Crossword Puzzles

Posted July 15, 2013 by joebowker
Categories: apps, games, Puzzles
Tags:

So you think you might want to try your hand at doing crossword puzzles? Seem overwhelming?  I have been doing crossword puzzles for many years now. Here’s my handy dandy guide to doing crossword puzzles.

  1. Start on Monday. Many crossword puzzle providers start easy on Monday and then work up in difficulty as the week goes on. I usually can do the NY Times Monday puzzle in about 5 minutes. The Saturday puzzle usually takes me 30 minutes or longer. Sunday puzzles generally take me around 45 minutes or so.
  2. Use a pencil with an eraser if you use the printed puzzles. Don’t be afraid to enter a clue. Try it and see if it agrees with the corresponding across or down clues.
  3. If you like to solve online, use the program “AcrossLite”. It’s available for Windows and Mac. There are also several apps for smart phones and tablets. I use an app from Standalone Software on my iPad.
  4. Daily puzzles are (in the U.S.) a 15×15 grid. Sunday puzzles are a 21×21 grid. The grid is (almost always) symmetrical along the SW to NE axis.
  5. Puzzles with a large amounts of open space are always harder.
  6. Here is a link to some good tips on crossword clues.

Finally, here are a few articles or books on word puzzles worth looking at:

  1. Article about Will Shortz (NY Times puzzle editor)
  2. Book by Eugene Maleska called “Pleasure in Words” [no longer in print] You’ll either have to buy used or go to the public library. Maleska is the former NY Times puzzle editor.

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South Bay Greek Festival

Posted July 13, 2013 by joebowker
Categories: California, Food
Tags: , , ,

Today we all went up to Redondo Beach to attend the South Bay Greek Festival at St Stephen’s Greek Orthodox Church. We arranged to meet Theresa and Jonathan for the festivities, This is an annual affair that has been running since 1964, See sbgreekfestival.com

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If you missed it, you still have time. It runs through tomorrow (Sunday 7/14). Costs $2 ($1 for seniors) to get in or free if you print the coupon on the website..

I’d say that 80% of the fair is food related, That’s not a bad thing. The smell is awesome. There is just about any greek food you can imagine. Non-food items include jewelry, boutique stuff, t shirts, etc.

I started the day with a cup of greek coffee. Strong, sweet and hot. Then we got a sampler of appetizers, a plate of Loukoumathes (think donut holes only better) and a plate of lamb chops, sausage and french fries.  Then we got a few glasses of wine to wash it down with. Alas, it was California wine. I had a tasty Merlot.

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Here’s Jonathan munching on a french fry and some pita bread. Sitting at the table like a big boy.

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After lunch, we headed over to the kids’ section, where they had set up a moon walk and slide for kids to play on. Jonathan wasn’t quite up to doing the slide, but he got inside the moon walk and bounced around with all the other kids. He had a blast.

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While we were at the kids section, we ran into Theresa’s cousin Eric and family. Finally, after bouncing around we went and got a plate of Greek desserts (Baklava, Thiples, and the like). I got another cup of Greek coffee.

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Then we all went home and had a nap.

 

 

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Red Sox vs Oakland 7-12-13

Posted July 13, 2013 by joebowker
Categories: Baseball, Boston
Tags: , ,

Last night was the first time in a while that I had the time to sit down and score an entire game. This was partly due it being a west coast game with start time of 7:00pm local time and the fact that Paula and her mother were out at an OES meeting. So I had the TV all to myself.

John Lackey was on the mound for the Red Sox. Lackey is really looking so much better this year. Looks like he has slimmed down a good bit. Seven strong innings with 5 strike-outs but 4 BB’s.

Mike Napoli went 2 for 4 with a single and a triple. Dustin Pedroia also 2 for 4 with two singles.

Defense was looking good. The Sox turned three double plays with one particularly sharp play started by Pedroia in the 5th inning.

This road trip is turning into a pretty good trip for the sox especially after a disappointing start against the Angels.

Game was played at the o.co coliseum in Oakland. What is “o.co”?

Here’s the pointer to the scorecard:  Bos vs Oak 07-12-2013

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Anthony’s Pier 4

Posted July 5, 2013 by joebowker
Categories: Boston
Tags: ,

I just read in the Boston Globe that Anthony’s Pier 4 will be closing in August. So sad. It was a wonderful restaurant. I haven’t dined their for a long time, but when we did it was a wonderful treat.

