rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Aug 20, 2019 16:24:52 GMT -8
Interesting thoughts on the new generation. I agree that, sadly, too few have been learning handyman/gardening, etc., though there are always those who will preserve those arts. But the smaller house movement is promising. I’m trying to work out how to manage the whole garden/canning/workshop thing in a smaller space. It’s doable... but where do I store the jars? As for books... I admit that I make a lot of use of ebooks, and we ditched a lot of books when we moved. But I still can’t imagine a home without shelves full of books
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swiftdream
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Post by swiftdream on Aug 20, 2019 16:50:27 GMT -8
“There was always a sense of anticipation - what new books are available? Which ones are on sale? “
Nothing has changed for the worse and all those things are still available with ebooks but far easier to access lists and read both descriptions and reviews. Sale books are a daily fun fest on several sites.
And reading is reading when you are doing it and the book is good. The media has little to do with it once you are into it.
It is easier to note and highlight in a non destructive manner. It is far easier to find those notes and quotes anytime. You don’t break the spine trying to hold the pages flat enough for reading.
When we moved I was relieved to off load tons of books and their shelves. I dislike clutter very intensely. Books themselves are very important but not killing trees to make them and using unnecessary energy to transport and store them.
Changing font face, text size and background color is very important to many. The oceans of literature are much more accessible now.
I did bring my big workbench and every single one of my tools and have a better workshop than ever so with you there.
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sarbar
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After being here since 2001...I couldn't say goodbye yet!
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Post by sarbar on Aug 20, 2019 19:06:01 GMT -8
That's the state of most of the areas that are commutable to Seattle. The farther "out" you go, the better the pricing. Where we live it is highly commutable to Seattle but most people don't know it is.......when Kirk has to go to America (as it is called here) he drives to the park and ride on the hill, walks down to the ferry, walks on free....then catches the bus straight into SLU area or takes the train in. Both are right off the ferry dock. His employer covers all 3 options. On the way back if he doesn't want to climb the hill up from the ferry to the lot, he can catch a free commuter bus that Island Transit runs in the afternoon/evening.
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Post by autumnmist on Aug 20, 2019 19:42:00 GMT -8
rebeccad , do you have any space for cabinets? I have some of my kitchen stuff in a contemporary reproduction of an old ice chest; bought it in a kit form. Jelly cupboards also work well too. swiftdream, I'm guessing you don't have old eyes? In addition, for me reading is a tactile experience. Each page brings something new, and turning the pages contributes to that sense of anticipation. But, to each his own.
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swiftdream
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Post by swiftdream on Aug 21, 2019 9:36:49 GMT -8
swiftdream , I'm guessing you don't have old eyes? In addition, for me reading is a tactile experience. Each page brings something new, and turning the pages contributes to that sense of anticipation. But, to each his own. From an earlier post with you placing at Newport you might be a few years older than me but nothing to get in a twist over. I don’t see age like others do. When I was 18 my girlfriend was 29. She ruined it for the younger girls, adventurous, super intelligent, athletic and a heavy German accent, totally killer. But back to Newport. You must have been inconsolable when Dylan went electric. And now this, books have gone electric too. I will sympathize with you but mourn neither. But I find great value in books. There was a 1918 movie they showed on some channel last year in 2018. Amazing time capsule 100 years old. After dinner all three characters sat together on the couch and read their own books. This was before radio and what would follow. For me it is the trove of knowledge and the firing up of the imagination and the insights and impetus they bring. As far as “to each his own” you can say that about everything on his thread or entire forum…
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Aug 21, 2019 17:45:46 GMT -8
autumnmist, I have to admit that my old eyes are one of the reasons I love ebooks. While a print book is whatever font it is, on my Kindle or Nook I can pick a more legible font, increase the size to whatever I’m able to focus on today, then shrink it tomorrow when a good night’s sleep improves my vision. I do love the feel of a “real” book, and many of the more quirky things we get are only available in print (and if something has a lot of diagrams and maps or photos, I like the real thing), but I’ll never denigrate or devalue the beauty of the ebook. And that’s why all my books are available both ways :D
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Post by autumnmist on Aug 22, 2019 8:58:40 GMT -8
Books themselves are very important but not killing trees to make them and using unnecessary energy to transport and store them. I wouldn't disagree with you about the need to preserve trees, but only good trees. There are far too many "junk" trees that invade urban areas, grow rapidly, crowd out good trees, and often end up destroying property during storms.The massive cottonwood, elm trees and mulberries around my yard would be better off converted to paper than threatening disaster whenever there's a storm, although the mulberries do provide food for the birds and local critters. And I don't dispute the value of data storage on disc vs. paper, especially for tax and legal issues. That was so obvious when law firms began using computers and staff no longer had to retype 70+ page documents, using tape so extensively that it was difficult to copy the dox. Changing font face, text size and background color is very important to many. The oceans of literature are much more accessible now. As you and rebeccad pointed out, this can be a real value. I hadn't thought of eBooks in that capacity. Thinking this over, I recall some years ago seeing one of the first eReaders, and I think it had a blue background screen. My first thought was of how hard that would be on the eyes. And I admit that I haven't bothered to check out any of the contemporary versions. For me it is the trove of knowledge and the firing up of the imagination and the insights and impetus they bring. I agree, totally. Whether on paper or electronic media, books are windows to another world. The important issue is expanding one's mind. There's another factor that probably doesn't come into play that often, as from what I've read most of the folks here are still working, or have just recently retired. Financially conservative attitudes become much more important as the retirement years slip away, and it becomes obvious that expenditures of life are going to shift to support measures. That creates a financial policy that leans toward what's necessary, and what's not. And tech devices can fall into that category, as can anything that's purchased for a household. As to being older, I try to keep it humorous, and sometimes do mock myself, but I feel fairly lucky that I don't have to deal with problems many people my age do. I can still walk, hike, garden and cut down trees, and that's important to me. Takes longer to clean the house, but I don't consider that anything so worthy that it's more important than being able to enjoy the outdoor life. (My father lived to be 99.5, still walking down the road to the local beach the year before he died.) This has been an interesting learning experience for me, and I appreciate the insights you both have shared.
