I've been fiddling around with synchronization problems. Notes on one device are not being updated on other devices. While working on this problem, I've had to give a password. Of course, I used the wrong password.
As part of resetting the password, I've been told by Apple that someone has been using another device to reset my password from such and such location. On one device, I was told that the location was near St. Cloud MN. I'm in Duluth MN. Later, on a different device, the location was near Chicago IL.
Gosh! What if I lose my iPhone? Will Find My Phone tell me its in Chicago?
This is corporate accuracy or efficiency???
Showing posts with label Chicago. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chicago. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 03, 2017
Thursday, June 04, 2015
Up in the air about being up in the air
I am not sure when I was first in an airplane, but I am sure when I was last in an airplane. Some of the trips I’ve long forgotten; other I find it hard to forget.
I think my first airplane trip was in a Capitol Airlines DC-3 when I was between nine and twelve. It was out of Cleveland to either Chicago or Detroit. Probably Chicago because my father’s parents lived in Maywood. But I remember more taking the train there once or twice.
My second flight was in a Ford Trimotor from Put-in-Bay in Lake Erie. The Scoutmaster was good at picking sites for a week-long summer camp, and Put-in-Bay was high on his list. I don’t know if I had a flight back to the mainland or just a tourist loop. That airline ceased operations in 1985, but there are still some Trimotors flying, including one in the Port Clinton OH museum.
I don’t remember any flights until the summer between my junior and senior years of college. I had a summer job at Ohio Oil (Marathon). They were considering upgrading their IBM 650 with a Burroughs among others. For some reason the group visiting Burroughs took me along, but this was no ordinary trip.
Ohio Oil had one of the largest private air fleets in the world. We would not be driving or flying commercial from Findlay OH to Detroit. We would be flying in a company DC-3. But we couldn’t leave the ground until we had clearance to land in Detroit. That was over 45 minutes on the runway in the summer in an airplane without air-conditioning. By the time we got into the limos at Detroit, I was very glad to sit in the front with the air-conditioning going full-blast in my face. I think I managed to keep everything down.
In graduate school and at Univac I took many air trips over the next seven years. At Univac, several of us did our best to schedule trips on Caravelles; they were all first class. An incident that stands out was on the approach to Minneapolis-St. Paul the plane (model forgotten) suddenly began climbing. The pilot announced that another plane didn’t get off the runway on time. My wife had a more scary time. She was waiting for me and saw the airplane suddenly swoop up.
Then I spent six years with many trips all over western Europe. One time I went to the wrong airport in Milan and had to take an overnight train instead. One time in Paris Orly was socked in by fog. The airline didn’t keep passengers up-to-date. Finally, they let us send a free telegram. I sent one to my wife in Rome. Later, I think they let us make a phone call. Later yet, they bussed us into Paris to stay in a hotel. The next day I was back in Rome eating lunch with my family when my telegram about my delay arrived.
One memorable sight in Rome was standing on the ground watching a 747 overhead. Would I really want to fly on such a humongous plane?
When we lived in Stockholm we took some vacation flights, mostly in ski season. A warmer flight was to the island of Rhodes. I flew direct to Rhodes, but my wife had gone to Athens with her mother. When they were in the air leaving Athens, Black September attacked the airport, killing at least three.
When we came back to the States, I continued flying wherever for Univac. Sometimes willingly, sometimes unwillingly, and sometimes by my own design. I somehow managed to go to most Univac user conferences and several professional association conferences. I even got a trip back to Europe to give a presentation in Madrid and used vacation time to visit Ireland. Yep, lots of Magrees/McGrees in Kilkenny, but none provably related to me.
When I started my own company, I managed to scrape together money to fly to conferences or to take a few ski trips. Sometimes I took my early Macintosh with me. That now big bulky thing was designed to fit under a airline seat. And it did, and then it did not; signs of coming changes.
Our first flight to Japan was to visit our son who was teaching there. In coach we were almost treated as royalty, on an American plane! Seating was something like 2-3-2 or 2-4-2. We had seats by an emergency door and had plenty of leg room.
Our second flight was out of Chicago with Japan Air. We didn’t have as much leg room but we did have excellent service. The worst part was all the hubbub at Narita Airport to find the right place to checkin and all the restaurants that had prices posted in Japanese numbers.
Our third and my hoped for last flight was a multiple leg trip without much legroom - Minneapolis to Toronto to pick up my mother-in-law. To Chicago to pick up a U.S. airline. To Tokyo for a wonderful time for all. Reverse all that for the return. With the 3-5-3 seating I had it with flying. And I said so.