In an interview this week, Anthony’s owners, the sons of late founder Anthony Athanas, confirmed that the business famous for hosting generations of Brahmins, Beacon Hill powerbrokers, old-school celebrities, and ordinary families will be shuttered in August. Business isn’t what it used to be. Just a few dozen people wandered in for lunch on a recent weekday, sparsely populating a dining room that seats 500. Meanwhile, the neighborhood, a wasteland of rotting piers and dirt lots when Anthony’s opened in 1963, is teeming with development, including sleek office towers and several hot new restaurants. [Boston Globe 7/5/2013]

Probably the most memorable treat was attending my brother Rich’s wedding reception at the ship Peter Stuyvesant that was moored next to Pier 4. But that was way back in 1973. The ship was used for parties, receptions and the like. Alas, the ship sank during the blizzard of 1978. That was one hell of a party. It was a pity that the bride and groom missed most of the party. Here’s a picture of the ship after the storm.

Blizzard of 1978 - Peter Stuyyesant sank next to Anthony's Pier 4 Restaurant - Boston, MA

Take a look at the Pier 4 web site (while it’s still there). The site is loaded with pictures of the many famous people who dined there. Alas, my picture is not among the collection.

– Joe

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Independence Day

Posted July 5, 2013 by joebowker
Categories: California, Family, Travel
Tags: ,

Dinner with Mike & Theresa yesterday afternoon. Too much good food to eat. Jonathan was as cute as ever.

After dinner we headed over to Muller House (San Pedro Historical Society) to watch the fireworks at Cabrillo beach. Muller House is ideally suited for fireworks viewing. Excellent view of LA Harbor and surrounding area. It was a good show, but not as good as Boston’s Esplanade show.

Esplanade_1600x1200

Unfortunately, CBS decided not to broadcast the show this year, so you only see it local to Boston. Such a pity. Here’s a youtube clip of fireworks with the finale to the 1812 Overture.

Finally, here’s a few pictures from the US Dept of the Interior.

Vietnam Vet MemorialVietnam Veterans’ Memorial

Grand Teton Wyoming

Grand Teton Wyoming

Statue of LibertyStatue of Liberty

St Marks National Wildlife Refuge FloridaSt Marks National Wildlife Refuge Florida

Organ Pipes National Monument ArizonaOrgan Pipes Arizona

Golden GateGolden Gate Bridge San Francisco

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There’s an app for that…

Posted June 25, 2013 by joebowker
Categories: apps, Hearing Aids
Tags: , , ,

Yesterday (Monday), I picked up my new hearing aids at Costco. The technician programmed my new hearing aids with my hearing profile.

Here’s a picture of the new aids. I put a ruler in the picture to get an idea of the size.

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Next was the programming of the “Phone Clip”. This is the device that has the Bluetooth interface. Phone clip paired with the hearing aids and then to my iPhone. So far, so good. Then he had me install the free iPhone app to control the hearing aids.

Here’s a picture of the phone clip. Phone clip has buttons for volume, program, and phone answer. It has a microphone to be used when making phone calls.

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The hearing aid was loaded with three “programs”. First is normal, second “noise” and third is “telecoil”.

Telecoil is a hearing aid system sometimes installed in theaters and public address systems whereby the sound is sent directly to the hearing aid.

Here are a couple of screen shots from the iPhone app. So with a swipe of a finger you can change either volume settings or program. Cool.

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Costco Hearing Aids

Posted June 19, 2013 by joebowker
Categories: Hearing Aids, Reviews, Technology
Tags: , , , ,

Yesterday, we went for my appointment with the Costco Hearing Aid dept. We met with Vallonna who is the Hearing Aid Center manager. After filling out some forms and giving her my copy of my hearing test from Kaiser we got down to business.

We started with some more hearing tests. As usual, I sat in a sound proof room and listened to the head phones. Push the button when you hear the tone. In addition to what they did at Kaiser, she also did a loudness test. ie. How loud can we go before you feel pain? Push the button when it gets too loud.