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swiftdream
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Post by swiftdream on Aug 22, 2019 10:40:34 GMT -8
Yes Autumnist ereaders have progressed. There are basically two types, those with e-ink like Nooks and Kindles and those mimic real books closest. Then there are tablets where you use a reading app and tablets of course can do a whole lot more, surf the web, buy just about anything, well you know that. I was forced to do one or the other about 5 years ago because of vision issues. I just can’t see a normal paper book well enough to read it. So I took the journey down to Best Buy where they have endless readers and tablets, looked at all and ended up with an iPad. It comes with a pretty nice Books App, got the free Overdrive app for library books too and it is amazing. Apple developed San Francisco font for the Apple Watch and that worked wonders for my reading experience. I can bold that up in settings. Overdrive has a good selection of font faces with a good bold font that works. Back then Kindle had a lot of fonts but did not have a bold font. I tried reading a couple sample books they offered but misread words, had to go back over sentences and too slow overall. So I emailed Amazon and politely let them know that some of us with low vision could benefit greatly if they would develop one. I must have been one among many because they offered their own Ember Bold shortly after. I could then read easily again and the Kindle app became my favorite reading app. Amazon started the whole business as the biggest book seller in the world initially so they were on top of ebook offerings very fast in the game. Sale books are hit and miss but I find at least 4 to 6 good ones of various genres a month, some older and some newer but real deals for the entertainment and knowledge. I have hundreds of them now. I have my reading table and the iPad case holds the iPad up on its own, works good flat on my standing desk too. This is Ember Bold, enlarged text size and a highlighted portion of text.
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Post by autumnmist on Aug 22, 2019 10:57:30 GMT -8
swiftdream , I LIKE the stand and especially the ability to highlight. I'm beginning to see more benefits than I had before. I just kept thinking "more eye strain." Can you add notes in, such as commentaries, and index them, as you would for a textbook? Also, like Clive Cussler does at the beginning of his novels, I index all characters and important issues, as some books are so long that I can't remember who's who or what's what. Eye clarity was my concern with hard copies as well, but I found the absolute worse were those printed in that hated Times New Roman. When I worked, in one law firm the office manager issued an edict that all documents had to be in TNR. Staff hated it. And Courier was generally standard for law offices. TNR was hard on the eyes, but that was irrelevant. Not to pry, but have you asked your optometrist or ophthalmologist about cataracts? That's my issue now, although there should be improvement once I have the surgery, which I dread. A bit of humor: when I've called Dell Tech Support for various issues, I've twice been asked if I want to reduce the size of the fonts, as the tech reps felt they were "large." I thought: wait'll they get to be my age!
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swiftdream
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Post by swiftdream on Aug 22, 2019 11:54:11 GMT -8
For notes while in the Kindle app I have to use Apple’s Notes app and sometimes make a note just for one book. The Joy of Cooking app does have a note section to use for every recipe. I use Word on my iPad for word processing and have saved volumes that way. As for eye strain you can adjust the background lighting and background color. Sepia can be nice and the soft Green option is supposed to be soothing. Black reduces eye strain in dark rooms. My eye doctor has throughly examined these eyes and it is not cataracts but Central serous retinopathy, CSR. Been dealing with this for 29 years now so with no stereo vision and low, dark distorted vision left, I have learned to compensate. She says I’m still legal to drive but that was a couple years ago so we will see about that again soon. That is a huge reason we moved within walking distance of National Forest and Wilderness of which we partook early this morning before the heat came up. Anyway here is the options box for the Kindle app and all reading apps have something similar. There are more font faces to scroll through but you can see some good ones. Helvetica is a good San serif and they even have fonts for dyslexia. Bookerly kind of looks old fashioned especially with a sepia background and some like that.
