Horacio: I'm almost home I I live in Seaside.  Where?  4:06 PM
Me: Juice and Java is at 599 Lighthouse Ave. It's just to the left of the Bank of America in downtown PG. If not today, I can meet tomorrow but today is better. 4:06 PM
Horacio: I was just going to say tomorrow is better down there I'm almost home 4:06 PM
Horacio: You know I think I bought a hard drive from you before 4:07 PM
Horacio: It was good Touro 4:07 PM
Horacio: It was a Touro 4:08 PM
Me: Ha -- that was me. Do you want to try for tomorrow at 415PM? Same place. Glad to see you again! 4:08 PM
Horacio: Yes 4:09 PM
Horacio: By the way I love that little hard drive that I bought from you 4:09 PM
Me: OK, see you tomorrow. 4:10 PM
Horacio: Ok 4:12 PM
Horacio: I want it for sure 4:13 PM
Horacio: Thnx 4:13 PM

2/27/18 3:01 PM
Horacio: We still on for 415 3:01 PM
Me: Yes, I will be there. I won't be checking messages until then. See you there. Juice and Java, downtown Pacific Grove, to the left of Bank of America. Thanks! 3:03 PM
Horacio: Ok 3:17 PM

Norb gets to Juice N Java at 4:10PM, sits inside:
Horacio: Here 4:14 PM
Norb gets up, walks into J&J, sees no one.  Goes back and sits out front. 
Me: I dont see you. I am sitting out front.juice and java left of bofa:-) 4:16 PM
Horacio: Wait what's it called I'm near chase 4:18 PM
Horacio: Oh u said B of A 4:18 PM
Me: Dont see you. I am out front. Juice n java 599 lighthouse 4:19 PM


Number of times Norb stated that we would meet at Juice and Java: six
Number of times Norb stated that Juice and Java was to the left of Bank of America: three
Number of time Horacio went to Chase instead of BofA: 1
Total number of texts: something in the neighborhood of 60