Friday, January 31, 2014

Susun's Smartphone

Susun's been getting a LOT of questions about her Smartphone.  The questions fall into three categories:

  • What type of phone is it?
  • Who's the carrier?
  • How much does it cost?
First, it is pre-paid, no contract Smartphone sold by Wal-Mart under the "Straight Talk" brand.  Straight Talk has been around quite a few years.  It is actually a Trac-fone company.  Trac-fone also owns Net10.  Trac-fone is an Asian Indian company.  We used them about ten years ago.  Their customer service is a lot better now.

The phone itself is a Samsung Galaxy Centura.  Here is the link to its spec sheet:

Most of last year, the phone was retailing for $100 and as of today, it is still listed for $99 on the Wal-Mart website here:


Here's the phone thumbnail description from the above link:


The Straight Talk Samsung S738C Prepaid Smartphone runs on the Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) OS. With a talk time up to 7.22 hours, this Straight Talk Samsung Galaxy Centura Smartphone can keep you connected throughout the day without constantly recharging. Capture pictures and videos with the 3MPl camera and video recorder when you insert your own microSD card, up to 32GB. Prepaid Straight Talk Samsung Galaxy Phones are WiFi and 3G connected, so you can enjoy your favorite websites, videos, games and music on the go with this 3.5" touchscreen.

Straight Talk Samsung S738C Galaxy Centura Prepaid Smartphone:
  • Talk Time: up to 7.22 h
  • Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) OS
  • 3.5" touchscreen
  • 3 megapixel camera and video recorder
  • microSD card slot supports up to 32GB (not included)
  • 3G/WiFi connectivity
  • Phonebook entries up to storage limit
  • Hearing Aid Compatible (HAC) Rating: M3/T3
  • Includes battery, charger, activation card, service guide and user manual
  • This phone will only work with the Straight Talk $45/30-Day Unlimited Service Plan or the $60/30-Day Unlimited International Service Plan


On Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving it came up for sale for $30.  We were able to buy it online and have it delivered free to the Cottonwood store. Saving $70 is always an attractive alternative.

We waited until Susun's T-Mobile prepaid minutes were about to run out and then activated the Smartphone with a $45 per month plan that provides unlimited talk, text and data.

Here are the details of the $45 plan in a nutshell:

Straight Talk Unlimited* 30-Day Service Card with Text, Talk and Web Access (Email Delivery):

  • Nationwide service on Straight Talk's reliable network
  • No activation, reactivation, cancellation, daily access or overage fees
  • 30-day plan
  • Unlimited minutes and texts nationwide
  • Unlimited* high speed data for the first 2.5GB of data use and unlimited data at 2G speeds for the rest of the 30-day cycle (on Mobile Web-enabled phones)
  • Calls to 411 at no additional charg


Verizon is carrying the primary signal for this phone.  Straight Talk phones use a variety of carriers, as many as four.  We're lucky to have Verizon carrying this particular phone as their signal is very strong in our area here and also in Idaho.

The biggest glitch so far has been the set up of the voice mail.  Susun tried for many days to get it set up with no luck.  The morning of January 31, we spent several hours online and on the phone trying to solve the problem.  The problem was finally solved.

The primary reason for going with a low cost prepaid phone was to see if Susun would "like" the Smartphone and be able to use its many features.  So far, she has learned many of the features on her own without assistance.  She appears to "like" the phone very much.  We will definitely now consider perhaps a more expensive phone and a more expensive monthly service plan as well.

There really was no point in signing onto a two-year agreement until we know that she would actually like and use a Smartphone.

John has no interest in owning or using a Smartphone.  Susun wants the Smartphone so she can post pictures to Facebook and also to text with easier testing technology.  John will continue to use an ancient flip phone on T-Mobile prepaid.  His plan provides 1500 minutes for $30 a month.  He generally uses only about 300 minutes but there is no cheaper plan to suit his needs.

