After many months of complaining about my old s5 that gives me so errors in a minute that I feel often it's more useful as a frisbee than a dumbphone, I've finally updated to a new phone.
I confess: it's a samsung again :(
Good news though, it's sleek and functional, unlike my s5 which has been sent to standby mode should anything happen to my newer phone. What made me go for yet another phone by samsung after so many bad news from me about this company? In the last few days of my s5, already knowing that my new phone would (hopefully) arrive soon (long story you don't want to hear), I began to take an active role in troubleshooting the s5, still in android OS 5.0 but as stated many times previously, popping up with error messages, having apps refuse to open, or open but not functioning, or giving a blank white app page, then closing within a few minutes. In some cases, it would go on for so many minutes I lost count, like when opening gallery to see images, and having to reopen and open yet again about ten times within a minute (sadly true), and still not being able to see any gallery images simply because it doesn't open correctly, and closes all by itself. A restart and/or a cache cleaning doesn't always work as advertised, even when both are done at least 20 times in a single hour!!
So, I began researching the error messages that would pop up in a single minute, and working on clearing that error. Not always would it function correctly right away. Other times it would give me a great samsung experience again, then after a few minutes, it'd just return to errors and malfunctioning...... it wasn't a great experience. So I decided to begin searching for others who would have the same troubles, who took the time and trouble to write online about their experience, and how they solved their problems (if that happened at all).
In the process, I ran across a forum where samsung owners, in particular, owners of a s5 like myself, who solved their errors by deleting the Android Webview app. It seeme many were unhappy with their samsung experience since it self-installed itself during an update, and had fewer problems after it was removed. So, I took a chance and removed it.
That was the best thing I could've done to resolve the majority of my samsung problems!
After two days of error-free use, it seemed my s5 was back to normal. Sure, after three days the s5 started to show a bit of its former self in some errors, but nothing as it really was before! Still, I was happy to see it was working as it should have been. I only wish I could have started an in-depth search of WHY my s5 was so impossible to use earlier... MUCH earlier, as to avoid the nightmare experience I suffered through for so many months.
So, does anyone want to know what I replaced my s5 with? :D
Monday, January 6, 2020
Saturday, December 7, 2019
Thoughts on an Icy Chilling Day
Weeks ago we were hit with yet another wind storm that lasted days. Though this time we didn't see any downed trees in our immediate area, it wasn't the same for most of western New York (WNY). To give you an idea of how strong these winds were, there is a favorite spot we like hiking in the summer. This riverwalk goes under the Buffalo Peace Bridge leading to Canada and I have posted pictures previously somewhere of the fabulous views from this walkway, which consists of cement blocks placed together to form the foundation and walking surface of this riverwalk. Well, portions of this trail has been closed for some months due to a very strong wind storm that blew through the area last year during the winter, blowing and pushing huge blocks of ice over the walkway, and that action displacing many of the cement blocks, making the trail unusable. Well, it's happened again and now those blocks of cement that make up the riverwalk has been literally torn apart by Nature and the forces of the wind even before the repair work could be completed!
Nature may be beautiful, but it is also powerful, and all that which is taken from Nature, will surely be taken back by Nature eventually!
A walkway near Dunkirk, located hours away from us, and with a waterfront walkway also constructed of huge heavy blocks of cement was also blown apart. No one can ever doubt the force of winds in this area!
The forementioned snows have already melted away, but not to worry: there's more snow coming our way early next week and will fill the streets and more for three days. Because of traffic, snows and freezing rains, we didn't venture out and do not have any pictures of the wrecked walkways described here, but were able to get snaps of other scenes closer to home!
In some cases, the debris has been pushed up to past 40feet away and over the waterline!
Never doubt Nature or her powerful force!!!
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| No pixs of the riverwalk BUT here's wind-pushed snowballs!! |
A walkway near Dunkirk, located hours away from us, and with a waterfront walkway also constructed of huge heavy blocks of cement was also blown apart. No one can ever doubt the force of winds in this area!
