The Chit Chat Chit Chat Thread

donaldtoo

donaldtoo

Well-Known Member
Songbird76 said:
I was SUPER lucky. I had a scholarship for tuition and fees for 4 years, another for my voice lessons, and then my 5th year the music department paid for my tuition and fees. Between the local scholarships I got and the jobs I had throughout college, I only ended up about $15,000 in debt and when my mom passed, I was able to pay the loans off. I had only been out of college for a year, and I had it paid off. Otherwise I'd still be paying mine off, too. I don't know how people manage without scholarships and such!!
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That is extremely admirable...!!! :happy: :)
 
Cesar R M

Cesar R M

Well-Known Member
donaldtoo said:
Yes, I'd imagine being deaf makes being bilingual, or multilingual, much more difficult.
Just curious...
I know you are going to get the upgrade at some point in the future, but, what can you hear with your present implant?
And, can you lip read Spanish, or maybe English too? Do you sign?
I can't even imagine how difficult it is to be deaf, but, I truly am interested.
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technology wise, my current implant is severely outdated. Its 15 years old.
The new one is wireless, is water resistant (you can shower with it) and has 300 times the processing power of the older one. Which means it has way better noise reduction, focus mode, etc.. Also allows you to use your phone wirelessly and use tools wirelessly (like giving a special microphone to a friend for direct listening). The current model only allows plugging in, and having to carry a 3 meter long tiny cable is awful.
I can hear fine in 1on1 conversations and in lowly noisy environments, but when it starts to get noisy (background noise, chatter, speakers..etc..) my capability to understand plummets. In heavy noise environments the processor sometimes locks up (as in just boosts the noise with no filtering at all).
 
Cesar R M

Cesar R M

Well-Known Member
donaldtoo said:
Back in the mid 80's, this locally and nationally renowned photographer's house burned to the ground. Gray Hawn...

View attachment 148129

She ended up hiring our firm for the redesign.
It was during a time in the firms initial years when the original owner/partner (who eventually left to pursue development), was the only one there with a few others of us in his employ.
Let's just say she was very interesting and eclectic. A very sweet lady though.
This was before CAD and we made so many changes to so many drawings over a period of time, that we had to redraw many sheets because we had erased through the velum...! :confused:
Doesn't happen with CAD...you can stretch and push in a heartbeat, and not have to erase and redraw. These architecture kiddos have it so easy these days...! ;)
We ended up designing another home for her several years later, after her husband passed.

Sorry for the long story, but, I wanted to set some (too much, I'm sure :oops: ;)) background.
Anyway, back in the mid 80's, her sitting fees were $5,000 for a 4-hour session...!!! :eek:

Your photography is spectacular, Cesar!
Whether atributed to natural talent, and/or maybe some heightened visual acuity that you have acquired due to being deaf, your pictures are amazing.
You seem to love it so much, too!
Of course, you are also an amazing computer guru...! ;)
Good luck with whatever path you follow...!!! :)
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Most probably visual acuity. I get people dizzy because my eyes wander everywhere where there is movement.
hell, I easily spot birds from where noone can. Kinda frustrating to tell your entire family "see that humming bird over there" and everyone is "where the hell? cant see crap". 5 minutes later "ohh it moved, finally see it!".
 
betty rose

betty rose

Well-Known Member
donaldtoo said:
Got back from DWifeys company 15 year anniversary picnic a little while ago. A smashing success! When we thanked the boss on our way out he said they're gonna' make it an annual event...! :)
He started the company, and now there are close to 500 employees in 8 states.

It was overcast the whole time, so, although it was humid, that kept the temps down. It started to sprinkle as things were wrapping up. Perfect timing...! :)
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Yea, it sounds like a perfect anniversary. So glad the weather was on your side!
 
betty rose

betty rose

Well-Known Member
Cesar R M said:
technology wise, my current implant is severely outdated. Its 15 years old.
The new one is wireless, is water resistant (you can shower with it) and has 300 times the processing power of the older one. Which means it has way better noise reduction, focus mode, etc.. Also allows you to use your phone wirelessly and use tools wirelessly (like giving a special microphone to a friend for direct listening). The current model only allows plugging in, and having to carry a 3 meter long tiny cable is awful.
I can hear fine in 1on1 conversations and in lowly noisy environments, but when it starts to get noisy (background noise, chatter, speakers..etc..) my capability to understand plummets. In heavy noise environments the processor sometimes locks up (as in just boosts the noise with no filtering at all).
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I hope you can find a way to get a new one.
 
betty rose

betty rose

Well-Known Member
Cesar R M said:
technology wise, my current implant is severely outdated. Its 15 years old.
The new one is wireless, is water resistant (you can shower with it) and has 300 times the processing power of the older one. Which means it has way better noise reduction, focus mode, etc.. Also allows you to use your phone wirelessly and use tools wirelessly (like giving a special microphone to a friend for direct listening). The current model only allows plugging in, and having to carry a 3 meter long tiny cable is awful.
I can hear fine in 1on1 conversations and in lowly noisy environments, but when it starts to get noisy (background noise, chatter, speakers..etc..) my capability to understand plummets. In heavy noise environments the processor sometimes locks up (as in just boosts the noise with no filtering at all).
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That is very hard. I hope you can get what you need. No one should go without proper medical care.
 
betty rose

betty rose

Well-Known Member
donaldtoo said:
No pics of our BBQ lunch. I was really hungry 'cause I skipped breakfast in anticipation of the feast, so I dug in straight away without even thinkin' of pics. :oops: Plus, although it was really good :hungry:, it looked pretty much like all the BBQ I've posted before...! ;)

We did, however, drive through Round Rock Donuts on the way home...