Friday Morning Edition - 2456688

Tell me, what are the odds?  Talk about luck.  Here's a great Feel Good Story to fire up your Friday.
NPS Rangers rescue hiker from snowstorm...in Hawaii!

http://blog.sfgate.com/hawaii/2014/01/30/stranded-hiker-rescued-in-snowstorm-in-hawaii/
The bad news is there's no snow on any of Arizona's pillows.
http://azdailysun.com/news/local/flagstaff-reclaims-abnormally-dry-label-from-u-s-drought-monitor/article_d44a6fa2-8a3c-11e3-9dd6-0019bb2963f4.html

http://www.azcentral.com/community/mesa/articles/20140130meatball-pound-cat-dropped-off-mesa-shelter-abrk.html
Where's Wayne-O?  Why, hiking between steaming craters, of course.

http://earthly-musings.blogspot.com/2014/01/great-day-flying-from-iguazu-falls-to.html

Wayne should be home to Flagstaff tomorrow.  Congratulations on another great trip, Wayne!
One of Nanette's great spoof self-help magazine covers.
In Nanette's latest post, Nikola Tesla morphs into a poetry commentator.

http://anengineersaspect.blogspot.com/2014/01/nikola-tesla-translates-poetry-by-zmai.html
And finally on Friday, more WWII aircraft photos than you will EVER be able to look at.
Let me know if anyone can possibly get through this gallery.  I double dog dare ya.
THANKS, Angel Lynn, for finding and sharing this gem.

http://www.mission4today.com/index.php?name=ForumsPro&file=viewtopic&t=14428&finish=15&start=0

That's all, folks, have a great day & Many Happy Cheers!

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Thursday Morning Edition - 2456687

Where's Wayne-O?  Why at Iguazu Falls, Of course!
Here's the QPF for the next 72 hours.  The 7-day QPF looks much the same so
we're guessing whatever precip  happens will happen during the next three days.
Below is the meat of this morning's Area Forecast Discussion from the Flagstaff NWS.


 .DISCUSSION...THE RIDGE IS ON THE WAY OUT TODAY AS AN ACTIVE  
  SOUTHERN STREAM IMPINGES THE WEST COAST. THIS WILL COMBINE WITH A  
  FRACTURING AND RETROGRADING HUDSON BAY VORTEX TO ALLOW MORE ACTIVE  
  CONDITIONS OVER THE SOUTHWEST FOR SEVERAL DAYS. THE FIRST WAVE TO  
  AFFECT OUR AREA IS SEEN CROSSING THROUGH 130W THIS MORNING WITH A  
  DECENT MOISTURE FETCH JUST TO THE SOUTH. PRESSURE FALLS WITH THIS  
  WAVE WILL BRING WINDY CONDITIONS TO THE REGION TODAY AND AN ADVISORY  
  IS ALREADY OUT. 
   
  THE MOISTURE STREAM MENTIONED ABOVE WILL ARRIVE LATER TODAY...WITH  
  DYNAMICS AND A COLD FRONT ASSOCIATED WITH THE FIRST WAVE ARRIVING  
  FRIDAY. THE SYSTEM WILL LOSE SOME OF ITS STRUCTURE BY FRIDAY AND THE  
  MOISTURE WILL LARGELY BE ROBBED BY THE SIERRAS...BUT ENOUGH WILL  
  REMAIN TO BRING A DECENT AREA OF RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS TO NORTHERN  
  AND CENTRAL ARIZONA ON FRIDAY. 
   
  THIS SYSTEM WILL EXIT ARIZONA FRIDAY NIGHT WITH ANOTHER TRAILING  
  SYSTEM DUE SATURDAY AFTERNOON. NOT MUCH IN THE WAY OF FORCING WITH  
  THIS SECOND SYSTEM...BUT A COLDER AND MORE UNSTABLE AIRMASS WILL  
  PAVE THE WAY FOR MORE SHOWER ACTIVITY. 
   