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Aug 23, 2019 8:33:04 GMT -8
autumnmist, you are getting great input here! I chose to go with the Nook and Kindle (ended up with one of each because of my needs—many books I want to read are only on Kindle), both using e-Ink. I find that to be (with regard to eye strain) exactly like reading on a page. They even have pretty good anti-glare on the screens. I have read some on my iPad, and find it less stressful than I expected. I think computer screen technology in general has improved a lot in that area from the old CRT monitors. Having the color option and a larger screen is great for some books. In general, I’d say that once the initial investment is made (and you can get a refurbished Kindle for under $100 most of the time), ebooks save money. Aside from some of the major publishers who are being jerks about it, ebooks are usual cheaper than paper books (due to very low production costs, which are primarily one-time costs of formatting), and most libraries now have access to large collections through Overdrive—more than in any single branch library, and no transportation overhead as when ordering books from other libraries. There is an ewaste issue. I think in the years (maybe 10?) since we started using ereaders, we have had 2 give up on their own, and one got a knee or elbow through it... So we trade a tree issue for a waste issue, and hope that it may balance out in the end. Meanwhile, I carry a few dozen books on every trip, for about 6 oz.
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Post by autumnmist on Aug 23, 2019 10:11:35 GMT -8
swiftdream , first, a question about your avatar. Is it Native American made? It looks to be that way, even perhaps from an Arctic area. I've been admiring it for some time. And thanks for the additional info on your optical situation as well as the ability to adjust for viewing on a eReader. I need to spend some time rereading all these posts before I make any product decisions as to which might be preferable for me. rebeccad and swiftdream, it occurred to me last night that one of the big issues of e products is the blue light effect. I'm assuming there are adjustments for this?
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swiftdream
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Post by swiftdream on Aug 23, 2019 10:33:44 GMT -8
I’ve seen the e-ink models of both Kindle and Nook and they are super nice.
Autumnist, I think you were worried about charts, graphs, maps and photos displaying. I can say they do display well on the Apple Books app, have the complete works of William Blake and it displays all of his color paintings that are integrated with his script. It is thousands of pages long with everything in text too and that cost me 3 bucks. Amazing. Overdrive books display images too. Kindle certainly does. That passage I displayed above is from Early Days in the Range of Light by Daniel Arnold. He researched the first European explorers in the Sierra before maps or trails. Then he followed their paths, camped in the same places and made the same climbs with the same gear and he photographed and displayed all the peaks. You can tap or double tap the image and pinch/zoom.
You can get the complete works of many, I mean huge tomes for 2 or 3 bucks and they are no bigger than you ereader or tablet. The canister melted works of The Bard do not even weigh an ounce. Everything Jack London ever wrote takes up zero physical space. Your many bookshelves piled high with books will never sag. And every Apple or Kindle book you buy are put in your cost free cloud to access any time you desire if you don’t want to keep everything downloaded. Amazon and their Kindle seem the easiest to manage to me right on my iPad.
E-books also have amazing search functions.
As far as waste, I intend to take mu old devices that I no longer intend to use back to the Apple store locally and they will recycle. Mining will go on regardless of us but I’d like to save any woodland and forest possible. Yes, I’m a dreamer. I’ll cop to that.
iPads have a feature called Nightshift where you can warm the screen to any degree so no maddening blue. I set that feature to stay on all the time. I use the color filter feature too so I can get exactly what I want.
My avatar...probably a thousand years old from one of many sites I’ve found right here in Arizona. It is a stylized dog’s head fetish. No trails and terrain so rough that they remain protected naturally. I have literally hundreds of thousands of photos of this stuff. People can miss it by a simple few miles. There are beads, stone tools, endless painted potsherds will wild designs, Basket Maker II pit houses all the way to Pueblo III. Many amazing and intricate pictographs. We have spent countless days and nights exploring and just being out there. Everything LNT and take away only photos so everything is still there in situ in the natural outdoor museum for others to “discover”.
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rebeccad
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Writing like a maniac
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Post by rebeccad on Aug 23, 2019 11:16:18 GMT -8
autumnmist, the beauty of the dedicated ereader with e-ink is no blue. It’s not the same thing as a computer screen at all. I don’t know the techy bits, but it is reflective rather than lit, which is why there’s no eye strain and no blue light, so reading in bed is fine
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Post by autumnmist on Aug 23, 2019 11:20:29 GMT -8
rebeccad, thanks! That's a good issue to eliminate from consideration.
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