The Impact of The Internet of Things, or the loss there of

The internet of things is invading our house. A while back our cable modem went bad and had to be replaced.

Things through the house stopped working. Wow, we didn't even remember we had all these things. 

Our Nest Thermostat stopped adjusting the temperatures at the proper times. We couldn't sleep because the house was too hot. 

The security cameras could no longer be found and we could not check in on our house and animals. Should we have had a security event we would have had nothing to show what happened. 

Our television no longer had access to the Internet. No more movies or software updates. This was an inconvenience but still we forgot about it

We could no longer browse the Internet from one computer, two laptops, three cell phones and three iPads.  Our fitness devices and bathroom scales were not logging our data. We couldn't see our weight or steps. This eliminated access to our financial institutions so we couldn't pay bills, play our favorite games, and who knows what else. 

It is sad to say, but our life stalled and we didn't know what to do. Isn't this a sad state of affairs. 

In an effort to rectify this situation and minimize the impact of this type of change in the future we purchased our own router and connected everything to that. We are no longer held hostage by Comcast to provide the hardware required to access the Internet. 

Did this change do any good, who knows. We will see what fails first our cable modem or our new router. Then we will know. 

This also got us thinking about the old days, when we could sit and play cards, board games, read books or sit and carry on a conversation.

Shortly after everything was reconnected, we were back to the new habits we had developed. 

It is amazing how life has changed.  We are seeing just a small glimpse of what the future is going to be. 

It is sad, but the ability for us to interact with our family and friends in person has been forever changed. 

Proof of this was witnessed at our grand daughter's Army swearing in ceremony. We all sat side by side and the conversation between us was minimal and most of us were using our personal electronic devices until the batteries died. 

Are such changes good for us, only history will tell.... 

New Year 2016

Well, the new year has begun. As part of the new year tradition everyone makes resolutions that are rarely fulfilled. This year we did not make any resolutions but we did make a decision to get better control of our health.

On January 3rd we joined Weight Watchers, again.  This program seems to work fairly well as a result of a couple of things. 

The first is that it created a sense of accountability.  It forces you to log your food on a daily basis. 

Second, there is a cost of subscribing to the service.  We have tried many of the free services like Fitbit, My Fitness Pal, etc. With these, if you didn't follow the plan you don't loose anything. With weight watchers, you are wasting money if you don't follow the plan. This definitely has a psychological effect. 

Third, they have a large list of foods, restaurants and recipes. Additionally because this a points based system. If you decide to eat a bag of Hershey's kisses, you can. Of course, you will starve the rest of the day. If you decide to eat reasonable meals, fruits and vegetables, you get lots of food and you are never Hungry. This leads to a mindset that you can eat whatever you like and still lose weight. 

If you decide to track your exercise you also gain extra points so this allows you to earn more food throughout the day. 

The drawback in our household is that as we proceed I lose weight quickly compared to my wife. This makes me feel good and I want to continue. On the other hand my wife seems to loose weight more slowly and seeing my progress is a demotivator for her. 

We both have to look at this as a lifestyle change. If we follow the plan we work toward improving our health through a better diet. This in turn should lead to better health, which leads to lower cholesterol levels, better blood sugar readings, etc. 

We will have to see how this goes. I am going to try and provide updates here as we reach major milestones and if we encounter significant challenges and how we got through them. 

In The Army Now

Our oldest grandaughter left for basic training this week.  This is going to be a significant change for her. She is excited about the change and challenge ahead. 

As the day progressed I think she became more nervous about what she was doing, but she was ready to go. 

This girl who we have watched grow from a baby to a young woman is going to to be a young adult the next time we see her. 

The day before she left, we were fortunate to go over to Tampa and spend the day with her. We had a great time talking with her, and having dinner

She was worried that she wasn't going  to make weight, so she didn't eat much. Of course she made weight with no trouble at all.  

The next day we were able to see her swearing in ceremony and get a few pictures with her. This was an emotional time for everyone.  She was one of twelve men and women sworn in at that time. This group included new members of all branches of the military. 

We also had the opportunity to go to the airport and spend a little more time with her, her father and sister before she got on the plane for St. Louis, Missouri. She would then meet others from across the country at the USO followed by a two to three hour bus ride to Fort Leonard Wood where she will spend the next ten weeks.

We have no clue when we will hear from her next but are looking forward to that time when it comes

The next time we will see her is at her graduation ceremony in late May. It seems like it is such a long time from low, but it will be here before we know it.

At the moment she plans to make the army, as a military police officer, her career. Of course this is subject to change over the next two years. 

We are proud grand parents and we are pleased that she has decided to serve and protect the citizens of the United States of America.  

To all those past present and future members of the military we thank you for your service to our country.