Roz Land

I am an email addict. Checking email is a way of life for me. My computer at work is set to constantly download and notify me when I have new email. My smartphone checks for email every 15 minutes and downloads it so that I can read it on the go. After arriving home in the evenings, one of the first things I do (after changing into something more comfortable) is to check email on my home computer to see what I may have missed between the car and the house. And, oh yeah—- I forgot about my laptop, which goes on the road with me and with which I work from remote locations, all the while checking my email and messages as long as I am connected to the Internet.

I’ve read the studies...that people are lonely and feel deprived of human communication, and somehow email validates them as being worthy human beings that deserve constant contact. That people addicted to email are losing touch with reality and somewhat withdrawing from civilization. I have to admit that the times when my email has been down, or I am out of connectivity range, I almost panic. I feel anxiety that I am missing something and suddenly uninformed and out of the loop. It’s such a relief when all is right with the world and my email flow is restored.

It is my opinion that people addicted to email like myself, actually tend to be more efficient and get more done than those who do not depend on the latest newsflash from the depths of the internet. (I am not talking about spending mindless hours cruising the internet here—- strictly email communications.) I don’t wait to see what comes or doesn’t come in the mail (“snail-mail”); I get email notifications that my automatic deposited check has arrived at the bank, or a credit card payment has posted, or a bill is now due—-instantly. I can immediately take care of that and it’s done.

I stay in touch with friends and colleagues and when something important comes up, I am usually one of the first to know, because my friends know about my email habits, and know that they can instantly reach me. I receive many special and sometimes, last minute, bargains and sale notices because only my favorite stores have access to my email address.

At work, we can send files, graphics, reminders, memos, and lots of other business related materials to each other, thereby keeping on top of what is going on at work, and where we are on any given project. We are not dependent on copiers that seem to continually break down, phone lines that are busy, or people disappearing for coffee breaks at a moment’s notice.

Think of all the email addicts like myself who actually arrive at work after a sometimes long commute, already up on all the work related communications, and arrives ready to tackle bigger tasks, or with a plan or problem already thought through and resolved. Give an employee a laptop, and you will get MORE work out of them at the end of the day, than someone who leaves work totally behind as they venture home without one. These technological wonders have led to quicker decisions, which bleeds over into a higher rate of efficiency in the workplace and benefits companies and employers alike.

I know all about spam, but with filters and ad blockers and firewalls, a lot of this CAN be averted elsewhere. And yes, there are times I actually do take 10 seconds to glance at the latest “forward” from my father, but more often than not, I delete, delete, delete. But what employee does not take time during the day to hang out at the water cooler to garner the latest news, or sneak down to the break room for a quick smoke, or just talk on the telephone to their best friend or mother.  I venture to suggest that scanning a quick email and hitting the delete key is MUCH faster and more efficient.

I say email is a GOOD THING; it tends to create EFFICIENCY in it's addicts, and as long as no one catches you holding a conversation with your monitor, then hey—-go for it!

Gave my new camera a workout today!  We had an outside event at our church after services today..."Home Run Sunday", and it was a good opportunity to test out my camera.  I have to say, "I AM IMPRESSED!"  

My history with digital cameras goes way back to the first Sony 3.2 MP Mavica, and I also used a Canon Rebel 35 mm for a few years.  My most recent camera has been a Sony 8 MP F828 Digital, and I thought I loved it!  I also had a small point and shoot Casio Exilim digital that recently pooped out on me.  I fell on ice and it went flying and I think, did some kind of major damage, as it is no longer working. 

HERE'S WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THE SONY A100K:

• The weight of it....it FEELS like a solid, quality object, and helps keep your hands steady.
• The sound of it...the shutter actually sounds like a real SLR camera.
• Picture quality is sharp and colorful, and the best part --- no blurring, even in action shots!
• 10.2 MP really means that you can crop smaller segments and still keep a sharp image.
• Optional lenses means you can shoot long or short; I got a 75-300mm lens that is AWESOME!  But is too much for closer shots. 
• Manual operation is similar to shooting with a 35 mm, only more options.

HERE'S WHAT I AM NOT CRAZY ABOUT:

• Restricted to using optical viewfinder to frame shots rather than the LCD view. (I leave noseprints on the LCD screen.)
• Flash does not automatically pop up when needed. 
• Way bigger learning curve, although shooting in automatic mode is a no-brainer and VERY easy.
• This things are really kind of trivial considering the huge leap in the quality of photos taken so far. 

Overall, I am THRILLED with the camera and have ordered several books from Amazon. I am also going to take advantage of the 18 free classes Wolf Camera offers with a purchase of a camera.  I want to learn more about using the camera manually, and maybe wrap my brain around f-stops, aperature, ISO settings and more!

Well, it seems to be happening all around me.  My son recently had a gastric bypass (and is doing great, BTW); my best friend is considering it, and I know about 6 other friends at church that have all jumped on the GB wagon in recent months.  Most have done well, a couple had side-effects to deal with, and one in particular has gained about 60 lbs back.

 On July 14th, I will celebrate 4 years since my gastric bypass surgery.  It's the single best thing I ever did for myself.  It was a quality of life issue, and before surgery, I had very little.  I was in a pit that was gradually covering me.  You eat to feel better because you're depressed, because you feel like crap, can't move and do things, don't fit in ANYWHERE, and the act of eating just  leads to that Catch 22 cyle, wherein you are stuck. 

