Well, not quite as after a couple hours of searching I was able to find the fix for my loud whirring noise I heard upon boot up. Seems the fan was running full bore. I had to reset the SMC but had, on previous attempts, neglected to unplug the keyboard which I did this time.

Worked. It was nice and quiet. Just computer kept shutting off, touchy plug. A little work and I finally got that to work too.

Much relief as I had been envisioning a huge bill from the Apple Store. iMac is six years old and long out of warranty.

Interesting, I had plugged in my first iMac, a grape G3, and it worked. It was so old it didn’t have wifi and, as my router is in another room, no internet so not using it.

Next day and it’s still working. I’m happy.

I was awakened very early by incessant notifications from a Twitter user. Putting phone on Do Not Disturb did nothing, turning the volume off did nothing. Putting the phone on vibrate did nothing. Changing notification style to not allow sound for Twitter did nothing. Exasperated, I went to that person’s Twitter profile and turned off notifications. Finally worked. Alternative would be to unfollow that person if that hadn’t worked.

I really didn’t want my phone beeping all through church. There’s always a first for something.

Have to have a pic of the cat. Something to calm me. Sides Facebook leaves a big blank spot if there’s no pic.

Kitty is my nurse now for I have the flu. Friday was the worst cause of high fever making my MS worse. I was extremely weak, kept dropping my phone, 5 times total. it still works, great case is why. As to my nurse, she didn’t help much. As with high fever, her hot little body did little to cool me down. Still she gives love.

As to my other nurse, my granddaughter, she dropped stuff too: the water she was bringing me, all over the floor. I give her credit. She tried to mop it up.

More kitty pics. Got an action shot here: yawning.

Initially when my sister sent this picture of her home in the snow I was glad I was here instead. Today it hit 88, not so thankful and miss her terribly. Today has been a sad day for bring here.

On the bright side, being here in Arizona might be a good thing if this passes. No Hillary fun camp for me.

Things that don’t make any sense to me: the government trying to force Apple to break it’s encryption. Just one terrorist can morph into many political enemies. Never mind the hacking potential. Speaking of which, the Democrats are poised to hand over the presidency to one who can’t be trusted with keeping intelligence, top secret intelligence, special access program intelligence secret. Combine the two and you have a recipe for disaster.

And then there are the Republicans who are enthralled by the cult of personality much as the Democrats were eight years ago. How did that work out for you?

People can’t learn from history. The front runner, Trump, has gone after Pamela Geller for taunting Muslims. Guess he too will work with AG Lynch on a shariah compliant government. Another slippery slope for once you ban someone or something that offends them, there’s more. Everything offends them. Bye bye First Amendment rights. Actually, if you criticize Trump, you’re likely to be destroyed. If you don’t get along with Trump, you will be dealt with… harshly! And he hasn’t even been elected yet. Obama didn’t do the it’s my way or the highway until after he was elected. More on Trump’s tactics here.

And as to his oh so convenient shift to the right, it was to get votes. He’ll shift left when it suits him. Pretty shifty if you ask me.

Safe to say after today, Super Tuesday, the Republican Party is all but destroyed as is the Constitutional republic formerly known as the United States of America. I saw it coming. Read Revelation 17 for starters, it lays it out: Babylon. I read a lot more too, scriptures, lots of them. Isaiah very important. He saw our day too. Tough times are ahead.

Update: Wednesday morning. Delegates won Trump 316, Cruz 226, Rubio 106, Kasich 25, Carson 8. There is hope. Trump got far fewer than predicted and Cruz looks to be the only viable challenger. others need to drop out.

It is the gift that keeps on giving, Anthony Weiner’s laptop. Who knows what goodness Huma has there, courtesy of Yahoo mail. Who uses Yahoo mail for State Department business, maybe top secret business? Huma Abedin, Hillary’s top aide that’s who.