The forementioned snows have already melted away, but not to worry: there's more snow coming our way early next week and will fill the streets and more for three days. Because of traffic, snows and freezing rains, we didn't venture out and do not have any pictures of the wrecked walkways described here, but were able to get snaps of other scenes closer to home!
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| So little but these icicles are pointy and frozen hard! |
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| Last year this tiny creek was top and bottom frozen! |
 |
| Flash-forward to today and gorgeous clouds, and NO snow!
In many locations along the Niagara River, we have seen trunks, branches and more of downed trees, pushed many feet up and away off the Niagara due to high winds weeks ago!
|
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| Frosted trees are a favorite for any camera!! |
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| Leaves mix with green grasses in the melting snow and ice |
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| We saw blue skies today, and a nice cloudy sunset! |
Monday, November 18, 2019
7 Simple Actions to Save Birds
By accident I came across this article. Not only is it pushing us to help save and documenting the declining bird population, it also just makes sense for US as humans also. We don't need plastics in our lives, and what we have thrown onto the streets, and into rivers and oceans of the world is a problem we can work on now, and not wait for the next generations to face and solve.
BUT WE can hopefully see the general and highly used plastic disappear (maybe in a few centuries from now).
The article contains many informational links, many of which are NOT included here. The link is at the bottom, should you wish to read the original article.
-------
7 Simple Actions To Help Birds
Many window collisions happen when birds see reflections of trees and fly toward them. Photo by Damian Pollet via Creative Commons.
1. Make Windows Safer, Day and Night
The challenge: Up to 1 billion birds are estimated to die each year after hitting windows in the United States and Canada. (source).
The cause: By day, birds perceive reflections in glass as habitat they can fly into. By night, migratory birds drawn in by city lights are at high risk of colliding with buildings.
These simple steps save birds: On the outside of the window, install screens or break up reflections—using film, paint, or Acopian Bird Savers or other string spaced no more than two inches high or two inches wide.
Take it further: Work with businesses or public buildings to offer a contest for creative “window mural” designs that make windows safer for birds. Support legislation for bird-friendly building designs. Start a lights-out campaign in your city.
Get started today:
Quick, affordable ways to keep birds from hitting your windows
Follow bird migration forecasts to know when birds are on their way to you
Help pass the Bird-Safe Buildings Act
Keep your cat indoors and save cats and birds.
2. Keep Cats Indoors
The challenge: Cats are estimated to kill more than 2.6 billion birds annually in the U.S. and Canada (source). This is the #1 human-caused reason for the loss of birds, aside from habitat loss.
The cause: Cats can make great pets, but more than 110 million feral and pet cats now roam in the United States and Canada. These non-native predators instinctively hunt and kill birds even when well fed.
Solutions that are good for cats and birds: Save birds and keep cats healthy by keeping cats indoors or creating an outdoor “catio.” You can also train your cat to walk on a leash.
Take it further: Speak out about the impacts of feral cat colonies in your neighborhood and on public lands. Unowned cats’ lives may be as short as two years because of disease and hardship, and they are responsible for more than two-thirds of birds killed by cats in North America.
3. Reduce Lawn, Plant Natives
The challenge: Birds have fewer places to safely rest during migration and to raise their young: More than 10 million acres of land in the United States were converted to developed land from 1982 to 1997.
The cause: Lawns and pavement don’t offer enough food or shelter for many birds and other wildlife. With more than 40 million acres of lawn in the U.S. alone, there’s huge potential to support wildlife by replacing lawns with native plantings.
Take it further: Add native plants and watch birds come in. Native plants add interest and beauty to your yard and neighborhood, and provide shelter and nesting areas for birds. The nectar, seeds, berries, and insects will sustain birds and diverse wildlife.