She recommended a pair of Resound Forza 8 behind the ear BTE hearing aids. Base price of about $1350 each. Expensive but a lot less than the price at Hearx. She then programmed a pair of hearing aids for me to try. The hearing aids come with a handy remote control that can control both volume and program. She showed me how to use. Set it up with two programs, one for noisy and one for normal. Then she sent us off to wander around the store for 30 minutes.

This was something that the folks at Hearx never offered. Try before you buy, what a concept. The Costco warehouse was certainly a hearing challenging area. It took a little getting used to, but I liked them.

So we ordered the hearing aid pair. Paid with the Costco Amex card which gives 2% rebate at the end of the year. We also ordered the phone clip that provides the Blue Tooth capability. Pick up next Monday where Vallona will program. Then we have followup appointment the following Monday to see how things are going. I am looking forward to getting them.

TTFN

Joe

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Four Generations

Posted June 19, 2013 by joebowker
Categories: Family
Tags: , ,

Mike brought the CD with him last night when he came for dinner. Here are a couple of pictures that came out good.

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Family Pictures

Posted June 16, 2013 by joebowker
Categories: California
Tags: , ,

Well, yesterday we all get together to do a family portrait. All four generations all arrived on time at Clix Portrait Studios in Rolling Hills Estates. That was the easy part.

Jonathan was the hard part. Jonathan is about 20 months old and does not feel the need to cooperate with pesky photographers. A very nice young lady did her best to get Jonathan to face front and smile for the camera. She took out all of the toys out of her toy box to try to get him cooperate. Eventually she managed to get a few decent pictures.

One of the things that Jonathan was most interested in was the trash can. The trash can had a swinging lid that seemed to interest him greatly. Somehow we managed to get several decent shots. Digital technology cameras allow us instant ability to review the results of the photo shoot and decide which pictures we would keep.

Here is a picture of Jonathan getting loaded with sunscreen before doing the fountain. Note the trash can in the background that he found so interesting. That boy can squirm.

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Once we were done with the portrait business, time for lunch. First though, Jonathan got to play in the fountain outside the studio. Here’s one of the pictures. He had a wonderful time and got totally soaked.

Here’s the fountain.

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Good thing that Theresa had a change of clothes. His shoes were of the water proof variety.

Then we had lunch at Rubio’s. A nice Mexican fast-food joint in the mall. All in all a fun afternoon for everyone. I will post pictures from the photo-shoot when I get them.

It’s been a wonderful Father’s Day. Being a grandfather is so much fun!

Later…

Joe

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HearUSA/HEARx

Posted June 12, 2013 by joebowker
Categories: Hearing Aids, Retirement, Technology
Tags: , ,

Yesterday, I had my appointment with HearUSA in Torrance. It is a small store front that was easy to miss. There was a receptionist that had a several forms for me to fill out. Waited for about ten minutes to get to see the audiologist. (I think that’s the right term. Her card says she is “Doctor of Audiology”)

We got right down to business. She looked at my hearing test results and recommended a couple of behind the ear (BTE) models of hearing aids made by Siemens. The hearing aids are very small. Certainly smaller than I had envisioned. So I got to try one on. Hardly knew it was there. In fact, I would be afraid that it might fall off and get lost. That thought scares the hell out of me. ie. losing a device worth a couple of thousand dollars. Unfortunately, the demo units were just that demo units and didn’t actually work.

So here is a picture I took with my iPhone. It is really hard to get a feel from the picture how really small they are.

The audiologist was very pleasant. No hard sell. Just told me the prices. Both were in the range of $3600-$4600 for the pair. The price included the 20% discount for being a Kaiser member. Price included three year warranty and free batteries for three years. We were told that batteries last about a week with average usage. Package of 60 batteries runs about $25 on Amazon.com. I figure that package would last 6 months. So free battery offer is worth $300 over the three years. They also offer 12 month/0% financing. I suppose that eases the pain of forking over $5000 in one swipe of my Visa card.

The price didn’t include optional gadgets. Siemens sells a device that they call a “MiniTEK”. This is the device used to do Bluetooth and other various magic. Add $550, if you want Bluetooth. MiniTEK is device about the size of a garage door opener.

So here’s where we stand. Appointment with Costco next Tuesday. Then we get to decide. Told the woman at we’d get back to her once we decide. She didn’t try to persuade us to decide before we left. If it weren’t for the price, I would probably go with HEARx.

One more link. Here is the Facebook link.

Later…

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