Then we get a Christmas present to fly to Las Vegas and drive on to Heavenly Valley. OK, daughter, I’ll accept. We had good time, but that was the last time I flew.
Since then, my wife has flown to Japan three times and expects to do so several more times. Whenever I think about it, I get a squeezed feeling in my shoulders and restless leg syndrome.
When Mel wrote this he was sitting at home while his wife flew off to visit her sisters.
Also in Reader Weekly, 2015-06-04 at http://duluthreader.com/articles/2015/06/03/5391_up_in_the_air_about_being_up_in_the_air
I think my first airplane trip was in a Capitol Airlines DC-3 when I was between nine and twelve. It was out of Cleveland to either Chicago or Detroit. Probably Chicago because my father’s parents lived in Maywood. But I remember more taking the train there once or twice.
My second flight was in a Ford Trimotor from Put-in-Bay in Lake Erie. The Scoutmaster was good at picking sites for a week-long summer camp, and Put-in-Bay was high on his list. I don’t know if I had a flight back to the mainland or just a tourist loop. That airline ceased operations in 1985, but there are still some Trimotors flying, including one in the Port Clinton OH museum.
I don’t remember any flights until the summer between my junior and senior years of college. I had a summer job at Ohio Oil (Marathon). They were considering upgrading their IBM 650 with a Burroughs among others. For some reason the group visiting Burroughs took me along, but this was no ordinary trip.
Ohio Oil had one of the largest private air fleets in the world. We would not be driving or flying commercial from Findlay OH to Detroit. We would be flying in a company DC-3. But we couldn’t leave the ground until we had clearance to land in Detroit. That was over 45 minutes on the runway in the summer in an airplane without air-conditioning. By the time we got into the limos at Detroit, I was very glad to sit in the front with the air-conditioning going full-blast in my face. I think I managed to keep everything down.
In graduate school and at Univac I took many air trips over the next seven years. At Univac, several of us did our best to schedule trips on Caravelles; they were all first class. An incident that stands out was on the approach to Minneapolis-St. Paul the plane (model forgotten) suddenly began climbing. The pilot announced that another plane didn’t get off the runway on time. My wife had a more scary time. She was waiting for me and saw the airplane suddenly swoop up.
Then I spent six years with many trips all over western Europe. One time I went to the wrong airport in Milan and had to take an overnight train instead. One time in Paris Orly was socked in by fog. The airline didn’t keep passengers up-to-date. Finally, they let us send a free telegram. I sent one to my wife in Rome. Later, I think they let us make a phone call. Later yet, they bussed us into Paris to stay in a hotel. The next day I was back in Rome eating lunch with my family when my telegram about my delay arrived.
One memorable sight in Rome was standing on the ground watching a 747 overhead. Would I really want to fly on such a humongous plane?
When we lived in Stockholm we took some vacation flights, mostly in ski season. A warmer flight was to the island of Rhodes. I flew direct to Rhodes, but my wife had gone to Athens with her mother. When they were in the air leaving Athens, Black September attacked the airport, killing at least three.
When we came back to the States, I continued flying wherever for Univac. Sometimes willingly, sometimes unwillingly, and sometimes by my own design. I somehow managed to go to most Univac user conferences and several professional association conferences. I even got a trip back to Europe to give a presentation in Madrid and used vacation time to visit Ireland. Yep, lots of Magrees/McGrees in Kilkenny, but none provably related to me.
When I started my own company, I managed to scrape together money to fly to conferences or to take a few ski trips. Sometimes I took my early Macintosh with me. That now big bulky thing was designed to fit under a airline seat. And it did, and then it did not; signs of coming changes.
Our first flight to Japan was to visit our son who was teaching there. In coach we were almost treated as royalty, on an American plane! Seating was something like 2-3-2 or 2-4-2. We had seats by an emergency door and had plenty of leg room.
Our second flight was out of Chicago with Japan Air. We didn’t have as much leg room but we did have excellent service. The worst part was all the hubbub at Narita Airport to find the right place to checkin and all the restaurants that had prices posted in Japanese numbers.
Our third and my hoped for last flight was a multiple leg trip without much legroom - Minneapolis to Toronto to pick up my mother-in-law. To Chicago to pick up a U.S. airline. To Tokyo for a wonderful time for all. Reverse all that for the return. With the 3-5-3 seating I had it with flying. And I said so.
Then we get a Christmas present to fly to Las Vegas and drive on to Heavenly Valley. OK, daughter, I’ll accept. We had good time, but that was the last time I flew.