  A THIRD SYSTEM ARRIVES LATE SUNDAY AND INTO MONDAY. THE TRACK FOR  
  THIS THIRD SYSTEM IS STILL UNCERTAIN...BUT COOL AND UNSETTLED  
  CONDITIONS WILL LIKELY PERSIST. 

What a great role model for all us Baby Boomers. Check him out!

http://dcourier.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubsectionID=2&ArticleID=127701

Hard to believe Dr. Strangelove is 50 years old and Slim Pickins has been dead over 30 years. Where does time go?

http://blog.sfgate.com/mlasalle/2014/01/28/50-years-since-dr-strangelove/#20074101=0
The Pope's getting a lot of attention.  Nice street art!
We look at the Voice of America every morning.  NO ads!
And no restrictions such as a paywall, article quota, etc.
One of VOA's most fun features is their daily photos.

http://www.voanews.com/media/photogallery/january-29-2014-day-in-photos/1840322.html

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Wednesday Morning Edition - 2456686

This year will be the 5th annual such event.  We really hope to go.
We actually dug out our Remington "Quiet-Riter" yesterday to do a little typing.  Yes, typing, like on an ancient mechanical device was manufactured long before Steve Jobs was born.  Back when this Baby was used, the MacIntosh's were people who lived down the street.  So, today we being the Morning Edition with kind words for Old Friends--Typewriters.

We've been Big Fans of typewriters our whole life so it stands to reason we keep one of these Old Iron Horses safely stabled in our Man Cave shed.  Yesterday we have to put put a lot of information on a very small piece of paper that won't fit into a computer printer.  That's when the typewriter rides to the rescue like something out of Perils of Pauline.

Many years ago, we were traveling who knows where and found a typewriter at a yard sale.  We lugged it back to our campground and put it on the picnic table and started merrily typing cheery gibberish.  Some children walking through the campground flipped out and ran back to their Daddy and Mommy and pointed off at us as if we were fossilized space aliens.  Daddy dutifully brought the kiddies over to see a genuine antique in action.  Daddy and we explained this crude former form of communication to the kiddies.  At first, they held back, reluctant to even touch the suspicious mechanism.  Finally, they relaxed and actually tried the use the keys.  Every time one of them pushed down a key, they would laugh loudly together like it was some sideshow in a flea circus or something.  Everybody should keep one of these things around....and actually USE them once in awhile.  Just using a typewriter for a few minutes will give you huge new appreciation for your computer, smartphone or tablet keyboard!

When we were down in Mesa last week, we happened to drive by one of the last remaining typewriter repair shops on earth--The Mesa Typewriter Exchange.  Here's a 2009 article on Bill Wahl's business.

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/2009/01/10/20090110biz-mr-typewriter0110.html

And here's a great little 3 minute video: http://youtu.be/sBiis9MaIJc

And finally, a seldom updated but still interesting Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mesa-Typewriter-Exchange/123867749753
Arizona will run out of water someday, eh?  What a surprise!

http://cvbugle.com/main.asp?SectionID=74&SubSectionID=114&ArticleID=41251
The last time it was this dry in Flagstaff, this is what Jerome looked like.
"Today is forecast to be the 39th consecutive day without precipitation, which would tie the seasonal record set in 1917. If the precipitation holds off Thursday until midnight again, the winter record will be broken, Bohlin said."

http://azdailysun.com/news/local/flagstaff-races-toward-winter-drought-record/article_b8aff4ac-88ab-11e3-990e-0019bb2963f4.html

Meanwhile in Montana: "Heavy snow is expected in the mountains of western Montana through Thursday evening, the Weather Service says, particularly over Lolo and Lost Trail passes. Snowfall rates of 1-2 inches per hour are possible at times, with total accumulation of 10-18 inches possible."

