All posts by Dona

Opinion: Google+ Gifs (or My gifs to You)

December 24, 2013Technologygifs, google, HolidayDona

Warning — if you are at all sensitive to quickly moving animations, turn your images off now….

Back sometime in late June or early July I noticed something strange on my Google+ photos: many of them moved. And they were not videos. I did some investigating and discovered that Google was making gifs out of my photos. Without my knowledge or permission. Not that it was that important, but I really hate animated gifs. I thought they were ugly in the 1990s and I think they are ugly in 2013. They are distracting and take away all semblance of professionalism.

What Google was / is doing is taking photos that were shot within seconds of each other and stitching them together to make mini-animations. For instance I took a bunch of photographs of various family members holding my grand-nephew at a family picnic and when I saw them on my Google+ page the photos were all part of a new photo/animation/gif. (although the photos were there as well)

Jill and Preston with grumpy Dean int he background

When I took a lot of photos of the flower girls and other children dancing at a wedding Google+ made a rather cute animation. (okay, not all the gifs are bad)

Dancing flowergirls — Dancing flower girls

Then, a week or so ago I took a photo of Rupert in front of a snowy scene. What did Google+ do? Made it snow in front of Rupert. In the house.

A few days later I took a photo of a Christmas tree in Bethesda. Google made the lights twinkle. (okay, that was kinda cool).

I took a photograph of our Christmas tree, and again, Google made the lights twinkle.

So, while I don’t like most of the stitched together gifs, I don’t mind the twinkles.

Merry Christmas!

Aunt Ginny’s 3-D Viewer

December 3, 2013TravelCraftsmen's Guild Hollywood California, Found items, stereoscopic drawingsDona

Drawing of a house in Elgin — Drawing of Grandma and Grandpa Green’s house in Elgin

I have lots of vague memories of my grandparent’s house in Elgin. They lived in a tall, narrow house on a bit of a rise on the corner of Raymond and Bent Streets. Downstairs was a living room, kitchen, dining room and a room off the dining room that, I think served as my uncles’ bedroom when they lived at home, but was a sort of playroom/library/extra bedroom by the time I came along.

Milprem. Helps you take the misery out of menopause. Photo of miserable middle aged woman and her doctor — Box containing 3-d viewer

One of the items I remember playing with most often was a sort of early View-Master — a stereoscopic viewer for kids. The box it was kept in didn’t exactly depict the treasure within.

The viewer itself was brain-colored marbled plastic with double eyepieces at one end and a slot for holding cards at the other end. You’d place a card — or group of cards in the slot at the end and look through the eyepieces and see a single 3-dimensional drawing.

The viewer made by Craftmen’s Guild in Hollywood, CA.

Your turn

In addition to the viewer, the kit came with several sets of story cards — looking through them today brings back happy memories of being a kid at my grandparent’s home. Here is one of the sets.

The Little Pig That Flew Just Once

1. "How does one fly Mr. Crow?" "Oh I dunno you just ups and flies is all that I can say." — “How does one fly Mr. Crow?” “Oh I dunno you just ups and flies is all that I can say.”

"Ya just take off and fly and that's all there is to it I guess." "Do you suppose I could fly Mr. Crow?" "Maybe -- try and see." — “Ya just take off and fly and that’s all there is to it I guess.” “Do you suppose I could fly Mr. Crow?” “Maybe — try and see.”

With that the pig 'reved' up his little old screw-like tail -- and into the air he rose. — With that the pig ‘reved’ up his little old screw-like tail — and into the air he rose.

What fun they had! They turned and dived, and spun and just capered all over the sky.

He played leapfrog in the clouds. The pig had worlds of fun until he happened to look down.

The little pig was so frightened he forgot to fly -- he just turned loose and fell. Luckily he landed in a nice soft tree. — The little pig was so frightened he forgot to fly — he just turned loose and fell. Luckily he landed in a nice soft tree.

He grabbed a limb and held on for dear life. Mr. Crow had to help him get down.

The little pig was glad to be back in his mud hole and they tell me that to this day no other little pig has tried to fly.

I’m fairly certain I liked this more when I was a kid than I do now. The others are a little better — and some are not at all PC. If I feel like it I might upload the rest, but don’t hold your breath.

The Inn at Mallard Cove

November 29, 2013Placesbed and breakfast, Daughter, olympia washington, the inn at mallard cove, VacationDona

Because Dean had a meeting in Seattle earlier this month and I had some vacation time left, we decided to spend some time with Clare who recently moved to Olympia, Washington. We knew it would not make sense to try to stay with Clare and Bennett so I was tasked with finding a place to stay in the area. At first I thought we’d simply stay at a local motel (although not this one).

Then I got the idea to make it even more special and thought we should stay in a bed and breakfast. It had been a while since we’d done that, not counting the pre-hurricane stay in Cape May last autumn.

Olympia doesn’t have a huge amount of bed and breakfast establishments, but it as a few. I first considered staying at the Swantown Inn which is 5 minute drive from Clare’s house. It had many great reviews on Trip Advisor and is located in a beautiful colorful Victorian mansion. I nearly made reservations there, but I ended up clicking on a link to the Washington Bed and Breakfast Web site and found that there was another B&B a little further away, but right on Puget Sound. According to Google Maps it was only a 20 minute drive from the Inn to Clare’s house and Dean said that was an okay distance to travel. I called the second inn to check if they had room for us and was treated to a delightful conversation with Don, one of the hosts of the Inn at Mallard Cove. As we talked he mentioned that an eagle just flew by. He also brought up the subject of kayaks and said that we could use his kayaks — even in winter. That settled it. I made reservations there because Dean loves to kayak and I love birds.

I spent much of my free between making the reservation and the actual visit to Olympia reading many of the reviews on Trip Advisor. Of the 139 reviews, 134 are 5 star reviews, 4 are 4 star reviews and only one is a negative review by someone that didn’t even stay there — she just complained about their two-day minimum stay in peak season.

Even prepared with the glowing reviews, I was astonished by the beauty of the house (and its location), the hospitality of the hosts, the awesomeness of the breakfasts and the attention do detail in every single thing about the Inn at Mallard Cove.

Don and Linda are simply wonderful hosts. Don is vivaciously friendly and is knowledgeable about almost anything you ask him — especially if it involves the inn or the area. Linda is more reserved, but also very friendly. She, as Don put it several times, is the “brains” behind the operation and it is her attention to detail that makes your stay go smoothly. She is also an amazing cook. Our breakfasts were so delicious and filling that I could have easily waited for dinner before I ate anything more.

On Friday Don took Clare and Dean kayaking on Puget Sound into the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge. I’ve never kayaked and didn’t want to start kayaking in 30-something degree weather. They had a wonderful time and claim they didn’t even notice the cold.

I have stayed at dozens of bed and breakfasts in the US and in Europe, but I must say that the Inn at Mallard Cove may very well be the best B&B at which I have had the pleasure to stay.