I was lucky enough to lose about 125 lbs, and it took about a year to do it.  In 4 years time, I have gained back less than 10 lbs (more like 7 or 8), but I am fixing to work that all off again, plus some.  You can quickstart your system into losing again by spending a couple of weeks on the liquid/soft diet with big doses of protein.   

 ADVICE?

1. Don't do it for anyone but yourself.  DO YOUR RESEARCH!  If you have done your research, feel good about the Dr., and are convinced that this is the only answer for you, (and the financial aspect works out), then go for it. 
   
2. Chew your food really well and eat SLOWLY.
3. Don't drink with your meals.
4. The surgery CAN be defeated. Be ready to accept some permanent changes in your eating habits, and be glad that some part of your food choices is decided for you. 
   
5. Snacking ("grazing") is usually the cause of weight gain...Try to stick to 3 square meals a day with a couple of planned snacks that are HEALTHY. 
   
6. This surgery just regulated the AMOUNT of food you can eat at one time....I am lucky that I still DUMP if I eat too much sugar at one time (about 20 gms and up makes me nauseous). 
   
7. Sugarfree popsicles have been my salvation for my sweet tooth...and they count as liquid!
   
8. Keep taking vitamins and B12.
   
9. Eat protein FIRST.
   
10. Don't rush out and buy a whole closet full of clothes until you are about a year out from surgery....I went thru about 2 wardrobes, which was silly....but it sure felt good to give some of those clothes away!  It's so much fun to shop regular sizes in regular stores, that I kind of OD'ed on it! 
    

I was lucky and blessed...the only side effect I suffered was at about 6 months out, I lost a lot of hair....it grew back in SLOWLY--- but that's been it.  Nothing but POSITIVE things have happened!  Before the surgery, I was diabetic, had terrible sleep apnea, terrible joint pain (already had one knee replacement), really bad reflux, high blood pressure, and chronic sinusitis--- after I lost the first 50 pounds, ALL of those things went away.  In 4 years, I have been to the Dr. maybe ONCE a year because I was sick or felt bad....before surgery, it was about 2-3 times a month. 

My best friend found out this week that her insurance company won't cover her surgery, so she may opt to not have it at all.  She's too healthy ---- but for how long?   She's young now, but weight related problems gradually creep up on you as you get older.... My insurance company could have saved LOTS of money on me if I had had the surgery 10-15 years earlier than I did.  They certainly have benefited from my lack of visits since.  You'd think they'd figure that out....Let people have a surgery that will make them healthier, and save money in the long run....DUH....Here's your sign!

I have no qualms talking about this surgery with others, or answering questions.  I will not say "Yes, you need to have it", or "No, don't do it...", but I will tell you what it was like for me.  It's a personal decision, and you need to NOT be on the fence about it. Don't go into the surgery "iffy" --- be convinced or don't do it.  

Here's something my daughter created.... 

I don't know if it's an AGE thing, or what--- but my brain is constantly being taxed with learning new applications to use at work, with my music, creating art, and lots of other things.  Don't get me wrong--- I've definitely got the "want to" --- it's just that I can't keep up anymore...

Our brilliant web-savvy son is constantly finding new and better ways to do what we do (what DO we do???) and I want to be accomodating and learn the latest and best, but I think I am reaching the overload point.  After all, I AM over 50, and you know about those antique brain cells... I TRY, but by the time I get ONE thing down, there are 2 or 3 more apps to learn by yesterday!

I mean, I can even TWITTER with the best of 'em, but after spending hours figuring it out, I totally went a whole day and didn't twitter once.  I am sure the Twitter police will be rounding me up any minute.... Cause isn't the point of Twitter to tell people what you are doing and make clever remarks so they will all want to be your friend cause you sound cool???  I ONLY HAVE 2 friends, so I must not be clever OR cool.....yet. I am working on that.

And, by the way, I have discovered that not only am I addicted to cameras, I am also addicted to Email.....I heard that the average email takes 4 minutes of your time, so you can imagine how many minutes that adds up to be over a year!!!  I TRIED really hard to not email at all today, and I made it to about 9:15 a.m. --- It's sad to be that dependent on technology, to the point that you feel unloved and depressed if all you get in one day is work-related or SPAM. 

Are there 12-step groups for techno-addicts??? If not, guess I can GOOGLE IT!

OK, I admit it...I am a camera-junkie.

But it's been 3 whole years since I bought a new digital camera, and EVERYONE knows how fast technology changes!

After months of researching, reading, looking and thinking about which of the new DSLRs I was going to upgrade to, I finally took the plunge today. I bought a Sony DSLR-A100K. And it is definitely different from my Sony Digital F828 --- no using the LCD image to shoot by (only for review), no auto pop up flash, no nightfinder indicator, no videos---more manual settings than before, and HOPEFULLY, better quality, SHARPER images with 10MP on board. That's one thing I noticed about my old camera--- it didn't shoot well in dim light (even with a flash) and most images tended to be blurry. Action shots just never quite cut it... This new one has image stabilization built into the camera (not the lenses) and a steady feature that's supposed to help that. Rarely used the video feature (we got a GREAT video camera.) Came with an 18-75mm lens and I added a 75-300mm lens to the collection. We shall see. Will definitely be posting more commentary here about it, and samples of photos.

My other choice was the Nikon D80, but just couldn't fork over that much money...and lenses are even MORE expensive. I am still charging the battery, and haven't taken much in the way of photos yet. But I will.....