Saturday, July 23, 2011

SOME MEMORY PROBLEMS ALONG WITH A FEW PLANKABLE THOUGHTS:))

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ALL OF TONIGHT'S PHOTOS ARE FROM BAYFIELD'S PIONEER PARK HIGH ATOP THE CLIFFS OVERLOOKING LAKE HURON

A big thanks to LAURIE & TEXAS YELLOW ROSE for both reminding me about the editing feature in Live Writer.  I have actually been using this feature ever since beginning with Live Writer several years ago & it has been my main editing tool.  However, because I hadn't used it for awhile my mind's memory recall department failed to retrieve the stored memory bite I needed, when I needed it & I headed off to Blogger's editing program!!  Soon as I read Laurie's first words about Live Writer I instantly remembered.  Duh!!

Some folks may have noticed that I have briefly touched on this before in some of my posts but I am experiencing some increasingly frustrating times with my memory.  Yes, I know, we all do but I'm thinking this is a bit more than that now.  These past few months have been particularly challenging, especially right here at the keyboard.  I was never a real tech smart kinda guy but I was able to learn & figure out my way around a computer not to bad, considering.  My logic based problem solving patterns were in place & I was always keen to learn new things, & did.   But, I noticed a change in all that starting maybe a couple years ago.  I became increasingly frustrated because that I could not seem to sometimes understand the tasks in front of me.  Could not quickly retrieve info from my memory banks as needed.  My memories 'instant recall' feature seemed to be malfunctioning. 

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Fast forward to now where I am experiencing 'blank spots' which I am particularly noticing as I am working on the blog.  I will go to a site for an address link & then sit there for maybe 10 or 20 seconds trying to remember what I was there for.  I may go to Google in search of a word meaning & two seconds later I am looking at Google trying to remember the word I had come there to find.  It used to happen every once in a long while but is now happening more frequently  Very frustrating to say the least.  If I am out in the garden & decide I need the shovel I may head for the shed to get one but by the time I get there I can't remember what it was I was looking for.  That's fine if it is just once & awhile, but it isn't just once & awhile anymore.  Just figured I would throw this in here right now in case the blog comes to a sudden end somewhere down the line because I can't remember where the heck my computer is one of these days!!  

Have you ever met a Plank person, maybe two, or maybe a whole group of Planks.  Don't know what a Plank person is or what they do?  Don't feel alone, I didn't either.  Stands to reason though that a Plank person would have something to do with Planking.  More than one Plank person may include a whole herd of Plankers out Planking somewhere.  To Plank or to be Planked....this is the question that must be answered.  Well, fortunately right here within our very own RV Blogging ranks we just happen to have a couple Plankers.  They are older Plankers but definitely new to Planking so without further ado lets skip on over to Donna's TRAVELS IN THERAPY & get the whole lowdown on just what the heck this Planking stuff is all about anyway....but wait, I'm not done with Planking yet.

For some of us out here Planking is not something new.  Back in the bad old drinking days we didn't call passing out, 'Planking'.  Some of us just simply crashed into the dirt & stayed there.  Sometimes it was face down in a parking lot while other times it could be face up on sidewalk or a floor.  A crumpled sideways Plank could happen anywhere at anytime & last for hours.  I once Planked out face down in an onion patch.  That was not a good Plank!!  Oh, & there's more............

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Having already been to Donna's site & read about Planking I am thinking I am maybe more of a Plunker.  You know, like Plunking one's self down in a a big cushy recliner.  If I am really super tired my Plunk may take on the stumbling looks of a more serious tumble into the chair known as a Ker-Plunk, but not to be confused with a Ker-Plonk which is an entirely different thing of course.  Ok, ok, ok, I am going to Plink myself right out of here.  Remember though, don't ge..........oh, never mind!!

It was with interest I read JERRY'S number 3 & 4 items in his post today.  Number 3 deals with something called, The 7 Links Challenge.  I, like many others, received this as well but have decided I just don't have the interest, energy or time it would take to dig through a bunch of posts for submission.   I'm not a contest kind of guy anyway & it's rare for me to go back & stir up any dust from my older posts.  This 7 Links Challenge has been suggested as a good way to attract attention to one's blog but for me now, I find the priorities from my earlier blogging days are changing.   

However, number 4 looks like something that would be much more up my alley.  Interesting concept indeed.  With the countless thousands of photos I have here, this could be a pleasant challenge.  I like the concept of no words, just a photo.  If I were to do something like this I would probably do it a little different now than I would have a few years ago.  I would probably not enable either the 'Comment' or the 'Followers' section.  Just a simple photo left to stand on it's own for folks to enjoy if & when they happened to drop by:))

 The other popular thing going around right now of course is the new Google+ social network craze.  Undoubtedly a great thing for many folks who like to hang out, socialize & chit chat, but after thinking about it for a couple weeks I have to be honest with myself & accept the fact I just really don't have the interest in any of that.  Thanks to all the folks who have sent me 'Circle' invitations.  I accepted them all of course but please don't wait up for me, Ok:))

I have some thoughts up my sleeve regarding photography & hope to have them in the blog very shortly. And, of course I will continue my Astronomy wanderings as well.  I just don't like to repeat same topics night after night after night so will try to mix up the Photography & Astronomy posts.

