Bart

Kudos for finding her a gateway into a piece of tech like that. Use it for one thing, and they start seeing other uses. For my mom (she was 70-something at the time), it was a Kindle. She would constantly buy physical books at the local mall, and had no idea Amazon's Kindle Unlimited subscription even existed. When she passed away, she had probably over 1000 paperback in boxes in the garage. iPad's are good for that too!

Good news, bad news. The good news is that my mom just celebrated her 82nd birthday. The bad news is that we did it in the palliative care wing of the hospice she’s in. As one of her gifts, I upgraded her iPad. My mom uses technology purely on a utility basis: I mean, she hasn’t worn a watch since she was an RN. She’s never had a cell phone. She didn’t even get her driver’s license until my Dad died. But about five years ago, against her protests that she’d never use it, I got her an iPad so we could FaceTime. If you have a senior relative, you know why. They’re not going to have a good time setting up a USB webcam and figuring out Zoom and Windows Audio. But anyone can use FaceTime without much explanation. And she did, and it was great. And over time, she started using it for email and Facebook and news and whatever else seniors do online. It’s been her lifeline in many regards. Certainly, for communication, it’s been essential since she’s been ill. Now, to be honest, we don’t FaceTime all that often. We’re both introverts in many respects, but I’ve become far too accustomed to hearing from her several times a day via iMessage, or to the odd long philosophical dialogue we both enjoy, with the added benefit of “think, then type, then send”. Missing that daily correspondence will be one of the hardest parts. But her old iPad was a 32GB model, so the OS couldn’t even be upgraded at this point. And the microphone was getting weird. And yes, she knows with military confidence that she was NOT covering the microphone by resting it on her lap. Honest. It was time to replace it. I’ve got autism. No idea if my mom has it, but suffice it to say, “she doesn’t like change.” And no matter what, if you’ve ever been tech support for a senior relative, you appreciate that you can’t just show up at a birthday party and just say, “Here’s your new device, replacing the one that you love, good luck! Shoot me a text when you get it all set up!” And that’s where Apple shines. You point the camera of one iPad at the screen of the other and wait a few minutes. Suddenly, your new iPad *IS* your old iPad, from apps to photos to icon locations. She did have to adjust to the lack of a Home button – but that was the biggest change, and it took no time at all. Kudos to Apple. And call your mom.

@NickJFreitas @Maga4liberty @GigaBeers Sample size of 12, probably.

@Maga4liberty @GigaBeers Did they poll college campuses only?

AOC and Jasmine Crockett are beating Vance and Rubio in a new presidential poll. AOC & Jasmine — 53% Vance & Rubio — 47%

The summer before my freshman year in college I worked in a foundry. Did about every job there (summer help) but ended up setting molds on racks because I was one of the few guys who could place them without them shifting. Dirty, hot job. If that's wasn't motivation to do well in school, I don't know what is.

so...

@BamaBass @Sisabell81 Happy for you guys!

Enjoyed my day with @Sisabell81 today. We totally didn’t plan to match for church either. 😎

@BamaBass At least it's zero sugar! (oh, and I use the same high quality chinaware as well)

Breakfast of Champions!

@ISPEvansville Agree! This is also where I'm torn on DRLs... On most older cars w/DRL, the headlights are on, but the tail lights are off. Manually turning headlights on ensures the tail lights are also visible in day/night/rainy/foggy weather. I see a lot of people who disregard that.

It’s very foggy this morning and visibility is extremely poor. This motorist was stopped for driving without headlights activated. She had her headlights set on automatic. Please manually turn on your headlights. Visibility in the area of this traffic stop was less than 100’.

@UltimateMopars Had the SS version (rare, so I was told) back in the mid-80s. '68, 327 auto. Never understood why my Dad thought it was a good idea for a 17 y/o to drive this...but I loved it! He traded it off when I was in college.

Like, Love or Leave? 1968 Imapala with a 327 engine. 1968 TV Commercial.

@data_republican @wasatchdotco @DataRepublican I missed that they're numbered on the back. I have #36. Now I'm wondering if I should even open it! 😁

Back home in Florida now, but I left Utah with the best! This limited edition bourbon was created by @wasatchdotco in honor of @DataRepublican. She really did sign every label... 1,000 signatures, and each bottle is hand numbered as well. Plus, as a bonus, it tastes yummy!

@miles_commodore I honestly think it depends on the car. Mid 80s, I had a 71 Chevelle (inline 6, 3-speed, first car) and had no issue. Tried driving a friend's Fiat X1/9 - near impossible. Humbling even. His parents traded it for an Escort wagon because he kept burning up clutches LOL

The anxiety at a red light on a hill with cars behind me when I was learning how to drive a stick was so stressful.

@WassonWatch @wasatchdotco @DataRepublican That's the truth! I'm at an age and point in my life where I want the money I spend on something to not only be high quality, but go towards a company that has integrity and values. Kind of hard to find that these days...

Always pair the best bourbon with the best timepiece. @wasatchdotco @DataRepublican

@wasatchdotco @DataRepublican @lawrence_d_kidd @DrumrofTedworth @WassonWatch Very good eye!

@wandering765 @DataRepublican @lawrence_d_kidd @DrumrofTedworth Cheers! Enjoy them. Good taste in watches too @WassonWatch

Today is Distilled Data Day! Here just before the snowstorm. 👍🏻 I HIGHLY recommend @wasatchdotco! @DataRepublican

@DataRepublican @lawrence_d_kidd @DrumrofTedworth @wasatchdotco I'm getting some "golden ticket" vibes here... These showed up today!

@lawrence_d_kidd @DrumrofTedworth @wasatchdotco Another lucky rare one!

@midwestern_ope Back in the 80s it was calling cards... worked just as well (or not, depending on the storm).

If you’ve used a credit card to scrape a windshield you might be from the Midwest

@curiosityonx As a father of a daughter, I could only watch it once. Definitely a good movie but way too hard to watch it a second time...

The best SPACE MOVIE ever.

I can relate... It helps if you decide to do it for the benefit of family, as well as yourself. I think I recall you having a girlfriend now too? Have her push you, hold you accountable. I haven't dated for years and miss the idea that someone else is pulling for you, but it helps.

Ever ran into a “T” intersection where you can’t go forward, you can only turn right or left. I’m at that point in my life. I can’t keep going like I’m going. I’ve got to make some hard changes, not workout related. I’m excited how well my strength training has been progressing and I’m definitely stronger now than I was in September 2025! However, It’s been harder than I thought it would be to change my way of eating. I’ve got to buckle down and do better, only excuse is that my discipline hasn’t been what it needs to be, that’s on me. Thank you all for your continued support!

@JustineBateman I think the only thing worse than doing a reboot of a successful series (so many examples of that idea failing) is taking one reasonably successful series and duplicating it in another geographic area, then calling it "Series Name: Location Name". No originality anymore...

@BamaBass Having done something similar to the '24 mishap, I vote for that one. I assume those were not steel toe flip flops either...🤣

Which front porch fall was better: Oct ‘24 or Jan ‘26? 🤔 Personally the sounds of the wood bolsters hitting the ground cracks me up every time! 😂😂