Since then, my wife has flown to Japan three times and expects to do so several more times. Whenever I think about it, I get a squeezed feeling in my shoulders and restless leg syndrome.
When Mel wrote this he was sitting at home while his wife flew off to visit her sisters.
Also in Reader Weekly, 2015-06-04 at http://duluthreader.com/articles/2015/06/03/5391_up_in_the_air_about_being_up_in_the_air
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Republicans and reality; the only thing they have in common is starting with RE
As a former Republican party activist, I am so disappointed with the Republicans since Reagan (another name starting with RE). The latest disappointment was the attitude of Minnesota Republican legislatures towards light rail, specifically the Southwest line out of Minneapolis. See "Critics rail about state money for Southwest light rail line", Pat Dole, Star Tribune, 2012-03-09.
Despite many businesses saying that light rail aids development, the state Republicans are still opposed to the light rail line. Hey, I thought Republicans were pro-business. I think they are more pro-Koch and pro-oil than anything else.
The most egregious comment was by Kurt Zellers, R-Maple Grove, "We like our independence and having our own car to drive where we want and when we want." He also said. " I think buses…are working very, very well." Excuse me, is anyone telling him that he can't drive? Oh, yes! The Republican Party is not "pro-choice".
He is so wrong on two counts.
Once I drove out of Chicago on I-90 towards O'Hare airport. It was on a Sunday(!) and stop-and-go. In the middle was a commuter train. The highway traffic would stop, and a train would catch up. The highway traffic would stop, and a train would catch up. The highway traffic would stop, and a train would catch up. Eventually the train pulled ahead and was gone. So much for "when we want".
As for the efficiency of buses, for two years I drove a suburban bus into the Twin Cities from Maple Grove!!!! Rare were the times it was a steady 55 mph from Maple Grove to downtown Minneapolis. Sometimes I had to drive on the shoulder. What was my supposed maximum speed? 35mph! What does light rail go? I don't know, but probably better than 35 mph between stations. And the light rail drivers generally have all the green lights in their favor. I had to slow down for merging traffic.
Despite many businesses saying that light rail aids development, the state Republicans are still opposed to the light rail line. Hey, I thought Republicans were pro-business. I think they are more pro-Koch and pro-oil than anything else.
The most egregious comment was by Kurt Zellers, R-Maple Grove, "We like our independence and having our own car to drive where we want and when we want." He also said. " I think buses…are working very, very well." Excuse me, is anyone telling him that he can't drive? Oh, yes! The Republican Party is not "pro-choice".
He is so wrong on two counts.
Once I drove out of Chicago on I-90 towards O'Hare airport. It was on a Sunday(!) and stop-and-go. In the middle was a commuter train. The highway traffic would stop, and a train would catch up. The highway traffic would stop, and a train would catch up. The highway traffic would stop, and a train would catch up. Eventually the train pulled ahead and was gone. So much for "when we want".
As for the efficiency of buses, for two years I drove a suburban bus into the Twin Cities from Maple Grove!!!! Rare were the times it was a steady 55 mph from Maple Grove to downtown Minneapolis. Sometimes I had to drive on the shoulder. What was my supposed maximum speed? 35mph! What does light rail go? I don't know, but probably better than 35 mph between stations. And the light rail drivers generally have all the green lights in their favor. I had to slow down for merging traffic.
Monday, February 21, 2011
What a way to run a railroad!!
Given my reluctance to fly and my growing reluctance to drive long distances, my sister-in-law suggested that we take Amtrak to visit them in Colorado in May.
I checked Amtrak for schedules. The cost for two of us from Minneapolis-St. Paul would be $694, not too bad for two coach seats. But the trip leaves Minneapolis-St. Paul on May 15 at 11:15 p.m., arrives in Portland OR on May 17 at 10:10 a.m., leaves Portland on May 17 at 2:25 p.m, arrives in Sacramento CA on May 18 at 6:15 a.m, leaves Sacramento on May 18 at 11:09 a.m., and arrives in Denver CO on May 19 at 6:38 p.m. That is labeled as the "Shortest Trip".
That would be four days of sitting up day and night. A roomette from the Twin Cities to Portland would be $268 extra, rooms from Portland to Sacramento are already sold out for May 17, and a roomette from Sacramento to Denver would be $436.
I can drive from the Twin Cities to Denver in two days and sleep in a solid bed overnight for less than half the cost of a roomette on the cheapest leg.
Also, the $694 is for one-way. Even though I clicked Round-Trip, the web site only gives me one-way.