View attachment 148117

View attachment 148118

View attachment 148119

And....... :hungry: :hungry: :hungry: :hungry: :hungry: :joyfull: :joyfull: :joyfull: :joyfull: :joyfull:

View attachment 148120
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The donuts and the day looks amazing, and a lot of fun. Glad you had some great eats! :hungry::hungry::hungry:
 
betty rose

betty rose

Well-Known Member
donaldtoo said:
And, I was gonna' post this one next Friday, but, I was so excited I finally found it, I'm gonna' break the rules (apologies to you @betty rose :oops: ;)), and post it today.

Myself and Craig T. Nelson at the Legends of Golf Celebrity Pro-Am here in Austin in '86...!

View attachment 148121
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That is amazing. I have found a couple pics for next Friday. That will be the last for me. I love what everyone wants to share.
 
Gabe1

Gabe1

Ivory Tower Squabble EST 2011. WINDMILL SURVIVOR
StarWarsGirl said:
Hyperspace Mountain. Oh. My. Gosh. That. Was. So. Awesome.

Seriously, I don't think I'm going to recover from that any time soon.
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I only saw the youtube but it is an awesome rehab from what I can tell. Curious as light flashes at times mess with my head and sometimes cause headaches? How did you do with the dark to bright light during the ride?
 
StarWarsGirl

StarWarsGirl

Well-Known Member
Gabe1 said:
I only saw the youtube but it is an awesome rehab from what I can tell. Curious as light flashes at times mess with my head and sometimes cause headaches? How did you do with the dark to bright light during the ride?
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I generally do okay. On Space Mountain, it's mostly colored lights, whereas for me, white light is more problematic. They also weren't very bright. Light is usually only a problem if I have another potential trigger, usually rhe weather, going on at the same time. Unless it's a flickering florescent light. Out here, because there's no rain, I'm not worried about getting a migraine since that is my number one trigger.

If it's an indoor/outdoor ride, I wear my sunglasses as outdoor light without sunglasses does bother me. Even sometimes on the indoor portions. I pretty much wear my sunglasses nonstop outside, on rides and off. More intense rides (EE) the sunglasses come off, but after the ride, they are right back on.
 
Gabe1

Gabe1

Ivory Tower Squabble EST 2011. WINDMILL SURVIVOR
betty rose said:
@Gabe1, blessings to you and the family today. I'm thinking about you.:inlove:
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Thank you!

All went better than I could have hoped for today. My Mom was in a strange mood, but she did put on a dress and a mostly black dress at that. She had been rambling about she wasn't going to wear a dress (I didn't care) and was going to just throw on a pair of pants. (My Mom had always dressed well so it was odd but whatever, Mom is rebelling thing.) I got to meet my great niece that is now 1 1/2 that I had yet to meet and that sure lightened the mood, she was a hoot. My niece and my Sis spoke and both of them did very well but my Sis kind of lost it and that made me sad for her but she regrouped. She is a very good public speaker. My niece and my Dad always bet on sports for years. She said Papa died too soon 'cause she thought she would have cleaned up with Cleveland this week winning. Made everyone laugh.

Saw some people I have not seen in a very long while and that was so nice. I side stepped some evil people real well and that worked out just fine. My MIL and adopted MIL were both there. The fake one (long story) has been my buddy as was her husband for decades and so nice of her to attend. It was kinda sad to see my real MIL as she is in assited living for a couple years and the dementia seems to have sunk in deeper. Not sure she knew where she was or why she was there. She was very social and she was just silent. I watched at the wake after that my BIL was explaining how to eat the pizza appetizer, that it was finger food and it seemed to confuse her. That was sad to see. Yet the 91 year old lady climbed a flight of stairs with no issues after a knee replacement a couple years ago. Go Figure.

We spent the balance of the afternoon with my Mom, my Sis and her family and mine at my Moms. My Sis will be there till late Monday so I will get a few days break at least. While there my Sis' hubby did all the legal crud for stocks and life insurance/dividends, tax obligations as he is a banker and a stockbroker. A relief I don't have to figure out all that.

So under the circumstances the day went very very well and I was pleased with all the arrangements I made for my Dad and the wake thereafter. And Done! :oops:
 
Gabe1

Gabe1

Ivory Tower Squabble EST 2011. WINDMILL SURVIVOR

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