Source: http://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/wednesday-s-weather-winter-storm-warning-heavy-mountain-snowfall/article_86408032-88e1-11e3-a7aa-001a4bcf887a.html

Here's the one-day (24 hour) QPF for today.  Looking good up on Cold Country.
Source: http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/qpf/qpf2.shtml

We just learned about Andra Rush this morning.
Andra Rush sat with The First Lady last night at the State of The Union address.  We never heard of Andra before.  Now we're going to be keeping an eye on her.  She started her own business when she was 23 and it has grown to be the largest Native American owned business in the country!  Here's the Indian Country Today article about last night.

http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/01/28/mohawk-entreprenuer-andra-rush-join-first-lady-state-union-153299

Here's the Guest List for the address last night:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/01/28/white-house-announces-additional-guests-first-ladys-box-state-union-addr

And here's the Rush Trucking website:   http://www.rushtrucking.com/home.aspx
What is it about guys who like to play "dress up?"
From the Voice of America website, we found the above photo in the "Pictures of The Day" thingie.  Here's the caption that accompanied the photo:

"Participants dressed as Vikings prepare to participate in the annual Up Helly Aa festival in Lerwick, Shetland Islands, northeast of Britain. Up Helly Aa celebrates the influence of the Scandinavian Vikings in the Shetland Islands and culminates with up to 1,000 'guizers' (men in costume) throwing flaming torches into their Viking longboat and setting it alight later in the evening."

We wonder if "guizers" rhymes with geezers?  Ya just never know what the male gender will do next, eh?

The VOA website: http://www.voanews.com/


And finally--these cows raised the roof!
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Gassy-German-cows-blamed-for-barn-explosion-5181695.php

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Tuesday Morning Edition - 2456685

YEA!  The Land of The M Diamond is featured in our local newspaper.  Congrats to Peggy & Larry!

http://verdenews.com/main.asp?SectionID=264&SubSectionID=2078&ArticleID=57137&TM=68469.61
Here's The M Diamond website: 

Read about a 19-year-old's trip to the South Pole.

Here's the Team website:

Speaking of Teams--how 'bout this father-son team
that will be in "The Amazing Race" TV show again?
Since they are from Utah--the Salt Lake Trib weighs in:
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/blogstv/57455822-63/season-race-son-cbs.html.csp

Here's some other links about the family duo:
http://www.cbs.com/shows/amazing_race/cast/205046/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Amazing_Race
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/amazing-race-dave-connor-heartbreaking-429476

Why can't Arizona have these types of signs?
Just imagine the Arizona Highways photos
that could be placed at each entrance to the state!
Be sure to click on and view the photo gallery of signs.
http://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/branding-montana-new-signs-set-to-welcome-drivers-into-the/article_cadcfa86-844a-11e3-9064-0019bb2963f4.html

Have you ever heard of an snow avalanche that damned a river?
http://www.seattlepi.com/news/us/article/Avalanches-cut-off-only-road-to-Alaska-city-5179525.php

The above article is pretty basic.  The article below is more thorough and has amazing photos:

http://www.adn.com/2014/01/27/3293690/highway-to-valdez-to-be-closed.html

And, finally, another article about the age
of The Grand Canyon.  It's a Big Debate.
http://www.techtimes.com/articles/2978/20140128/grand-canyon-is-much-younger-than-previously-thought.htm

(Editor's Note:  We said last night we would have some material on the Niagara Gorge. We ran out of time this morning so that topic will be moved into a forthcoming Morning Edition.  Thanks for reading.)

Monday, January 27, 2014

Monday Morning Edition 2456684

Greetings, Dear Loyal Blog Reader!  Thanks for visiting Live Simple Care Much.  This will be Post #50 for January 2104.  In Year 2013, we put up 43 posts in March.  The highest output for Year 2012 was 37 posts in November.  Even back in 2011, we exceeded 50 posts only in three months.  So, we're off to a great start for Year 2014.

We didn't have a Morning Edition Sunday because we we spent Saturday night at Connie and Michael's Place at Stoneman Lake.  There's no grid power there.  If people want electricity, they have to use solar panels and/or generators.  Since Stoneman sits down in a deep caldera-like bowl, there's absolutely no cell service much less internet.  Connie and Michael like it like that.  Their awesome place provides a welcome break from the fast lane of the information super highway.