Looking at a route map, the alternative is to go to Chicago and then to Denver. So I gave that a go with scheduling, giving a round trip itinerary. The time would be much better with an eight hour and an eighteen hour leg. Unfortunately, there would be a 22 hour layover in Chicago on the way to Denver and a 23 hour layover on the way back. Plus, the web site wouldn't process this any further – "Problem with your itinerary". I gave up. I don't know the cost of this trip.
It seems that Amtrak has almost been designed to discourage train travel. I think that only two groups of people would be interested. First would be those who have time and are traveling between two cities on the same train. The sold out rooms on a May train between Portland and Sacramento may be an indicator that this group will support the current schedule. Second would be those who take trains just to take trains.
It doesn't have to be this way. I took trains as a kid out of Cleveland's Terminal and it was a busy place. Now the Cleveland stop isn't much more than a siding for a one train a day each way. I've taken trains all over Europe, both day trips and overnight, and I have ridden the bullet and regular trains in Japan.
Maybe Steve Jobs will start the train "for the rest of us"?
I checked Amtrak for schedules. The cost for two of us from Minneapolis-St. Paul would be $694, not too bad for two coach seats. But the trip leaves Minneapolis-St. Paul on May 15 at 11:15 p.m., arrives in Portland OR on May 17 at 10:10 a.m., leaves Portland on May 17 at 2:25 p.m, arrives in Sacramento CA on May 18 at 6:15 a.m, leaves Sacramento on May 18 at 11:09 a.m., and arrives in Denver CO on May 19 at 6:38 p.m. That is labeled as the "Shortest Trip".
That would be four days of sitting up day and night. A roomette from the Twin Cities to Portland would be $268 extra, rooms from Portland to Sacramento are already sold out for May 17, and a roomette from Sacramento to Denver would be $436.
I can drive from the Twin Cities to Denver in two days and sleep in a solid bed overnight for less than half the cost of a roomette on the cheapest leg.
Also, the $694 is for one-way. Even though I clicked Round-Trip, the web site only gives me one-way.
Looking at a route map, the alternative is to go to Chicago and then to Denver. So I gave that a go with scheduling, giving a round trip itinerary. The time would be much better with an eight hour and an eighteen hour leg. Unfortunately, there would be a 22 hour layover in Chicago on the way to Denver and a 23 hour layover on the way back. Plus, the web site wouldn't process this any further – "Problem with your itinerary". I gave up. I don't know the cost of this trip.
It seems that Amtrak has almost been designed to discourage train travel. I think that only two groups of people would be interested. First would be those who have time and are traveling between two cities on the same train. The sold out rooms on a May train between Portland and Sacramento may be an indicator that this group will support the current schedule. Second would be those who take trains just to take trains.
It doesn't have to be this way. I took trains as a kid out of Cleveland's Terminal and it was a busy place. Now the Cleveland stop isn't much more than a siding for a one train a day each way. I've taken trains all over Europe, both day trips and overnight, and I have ridden the bullet and regular trains in Japan.
Maybe Steve Jobs will start the train "for the rest of us"?
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Serendipity and Politics
Bob Goldish recently wrote a letter to the editor of the Reader Weekly praising a column by Ed Raymond.
I want to tell Bob that he can find Ed Raymond's email address and columns at the High Plains Reader. I went to the High Plains Reader's website to check that Raymond's email address was indeed there.
While I was scanning the list of opinion columns I saw "Don't Cry for me, Richie Daley" by Charlie Barber. Barber proposed that Obama's trip to the Olympic Committee was paying a political debt to Chicago politicians for their support, something I had suspected.
Maybe the loss of the games is a loss for those who would make lots of money building new things, but it is a big gain for the average Chicagoan and for Obama. The average Chicagoan already has plenty of sports venues and other entertainments. He or she doesn't need the aggravation and inflation that Olympic crowds would bring. Obama now has paid his debt to Chicago politicians and owes them nothing.
I want to tell Bob that he can find Ed Raymond's email address and columns at the High Plains Reader. I went to the High Plains Reader's website to check that Raymond's email address was indeed there.
While I was scanning the list of opinion columns I saw "Don't Cry for me, Richie Daley" by Charlie Barber. Barber proposed that Obama's trip to the Olympic Committee was paying a political debt to Chicago politicians for their support, something I had suspected.
Maybe the loss of the games is a loss for those who would make lots of money building new things, but it is a big gain for the average Chicagoan and for Obama. The average Chicagoan already has plenty of sports venues and other entertainments. He or she doesn't need the aggravation and inflation that Olympic crowds would bring. Obama now has paid his debt to Chicago politicians and owes them nothing.