Note to ED....thanks for your comment today which cleared things up.  Appreciate that my friend:))

THE LAST PARAGRAPH:  Motivation is a wonderful thing....when it's working.   Read somewhere that it is sometimes thought of as, 'the need to have a reason behind our actions to achieve our goals.'   Motivation can be an elusive & slippery thing.  Here one day, gone the next.  It is the force that drives those high powered engines of the successfully inclined younger generation.  Oh, it's still here in the older generation as well but I would hardly call the engine high powered anymore by comparison.  I'm sure some will claim to be motivated 24/7 while others may be a little more practical with their feelings & expectations & understand the coming & going part.  I love it when motivation taps me on the shoulder & says, "come on Al, lets take the old head for a spin around the block."  Love those days.  Those are creative days filled with fine thoughts & good feelings.  Good days indeed:))

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GROANER'S CORNER:))  A few Aviation thoughts:

From an old aircraft carrier sailor we hear,  "There are more planes in the ocean than submarines in the sky."  And did you know that with all the "Progress in airline flying it is now possible for a flight attendant to get a pilot pregnant."

From a jet pilot we hear, "Yay though I fly through the Valley of Death I shall fear no evil for I am at 80,000 feet and climbing."  From that same pilot we may also hear, "When one engine fails on a twin-engine airplane, I always have enough power left to get me to the scene of the crash."  If that same pilot were to make it back to base after his harrowing flight he might also say, "You know that your landing gear is up and locked when it takes full power to taxi to the terminal."   10-4!!
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EMAIL THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))
stargeezerguy@gmail.com
OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right
now...... AL.

14 comments:

  1. I had that same memory black out when I forgot to take my passport and SS card with me to Sioux Falls. Ugh! It is VERY frustrating...

    Motivation is a lot easier when something interesting is going on. :)

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  2. Al, John Souva has something like the photograph idea you are talking about. His sight is http://connectedtothevinephotography.blogspot.com/; you might want to take a look and build your thoughts off that?. Just thinking.
    Sometimes when I got a lot of things going through my little brain, I forget a lot of things more readily than usual. I don't know if that what is happening some for you or not. A mind is a terrible things to malfunction.
    Take care and I look forward to your thought about this photography thing you got going on. You do such a GRAND job with photos!

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  3. OK Al, where is YOUR planking picture??? I can hardly wait ☺

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  4. Well, Al, if you ever get tired of photography, blogging, and astronomy you could start a new fad called "plunking". I think you have it down perfectly...just find a place to plunk yourself down in the most comfortable position possible and take a photo of said "Plunk." Could be a hit LOL!

    I look forward to your posts on photography as I do admire your creativity and skill. Thanks for sharing with all of us the beauty you have captured with your camera.

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  5. Well, don't feel alone with the memory problems. It sounds just like what I am experiencing. I retired in 08 to help with my folks and my memory has gone to heck in a handbasket. I don't know if the stress of the job helped keep the memory sharp or what, but I am depending on pencil and paper a lot more lately. I'll even write what I need from the tool shed before I go get it!! This is not a good sign!
    Hopefully someone will chime in with a remedy.
    Take care.
    Don in Okla.

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  6. Go to YouTube and search for Bill Cosby on Turning 49. It's hilarious and I think will give you a lots of laughs about aging and the changing body.

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  7. some days I can't remember what I did five minutes ago..or then there is the fact that I have the 'dropsies'..or that I just trip and fall down!..this getting older really is not for sissies!!

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  8. Grief and depression can cause memory problems. Society expects us to bounce right back after the loss of a pet and that expectation actually compounds the grief. Be gentle with yourself. If you had lost two close relatives recently, you wouldn't expect yourself to be on top of your game.

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  9. I can totally relate to your memory issues. I have all of your symptoms!!!!

    Selene, NC

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  10. I think the "one photo a day" blog idea is perfect for you. I hope you can remember to do it. :)

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  11. Check out Midlife Cruiser..Her Dad is a "planker" and she has some pics in a blog a few blogs ago...As for "blanking out"..I do it all the time...and my Grandma had Alzheimer's, so this is a big issue for me..She didn't know any of us when she passed away at 72...That's a part of the gene pool I don't want to swim in....

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  12. I think I was going to write something in here, but I have forgotten what it was. Oh well, oh hell.

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  13. I was going to write this yesterday but I forgot - seriously! Anyway, my mother and an older brother both had Alzheimer's, so it is a concern of mine. I asked my doctor about my failing memory. She said it is not about forgetting where you put the keys, it is only a problem if you forget what a key is used for (I don't mean an individual key but the purpose of keys in general). So don't worry if you forget where you put your camera - only worry if you forget what a camera is used for. ♥

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  14. I think you have a great memory. Forty + vehicles you have owned and you remember all of them!! I couldn't tell you what my cell phone # is without looking it up. I think you do a great job on the blog and I will continue to check in on the Bayfield Bunch everyday cause that's one blog link I hope to never forget...lol.

    Check out the link below, some great info on aging and memory loss.

    Memory and aging: What’s normal, what’s not.
    http://helpguide.org/life/prevent_memory_loss.htm

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