Get started today:
Find out which native plants are best for your area
4. Avoid Pesticides
The challenge: More than 1 billion pounds of pesticides are applied in the United States each year. The continent’s most widely used insecticides, called neonicotinoids or “neonics,” are lethal to birds and to the insects that birds consume. Common weed killers used around homes, such as 2, 4-D and glyphosate (used in Roundup), can be toxic to wildlife, and glyphosate has been declared a probable human carcinogen.
The cause: Pesticides that are toxic to birds can harm them directly through contact, or if they eat contaminated seeds or prey. Pesticides can also harm birds indirectly by reducing the number of insects that birds need to survive.
A healthy choice for you, your family, and birds: Consider purchasing organic food. Nearly 70% of produce sold in the U.S. contains pesticides. Reduce pesticides around your home and garden.
Take it further: Urge U.S. Representatives to cosponsor the Saving America’s Pollinators Act. The bill, H.R. 1337, requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to suspend registration of neonics.
Get started today:
5. Drink Coffee that’s good for birds
The challenge: Three-quarters of the world’s coffee farms grow their plants in the sun, destroying forests that birds and other wildlife need for food and shelter. Sun-grown coffee also often requires using environmentally harmful pesticides and fertilizers. On the other hand, shade-grown coffee preserves a forest canopy that helps migratory birds survive the winter.
The cause: Too few consumers are aware of the problems of sun coffee. Those who are aware may be reluctant to pay more for environmentally sustainable coffee.
Insist on shade-grown coffee that’s good for birds: It’s a win-win-win: it’s delicious, economically beneficial to coffee farmers, and helps more than 42 species of North American migratory songbirds that winter in coffee plantations, including orioles, warblers, and thrushes.
Take it further: Look for Bird Friendly coffee, a certification from the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center that also includes organic standards. Educate coffee shops and grocery stores about shade-grown coffee.
Get started today:
Find out where to buy Bird-Friendly coffee in the U.S. and Canada
6. Protect Our Planet from Plastics
The challenge: It’s estimated that 4,900 million metric tons of plastic have accumulated in landfills and in our environment worldwide, polluting our oceans and harming wildlife such as seabirds, whales, and turtles that mistakenly eat plastic, or become entangled in it.
The cause: Plastic takes more than 400 years to degrade, and 91% of plastics created are not recycled. Studies show that at least 80 seabird species ingest plastic, mistaking it for food. Cigarette lighters, toothbrushes, and other trash have been found in the stomachs of dead albatrosses.
Reduce your use of plastics: Avoid single-use plastics including bags, bottles, wraps, and disposable utensils. It’s far better to choose reusable items, but if you do have disposable plastic, be sure to recycle it.
Take it further: Advocate for bans of plastic bags, styrofoam, and straws. Encourage stores to offer incentives for reusable bags, and ask restaurants and other businesses to phase out single-use plastics.
Get started today:
Eight easy ways to reduce your plastic waste
The challenge: The world’s most abundant bird, the Passenger Pigeon, went extinct, and people didn’t realize how quickly it was vanishing until it was too late. Monitoring birds is essential to help protect them, but tracking the health of the world’s 10,000 bird species is an immense challenge.
The cause: To understand how birds are faring, scientists need hundreds of thousands of people to report what they’re seeing in backyards, neighborhoods, and wild places around the world. Without this information, scientists will not have enough timely data to show where and when birds are declining around the world.
Enjoy birds while helping science and conservation: Join a project such as eBird, Project FeederWatch, a Christmas Bird Count, or a Breeding Bird Survey to record your bird observations. Your contributions will provide valuable information to show where birds are thriving—and where they need our help.
Note: If you don't yet know how to use eBird, there’s a free course to help you get the most out of the project and its tools.
Take it further: Mobilize others in your community by organizing school groups or leading bird walks and submitting your counts to eBird. Support organizations that coordinate monitoring projects.
https://reed-manatee-dz3n.squarespace.com/7-simple-actions
BUT WE can hopefully see the general and highly used plastic disappear (maybe in a few centuries from now).
The article contains many informational links, many of which are NOT included here. The link is at the bottom, should you wish to read the original article.