Ironically, Connie & Michael built their cabin the same year we built our Straw House so it's a 20th Anniversary for both of us.  In case you missed our Facebook link to the blog post we put up Sunday, click here to go there.  Thanks, Connie & Michael, for an awesome visit!
Where's Wayne-O?  Why, Cape Horn, of course.   And, don't forget Rio!
http://earthly-musings.blogspot.com/
Yea!!!!  Kirsty's Back to Blogging Again!

http://www.momedysketch.com/

And from "The Did You Know Department,"  we bring you this blast from the past.
Good Ol' Mount Etna erupted again over the weekend and is once again in the news cycle.  What's not to love about spewing fireworks and oozing lava?  We do have a link for you with some nice video but beware that there's a THIRTY SECOND advertisement prior to the video.  Thirty seconds seems like an eternity when waiting for an online video to play.  There's also a YouTube linked but we're not really certain if it's from this weekend as it purports to be.


Meanwhile, as we were reading  up on Mt. Etna, we discovered back in June 2013, it was named to the prestigious UNESCO World Heritage Site list.  Here's what the official listing has to say:

"Mount Etna is an iconic site encompassing 19,237 uninhabited hectares on the highest part of Mount Etna, on the eastern coast of Sicily. Mount Etna is the highest Mediterranean island mountain and the most active stratovolcano in the world. The eruptive history of the volcano can be traced back 500,000 years and at least 2,700 years of this activity has been documented. The almost continuous eruptive activity of Mount Etna continues to influence volcanology, geophysics and other Earth science disciplines. The volcano also supports important terrestrial ecosystems including endemic flora and fauna and its activity makes it a natural laboratory for the study of ecological and biological processes. The diverse and accessible range of volcanic features such as summit craters, cinder cones, lava flows and the Valle de Bove depression have made the site a prime destination for research and education."


And meanwhile, because of the new designation, we learned this speculation:

"Tourism has been bubbling away in eastern Sicily for some years, but its popularity is set to explode - especially since Mount Etna, Europe's largest active volcano, was added to Unesco's World Heritage List last year. New twice-weekly Ryanair flights from London Stansted to Comiso airport and additional Alitalia services from London airports to Catania are opening up the eastern part of the Italian island."

Source: http://home.bt.com/lifestyle/familyhome/wellbeing/best-places-for-a-great-escape-11363868554656

Here's a story certain to please at least one LBR (Terry M.).  It's about The Big Boy.  Yep, that's him above.  We're betting Terry M. may have actually seen The Big Boy in action "back in the day."

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/world/57451470-68/locomotive-pacific-pomona-union.html.csp

Here's another story on the same topic:

http://www.uprr.com/newsinfo/releases/heritage_and_steam/2013/1114_pomona-move.shtml

Meanwhile with the Megaload: two stories from Missoula
http://missoulian.com/news/local/missoula-woman-arrested-for-blocking-megaload-equipment-reaches-bonner/article_fe1258b2-838a-11e3-846e-0019bb2963f4.html

http://missoulian.com/news/local/mega-refinery-equipment-moves-through-missoula-protester-arrested/article_7a3a6fa0-4ad7-11e0-ba39-001cc4c002e0.html

Seattle's famous 12th Man get their Seahawks on.
Be sure to click through the photo gallery.
http://www.seattlepi.com/sports/football/slideshow/12th-Man-sendoff-for-Seahawks-team-buses-78485.php

OK, OK, if there's one thing we've learned lately is that our Morning Editions are so long, no one actually reads them.  People come here and "take a glance," as they say.  Once in awhile, we hear rumors that someone actually read one of the stories.  So, why do we make them so long when we know perfectly well no one reads them?  Well, Dear LBRs, first and foremost, we are entertaining ourselves here at Live Simple Care Much.  If someone else cares to join the fun and entertainment, GREAT!  If not, well, that's the way it goes.

