At Mom's
15:10 Tuesday, 16 June 2026
Current Wx: Temp: 71.96°F Pressure: 1009hPa Humidity: 48% Wind: 5.46mph
Words: 392
Safely at Mom's. Sucks getting old. I used to be able to just drive and drive for hours. For the last few years, I've been good for about two hours before having to stop. Now it's about an hour. Or at least it was today.
It's not a problem, because I'm seldom in a hurry to get anywhere anymore. As long as I can find a decent place to pull off.
The drive was fairly pleasant. Beautiful day, very little traffic. The only frustration was at the end when Apple Maps gave me one of those routes where the last 10 miles involves 20 turns. So very irritating.
Also, my vision isn't what it used to be either. I have an appointment for an eye exam in July and I'll be hoping a new prescription will improve things. I just changed the Display settings to "Larger text" so I can see what I'm writing on this 14" screen.
Depressing.
I listened to Mac Power Users and Accidental Tech Podcast on the way up, so I learned a lot about Apple Intelligence. ATP had a terminal command to skip the waitlist for Siri, so I've entered that. I don't know if you have to restart, because I didn't check, but I restarted after executing the terminal command and checked Siri in Settings and it shows it's up and running.
I don't know if the improved Spotlight/Siri index is complete yet, but I just used the Siri app to ask for my brother Mark's address. It took several seconds to respond, but it got it right. Low bar, I know. I'm just feeling my way through this.
I think I'll play around with editing some images in Photos. Find some power lines to erase and see how that goes. Historically it's been hit or miss. Sometimes it doesn't get all the power line, other times it leaves visible artifacts. It does occasionally work, but it's been the exception rather than the rule.
Took Mom for a walk around the parking lot. Movement is medicine, and she had issues lasts summer with ulcers on her toes. We finally learned they were due to micro-clots, and she's been getting treatment for them so they're all resolved now and she's able to be on her feet and walking a bit.
Off to play with Photos...
✍️ Reply by emailOn the Road Again
08:02 Tuesday, 16 June 2026
Current Wx: Temp: 55.09°F Pressure: 1012hPa Humidity: 78% Wind: 5.99mph
Words: 231
I'm driving up to the Clifton Park area, near Albany, this morning to see Mom and take my brother to the doctor tomorrow. He won't be able to drive for a while after the appointment, so I'm shuttling him back and forth.
It's a three and a half hour drive, so it's not much fun. I'll have to look for some podcasts before I leave. Of course all this stuff happens as we're studying the plans, applying for the permit, the power company is coming by today to tell us how we're going to get power to the house. I need to finish the windows spreadsheet with all their U-values, and on and on. So I'm bringing the MBP with me.
At least the weather is nice. The drive is pretty for the most part, and the traffic usually isn't bad at all, but I don't enjoy driving anymore. It's something to be endured, more than experienced.
I have to do this all again in a few days when my daughter arrives by train in Albany. She's coming up from visiting a friend in NYC. We'll stop in to visit with Mom a little while, then head back here for her stay with us for a couple of days. She flies out of Elmira, so that's nice.
Enough bitching about that. Time to pack a few things and get going.
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