-------
7 Simple Actions To Help Birds
Many window collisions happen when birds see reflections of trees and fly toward them. Photo by Damian Pollet via Creative Commons.
1. Make Windows Safer, Day and Night
The challenge: Up to 1 billion birds are estimated to die each year after hitting windows in the United States and Canada. (source).
The cause: By day, birds perceive reflections in glass as habitat they can fly into. By night, migratory birds drawn in by city lights are at high risk of colliding with buildings.
These simple steps save birds: On the outside of the window, install screens or break up reflections—using film, paint, or Acopian Bird Savers or other string spaced no more than two inches high or two inches wide.
Take it further: Work with businesses or public buildings to offer a contest for creative “window mural” designs that make windows safer for birds. Support legislation for bird-friendly building designs. Start a lights-out campaign in your city.
Get started today:
Quick, affordable ways to keep birds from hitting your windows
Follow bird migration forecasts to know when birds are on their way to you
Help pass the Bird-Safe Buildings Act
Keep your cat indoors and save cats and birds.
2. Keep Cats Indoors
The challenge: Cats are estimated to kill more than 2.6 billion birds annually in the U.S. and Canada (source). This is the #1 human-caused reason for the loss of birds, aside from habitat loss.
The cause: Cats can make great pets, but more than 110 million feral and pet cats now roam in the United States and Canada. These non-native predators instinctively hunt and kill birds even when well fed.
Solutions that are good for cats and birds: Save birds and keep cats healthy by keeping cats indoors or creating an outdoor “catio.” You can also train your cat to walk on a leash.
Take it further: Speak out about the impacts of feral cat colonies in your neighborhood and on public lands. Unowned cats’ lives may be as short as two years because of disease and hardship, and they are responsible for more than two-thirds of birds killed by cats in North America.
3. Reduce Lawn, Plant Natives
The challenge: Birds have fewer places to safely rest during migration and to raise their young: More than 10 million acres of land in the United States were converted to developed land from 1982 to 1997.
The cause: Lawns and pavement don’t offer enough food or shelter for many birds and other wildlife. With more than 40 million acres of lawn in the U.S. alone, there’s huge potential to support wildlife by replacing lawns with native plantings.
Take it further: Add native plants and watch birds come in. Native plants add interest and beauty to your yard and neighborhood, and provide shelter and nesting areas for birds. The nectar, seeds, berries, and insects will sustain birds and diverse wildlife.
Get started today:
Find out which native plants are best for your area
4. Avoid Pesticides
The challenge: More than 1 billion pounds of pesticides are applied in the United States each year. The continent’s most widely used insecticides, called neonicotinoids or “neonics,” are lethal to birds and to the insects that birds consume. Common weed killers used around homes, such as 2, 4-D and glyphosate (used in Roundup), can be toxic to wildlife, and glyphosate has been declared a probable human carcinogen.
The cause: Pesticides that are toxic to birds can harm them directly through contact, or if they eat contaminated seeds or prey. Pesticides can also harm birds indirectly by reducing the number of insects that birds need to survive.
A healthy choice for you, your family, and birds: Consider purchasing organic food. Nearly 70% of produce sold in the U.S. contains pesticides. Reduce pesticides around your home and garden.
Take it further: Urge U.S. Representatives to cosponsor the Saving America’s Pollinators Act. The bill, H.R. 1337, requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to suspend registration of neonics.
Get started today:
5. Drink Coffee that’s good for birds
The challenge: Three-quarters of the world’s coffee farms grow their plants in the sun, destroying forests that birds and other wildlife need for food and shelter. Sun-grown coffee also often requires using environmentally harmful pesticides and fertilizers. On the other hand, shade-grown coffee preserves a forest canopy that helps migratory birds survive the winter.
The cause: Too few consumers are aware of the problems of sun coffee. Those who are aware may be reluctant to pay more for environmentally sustainable coffee.