And, finally, just to see who and if anyone is STILL reading here this late in the Monday Morning Edition, we bring you some of the best extraterrestrial artist's rendering we have seen in a Long Time:

http://blogs.voanews.com/science-world/2014/01/24/evidence-of-water-vapor-found-on-dwarf-planet-ceres/?from=lister

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Connie & Michael's Ponderosa Paradise at Stoneman Lake

Michael & Connie savoring the sweet success of a Job Well Done at their Cabin in Ponderosa Paradise.
What a wonderful weekend at Stoneman Lake with Dear Friends Connie & Michael.  They built their cabin twenty years ago.  It's the finest workmanship we've ever seen.  Now they get the pure enjoyment of their Place in Ponderosa Paradise.  We so appreciated being able to spend Saturday night with them.  The quote below is from Martha Summerhayes and was written in 1908 but reflects what she thought and saw when she viewed Stoneman Lake in 1874.  Scroll farther and click to view an album of 80+ photos we took this weekend.  (Captions coming soon.)  Below the album screen clip and link are a couple of references about Stoneman Lake.  THANKS, Connie & Michael!

http://books.google.com/books?id=hukTAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA131&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=4#v=onepage&q&f=false

When you click on the above link, look to the left on that page
and note that you can get Martha's entire book free as an ebook.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.721642924535650.1073741832.100000698462134&type=1&l=abf5ae4a39
Michael took great photos of our visit, including this one above.  You can see Michael's awesome camera
in the two thumbnails above.  Michael graciously shared the Facebook album of his fine fotos. Thanks, Michael!
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.693596837330530.1073741840.100000406614992&type=1&l=6e57434318

Below are a couple of interesting references regarding Stoneman Lake.



Saturday, January 25, 2014

Thanks for a Great Dinner Lisa & Drew

We had a Super Fun Dinner with Lisa, Drew and Family & Friends Wednesday night in Mesa.  Click here for all the photos. None are captioned as of Saturday morning, January 25, 2013/

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.720904601276149.1073741831.100000698462134&type=1&l=6a90b91d8c

Saturday Morning Edition 2456682

Ah, The CCC!  We Dearly Love The CCC. What an incredible chapter in America's storied history.
Today, the Salt Lake Tribune does a little article on the CCC in Utah.  The photo gallery is priceless.
Schooling was a very important part of a CCC-enrollee's life in camp.  Here the men learn about Dodge trucks.

There have been some rumors here and there that Arizona might get some rain next weekend.
The Saturday morning NOAA/NWS data does not support those rumors, at least for Arizona.
Idaho, on the other hand finally looks likely to receive some much needed water from the sky.

NOAA and the NWS produce QPF forecasts about four times each day.  QPF means "Quantitative Precipitation Forecast."  Over many years, we have found the QPFs to be more accurate than the  local NWS Office predictions.  The QPF forecasters are looking at the "forest," if you will, while the local NWS Offices are looking at the proverbial trees.  The daily QPFs are my "goto" graphs to see "whazzup."

Here's 60 great surfing photos from the last few days:
Travels with Sue Malone continue.
Nanette South Clark adds another chapter to her fine series on Nikola Tesla:

The Pope weighs in on the internet:

And finally, the past 8 days of Earl and his "Cowboy Poet" Phase.  We believe the publication of these cartoons here on this blog meet the "Fair Use" test of copyright laws since it involves "comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research."  This is also our way of helping promote the comic strip!
Here is a GREAT article about how the strip came into existence:
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700111818/A-cartoon-family-Popular-Pickles-captures-humanity-of-humans.html
Here's the Pickles Website: http://www.gocomics.com/pickles/2014/01/25
It is rare for cartoonist Brian Crane to occupy this many sequential strips with the same theme.
You can read about the Pickles cartoon series here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pickles_(comic_strip)