Rumors abound as to who she may have shared them with considering her family’s ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. Oh boy! This election sure has it’s twists and turns.

I am voting for Evan McMullin. My conscience will be clear. My friend, Kiril Is doing the same. Freedom is on the line.

Unfortunately, I think I know who will win. Read Matthew 24, Revelation 17-19. This is what we must do if we are to survive perilous times ahead. Joy and Spiritual Survival by Russell M Nelson. Christ is key.

And on a lighter note, since it is Halloween, a cat.

Always a cat, Debbie’s cat Uma.

Update: I am back mostly as I was able to nab a used iMac for less than the cost of repairs. Now completely broke.

Since my sister lives so far away, hasn’t made it here yet as she’s waiting on her house to sell, she sent me lovely pics. This is Oliver named after my Bishop who has done so much to help me this year.

A lovely flower, a Christmas amaryllis, blooming inside.

Outside, it is cold and snowy. Here’s Wyatt playing in it.

And always, most adorable Willow.

She’ll send more Christmas day. I have other family, most far, some estranged from each other for various reasons. I won’t be seeing them either. But I do wish them all a very Merry Christmas. Love you all.

Other than family I have many friends from church which have been most kind from taking me shopping to bringing me gifts, food. Unexpected too. I wish I could do more but I am having trouble with a few things courtesy of my MS: breathing and walking. Always short of breath, sometimes with chest pain and often very weak. Most times I have to use a walker. Still having big problems with my sleep apnea too, effect of MS. So, I don’t do much.

Last gift was a nice service, moving the RAM from the deceased iMac to this one. Good thing this is same vintage as newer iMacs don’t allow user upgrades to RAM. Much faster now.

Tomorrow it’s church and a luncheon after, another friend invited me to his home to share Christmas. They take such good care of me. I am grateful for each and every one. They have taken care of me as Jesus did. #LIGHTtheWORLD

I would have posted more of these if not for my difficulty breathing, just kept passing out at the computer. Moved it so maybe I’ll be more awake as if I pass out here, the floor is very hard.

Images that didn’t upload. WordPress needs to fix their mobile app as it fails to upload about half the time. Can’t use Safari as images always come out upside down when I try. Might try Chrome. Would use the computer if Photos would finish updating so it would be consistent across all platforms. Let’s see what worked today. Ritzy in her usual state of repose.

Now, after finally updating the OS, fan is blowing full bore so off to reset the SMC.

And here I thought I was just going to lay around with an ice pack and hot cat for the pain.

Just realized I hadn’t posted in several weeks. Many changes since. First a pic of my nurse cat kindly taking my spot. Maybe keeping it warm for me, maybe a hint to go pet her. Pets can be great comfort.

A while back, last month actually, several people were very kind and set up a Lyft account for me so I could get rides to the doctor easier. There were a few instances, surgery and procedures that required a friend be with me even if using it, so friend took me. I really appreciate their generosity as it was very useful and my friends that took me before and while using. And they all helped as my medical bills were running around $1000/month. I was told it would last a long time but they like my daughter thought rides were inexpensive, little over a dollar for short trips. Nope $5.50 just to go to the pharmacy, barely a quarter of a mile. It is expensive but lots faster than a taxi. One appointment, woman was waiting over an hour for the taxi when my Lyft driver was there within a minute. That money is gone and I am on my own. I have researched several options, and I am detailing them here in case others might be in similar circumstances and need help.