Insist on shade-grown coffee that’s good for birds: It’s a win-win-win: it’s delicious, economically beneficial to coffee farmers, and helps more than 42 species of North American migratory songbirds that winter in coffee plantations, including orioles, warblers, and thrushes.
Take it further: Look for Bird Friendly coffee, a certification from the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center that also includes organic standards. Educate coffee shops and grocery stores about shade-grown coffee.
Get started today:
Find out where to buy Bird-Friendly coffee in the U.S. and Canada
6. Protect Our Planet from Plastics
The challenge: It’s estimated that 4,900 million metric tons of plastic have accumulated in landfills and in our environment worldwide, polluting our oceans and harming wildlife such as seabirds, whales, and turtles that mistakenly eat plastic, or become entangled in it.
The cause: Plastic takes more than 400 years to degrade, and 91% of plastics created are not recycled. Studies show that at least 80 seabird species ingest plastic, mistaking it for food. Cigarette lighters, toothbrushes, and other trash have been found in the stomachs of dead albatrosses.
Reduce your use of plastics: Avoid single-use plastics including bags, bottles, wraps, and disposable utensils. It’s far better to choose reusable items, but if you do have disposable plastic, be sure to recycle it.
Take it further: Advocate for bans of plastic bags, styrofoam, and straws. Encourage stores to offer incentives for reusable bags, and ask restaurants and other businesses to phase out single-use plastics.
Get started today:
Eight easy ways to reduce your plastic waste
The challenge: The world’s most abundant bird, the Passenger Pigeon, went extinct, and people didn’t realize how quickly it was vanishing until it was too late. Monitoring birds is essential to help protect them, but tracking the health of the world’s 10,000 bird species is an immense challenge.
The cause: To understand how birds are faring, scientists need hundreds of thousands of people to report what they’re seeing in backyards, neighborhoods, and wild places around the world. Without this information, scientists will not have enough timely data to show where and when birds are declining around the world.
Enjoy birds while helping science and conservation: Join a project such as eBird, Project FeederWatch, a Christmas Bird Count, or a Breeding Bird Survey to record your bird observations. Your contributions will provide valuable information to show where birds are thriving—and where they need our help.
Note: If you don't yet know how to use eBird, there’s a free course to help you get the most out of the project and its tools.
Take it further: Mobilize others in your community by organizing school groups or leading bird walks and submitting your counts to eBird. Support organizations that coordinate monitoring projects.
https://reed-manatee-dz3n.squarespace.com/7-simple-actions
Thursday, November 7, 2019
Plastic Use and Product Packaging
My wife Sheila is always concerned about the planet and what we two can personally do to make our tiny part of the planet better. So she recently contacted Greenpeace Canada, and today she got this in her inbox. If you agree that WE as a whole, can do something to make stores and companies, and everyone else realize how product packaging is way overboard with plastic. WE as consumers can voice our opinions by how we shop, how we select the things we need to buy, and how those products we buy should not be packaged in plastic. We should vocalize to stores and companies that plastic should be used less, and either allow us to bring our own reusable containers from home to use while shopping, or for stores and companies to stop plastic packaging for their products!
Stateside, Sheila and I try to buy our eggs in paper cartons, and recycle everything when possible, even reusing our milk containers several times before it's tossed in the recycle bin.
In Spain, we separate our organic and trash, and those are disposed via street containers the town has put up for recycling all organic, metal, glass and papers.
The Spanish town we live in has eliminated trash in general from trash removal some years ago. I hand-carried paper egg cartons from San Francisco about a decade ago, taking it to my residence in Spain, where I use it when buying eggs. The plastic bags given at the stores when shopping I get here and in Spain, are used at home for trash, a habit I picked up when I was in Spain back in the late 70s with the military.
Sheila and I have been active in this cause for years. We hope to decrease our use of plastics, and continue general trash recycling in the coming weeks, months and years. WE are in this for the rest of our lives; what about you? Will you join or just sit by the side, watching the Planet get more polluted, more trashed, and uglier. Each voice counts in this war for the Planet! Do this for a week, then continue for months and years to come, and hopefully, your/our kids will see a cleaner World as plastic use disappears in their lifetime.