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Reconstructing family history
Genealogy once upon a time seemed to be a search for illustrious ancestors. As it became more and more popular for people just to connect back to Europe, people came just as interested in the stories of their ancestors as in the connections of one generation to another. Besides, the stories often gave clues on how to find the connections.
I've been interested in the origins of the name Magree for years, but really didn't make much progress until the 1970s when I stumbled on a whole bunch in Australia. From some of them I found that they could trace their ancestors to Kilkenny, Ireland.
My own personal search stopped with my greatgrandfather, John J.R. Magree who was born in Brooklyn in 1851. I've gathered a few stories about him and his descendants, but I gave up on searching documents to go back further.
Meanwhile, I do a Google search on Magrees and turn up a few I never heard of before. I generally don't follow up because the letter exchange or telephone calls would just eat up time from all the other activities I want to do.
Every so often my curiosity gets the better of me and I attempt to contact someone. I did this recently through classmates.com and got a reply. She gave me some information about her ex-husband. I made the connection to one of my uncles, replied to her, and haven't heard from her since. I probably exhausted her interest in the subject.
However, this led me to reflect on some decades-old issues. My family is not very good on keeping connections up, possibly because of many divorces. I had not seen my paternal grandmother since I was about 7 or 9, but I sent her Christmas cards and maybe birthday cards for a long, long time.
The year after I was married, we drove through Chicago on our way home to Cleveland. I stopped at a phone booth, looked my grandmother up, called her, and she invited us to stop by.
She was living upstairs in a duplex where her youngest son, his wife, and children lived downstairs. My wife and I remember her bitterly complaining about her daughter-in-law.
A couple of nights ago, during a sleepless period, several weeks after I received the message through classmates.com, two explanations about the mother-in-law/daughter-in-law conflict popped into my head.
Both were born in Germany.
My grandmother had come to the U.S. when she was about six, but as an adult she spoke probably only English. Her children would ask for German words but she had a harder and harder time remembering any.
My aunt was the widow of a German soldier and the mother of a young son. She met my uncle, a G.I., after the war and came to the U.S. with her son.
I wonder if there was friction between the two women because 1) my grandmother could no longer speak fluent German and was frustrated, or 2) my grandmother had antipathy towards Germans in general because of the two World Wars.
I may never know. All the principals are dead now except possibly my aunt's first son. I may never get sufficient curiosity to follow up with people who may be reluctant to get involved with distant relatives.
And this is how so many interesting stories get lost or garbled.
I've been interested in the origins of the name Magree for years, but really didn't make much progress until the 1970s when I stumbled on a whole bunch in Australia. From some of them I found that they could trace their ancestors to Kilkenny, Ireland.
My own personal search stopped with my greatgrandfather, John J.R. Magree who was born in Brooklyn in 1851. I've gathered a few stories about him and his descendants, but I gave up on searching documents to go back further.
Meanwhile, I do a Google search on Magrees and turn up a few I never heard of before. I generally don't follow up because the letter exchange or telephone calls would just eat up time from all the other activities I want to do.
Every so often my curiosity gets the better of me and I attempt to contact someone. I did this recently through classmates.com and got a reply. She gave me some information about her ex-husband. I made the connection to one of my uncles, replied to her, and haven't heard from her since. I probably exhausted her interest in the subject.
However, this led me to reflect on some decades-old issues. My family is not very good on keeping connections up, possibly because of many divorces. I had not seen my paternal grandmother since I was about 7 or 9, but I sent her Christmas cards and maybe birthday cards for a long, long time.
The year after I was married, we drove through Chicago on our way home to Cleveland. I stopped at a phone booth, looked my grandmother up, called her, and she invited us to stop by.
She was living upstairs in a duplex where her youngest son, his wife, and children lived downstairs. My wife and I remember her bitterly complaining about her daughter-in-law.
A couple of nights ago, during a sleepless period, several weeks after I received the message through classmates.com, two explanations about the mother-in-law/daughter-in-law conflict popped into my head.
Both were born in Germany.
My grandmother had come to the U.S. when she was about six, but as an adult she spoke probably only English. Her children would ask for German words but she had a harder and harder time remembering any.
My aunt was the widow of a German soldier and the mother of a young son. She met my uncle, a G.I., after the war and came to the U.S. with her son.
I wonder if there was friction between the two women because 1) my grandmother could no longer speak fluent German and was frustrated, or 2) my grandmother had antipathy towards Germans in general because of the two World Wars.
I may never know. All the principals are dead now except possibly my aunt's first son. I may never get sufficient curiosity to follow up with people who may be reluctant to get involved with distant relatives.
And this is how so many interesting stories get lost or garbled.
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