Dial a Ride requires documentation from the doctor, going to Phoenix for an interview and take a test on getting on and off the bus and simulating environment getting to and from the bus, indoors, and light rail, outdoors. Mind you test does not cover actually walking to and from the bus stop. Just to get to my physical therapy would require walking to the bus stop and a change of busses and walking from the bus stop to the therapy department, over a mile of walking in the hot sun and waiting at the bus stop for busses, over 100 most of this week and on into the summer. MS and heat do not get along, it makes symptoms worse. Probably not too good for the sciatica either. And no. it is not a flat fee of $4, they charge $1 a mile too if they determine you don’t qualify for ADA. Interesting depending on city, it is available either city wide or near bus route. And one would have to change service if traveling to Phoenix. As it is a shared service like the bus, expect long wait times and travel to take much longer. Not exactly ideal. They do have a reduced fare program and that was probably it. Reading further, they have different levels of eligibility, meaning may have to take the bus anyway for some or all transportation. Wait time to find out if meet their criteria is around three weeks. They decide not a doctor.

Next option, Ride Choice, reduced fare taxi service but that only provides for $100 worth of taxi service. Not sure how much taxis cost but using Lyft, that would cover only two weeks of physical therapy. Shorter application too, same Valley Metro decides. Here’s some fun comparisons between the three, Uber, Lyft and taxis. Interesting about the strict terms. As my Lyft account was set up for me, I didn’t agree to any. Did to Uber but have not used it. Lyft tells price up front so no surprise. Rider rate drivers and vs vs.

I checked East Valley Adult Resources which provides services for seniors who meet strict income guidelines, less than Medicaid, AHCCCS in Arizona. I make more than that but one of my medicines alone cost close to three times my AGI. I get help there which is a good thing cause the coverage gap kills it for me. If I ever lose that, I won’t be able to afford my medicine. Come to think of it, if I lose Medicare, I won’t either. They recommended I check out About Care which was next on my list.

About Care was near perfect. It didn’t have an income limit. They do say you need a backup plan as they may not always be able to provide rides. And it has to be scheduled a week in advance. They provide other services too. What I liked most was this from their website.

Mission: To deliver caring and compassionate support services using trained volunteers with special concern for the elderly and physically-challenged homebound residents of Chandler, Gilbert and Queen Creek.

Goal: To encourage and enable independent living by assisting our neighbors to continue living in their homes with dignity and self-respect.

I especially like that they want to assist us to continue living in our own homes. Having the advantage of working in a few, a shift here and there, and seen family members consigned, one for a few months after an injury and another, well just say it was not something I would enjoy. Claustrophobic here, I do like windows, space around the bed, creature comforts like books to read even a TV. None of that there. No, I will stay home and my sister will NOT let me be put in one.

Another thing I like about About Care is my former employer is a sponsor.

Almost forgot other options, as a veteran, it was suggested several time I use the VA. Not only do I not meet the guidelines, Medicaid income cutoff cause not service connected disability but the one VA hospital here is nationally known as the worst in the country. People die before getting seen. Wasn’t impressed with that suggestion. I prefer to die at home without the aid of a nursing home or VA aiding the process. Think I’d live longer too. Given a choice, if a veteran and can meet AHCCCS income qualifications, use that first. VA option of last resort. There are resources that provide additional help too.

Other changes too. Due to the increased data usage from using Lyft, I had to change my phone plan. And due to several features on my phone, notifications and app refreshing in the background primarily, my battery life is rather short between charges. Latest iOS update gives a warning that I need to replace the battery. And that requires being without my phone for a week. Not particularly doable seeing as I need it to obtain transportation. So I upgraded a month early. I rather be safe than sorry. Actually, it will be a little less expensive each month the way I did it. About the same time my internet speed dropped. So I called to find out why. Long story short, I could up the speed for $5 less a month so I took it.

Which led to the last change. My photos finally uploaded to iCloud and are available on all my devices. Which is handy for blogging on the computer. Would be if I could drag and drop the file into WordPress. Not sure why got error message. Off to the forums to find out why. Had to drag it to the desktop first. Bother! OK, found out it is a problem in Photos since 2015, never fixed. Designed to use the share button with various platforms just not blogs.

Thought to add other thoughts on transportation outside the Greater Phoenix area. Moving on to Houston, Texas, my friend Kiril gives a rundown on it’s Metro. He also uses an aid, a beautiful walking stick. Kitty detail is awesome. And beautiful.