~~~~~~~~~~
This is the email from Greenpeace....
“Recyclable plastic”, “compostable plastic”, paper packaging… these throwaway “solutions” that companies are proposing are taking us down the wrong path.
And meanwhile, as customers, the amount of pointless waste in our shopping carts and homes isn’t decreasing at all. It’s time that big brands and supermarkets tackle this plastic crisis for real by joining the #ReuseRevolution.
Starting today until November 13, participate in Greenpeace’s Global Refill Week to promote reuse and refill solutions!
For the next 7 days, every time you go to your supermarket, local restaurant or coffee shop, bring your reusable containers, ask for them to be refilled and share your experience on social media. Thank the stores that helped you reduce plastic waste and shame those who didn’t!
Retailers can play a huge role by investing in reuse and refill systems that will drastically reduce our collective plastic footprint. Let’s show them that we are ready for change.
Click here to get all the details about how to participate in the Global Refill Week.
Thank you for everything you do,
Retailers can play a huge role by investing in reuse and refill systems that will drastically reduce our collective plastic footprint. Let’s show them that we are ready for change.
Click here to get all the details about how to participate in the Global Refill Week.
Thank you for everything you do,
Sarah,
Head of Oceans & Plastic Campaign, Greenpeace Canada
We don't accept any money from companies or governments so we can be independent and challenge anyone who threatens the planet or peace. To help us keep fighting climate change, defending our oceans and protecting ancient forests, please make a regular donation. Thank you!
You can grow the movement for a green and peaceful future. Forward this email and share the signup link for our regular email updates and ways to take action.
Head of Oceans & Plastic Campaign, Greenpeace Canada
We don't accept any money from companies or governments so we can be independent and challenge anyone who threatens the planet or peace. To help us keep fighting climate change, defending our oceans and protecting ancient forests, please make a regular donation. Thank you!
You can grow the movement for a green and peaceful future. Forward this email and share the signup link for our regular email updates and ways to take action.
Sunday, November 3, 2019
New York State Autumn Colors
We just returned from yet another trip in our eternal search for Autumn colors. Luckily, we can happily report we not only found those colors but had a heck of a good time photographing those colors, although someone was soon complaining that hiking while carrying a heavy tripod and cameras, was getting to be hard work!
But seriously, I would like to know whoever said photography was easy?
Watkins Glen State Park is located almost two hours away from us, but is a nice drive. Ninety percent of the images displayed here are snapped with my little dysfunctional samsung dumbphone. As you can imagine with my recent complaints, I was not at all relieved of the many problems associated with using my phone to snap some pixs while in the Watkins Glen gorge, which is an area that is constantly moist if not outright damp, and with little bright sunlight, even during the summer! Nevertheless, I did use my dumbphone during the visit and surprisingly it did quite well, though I had to restart it almost every time it came out of my pocket as usual, since otherwise so many error messages pop up, making my using it a miserable experience. I cannot wait till I get a new phone, and it will not be a samsung!
All images that below not displaying my copyright on the image directly, was snapped with my samsung dumbphone.
But seriously, I would like to know whoever said photography was easy?
Watkins Glen State Park is located almost two hours away from us, but is a nice drive. Ninety percent of the images displayed here are snapped with my little dysfunctional samsung dumbphone. As you can imagine with my recent complaints, I was not at all relieved of the many problems associated with using my phone to snap some pixs while in the Watkins Glen gorge, which is an area that is constantly moist if not outright damp, and with little bright sunlight, even during the summer! Nevertheless, I did use my dumbphone during the visit and surprisingly it did quite well, though I had to restart it almost every time it came out of my pocket as usual, since otherwise so many error messages pop up, making my using it a miserable experience. I cannot wait till I get a new phone, and it will not be a samsung!
All images that below not displaying my copyright on the image directly, was snapped with my samsung dumbphone.
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