Update: Kiril has the post up now debuting his new walking stick. Perfect!

While updating WordPress automatically, it failed and site was down. Not that it gets much traffic especially not posting since October. I had to update manually and that required getting Transmit on this computer. They had a new version so I just bought it. Easier than waiting a day to migrate the data. I did not do it when I set it up as that one had two users thanks to it being used and I didn’t want that here. I tried Migration Assistant and it was very slow, much faster to transfer what I want. Too much legacy stuff on there anyway. Got rid of the G5 applications some time ago but there just was a ton of stuff I didn’t need. Sides important stuff like passwords and mail, all 371,908 emails, were on it. Lots of spam to delete. Think I am off most of the lists that generated it.

As to why I got a new one, necessity. When the iMac G5 died, they were unable to replace it so got a deal on a 2009 iMac partly cause newer ones were coming out. When the display on that one died, it was considered vintage and no one, even place that advertised they fixed them, would. So I got a used late 2009 model off Amazon. Lately, it has been running hot and the fan runs full bore even when idle unless I put it to sleep and sometimes not even then. I’ve had to turn it off, reset the SMC, then back on every day. They won’t repair that one either when it dies so I opted for a current one. That should last me 6-8 years. It’s nicer too, 16GB RAM.

Best of all Photos works now, has downloaded all my photos and is staying current so I don’t have to upload from the app on the iPad then add it to posts on the iMac to keep from it displaying upside down.

She doesn’t move much, from sunning spot to lap and back. Unless it’s for food. Or outside.

Scenery isn’t much, just pipe that I fell, tripping on, a while back. Still sore. That added to back pain I already had wasn’t fun. Enough for now, must get back to the farm.

And Twitter.

After insurance denied my surgery, my doctor didn’t just say back to therapy, he went back to the radiology place that did the MRI, got different images and it got approved afternoon of surgery which by then was cancelled so it got rescheduled. It was done Tuesday. I am doing well.

For anyone curious, it was a right L4 5 hemilaminotomy, medial facetectomy, foraminotomy for decompression of right L5 nerve root. I can copy/paste from the PDF. Nice. I like this hospital, Banner University. Operative report was up day after surgery, all reports actually. Dignity Health required me to go to the hospital in person, go to Medical Records Department to get a password to access my records. But after doing so, all I could access was my outpatient doctor visits I already had access to. I was not happy.

Thankful that my MS specialist recommended the doctor he works with. He’s a good one. Course if it had been denied again, I had a backup plan. I had been feeling a little unstable and the foot drop came back. I didn’t bother the surgeon with that cause it had been approved without it. So, once cleared to twist and bend, I can exercise.

My sister will be here in a few days and joy, she took my advice and finally upgraded her iPhone 4. Trust me, it was time. This is her granddaughter Willow behind the balloon. First I saw the balloon but when I looked at it in Photos, I could see her briefly. Live photo, 3 second clip.

For those without an iPhone 7, here’s another shot. Actually from the 6s and up, Live Photo has been a feature.

So excited we both have iPhone 7’s.

I trust Apple is committed to my privacy. Latest OS update had privacy front and center. Here’s their statement. She had been undecided on the phone as her children had been pushing for her to get a Samsung. Android phone. Google data mines worse than Facebook, there is profit in it.

Unlike Facebook. Found this site from Twitter, interesting stuff the Brits have unearthed.

Just found this. Europe is giving teeth to protecting it’s citizens data. Won’t fly here considering Facebook and Cambridge Analytica played a big role in tRUmp’s win. Both his administration and Congress have been hard at work removing regulations, consumer protections even whistleblower protection in the tax bill they recently passed. And they will need all the help they can get to fight the Blue Wave coming in November. Sides they are too busy demonizing the FBI over #TrumpRussia.

Back to rest and recuperate. Tomorrow’s Easter and the second day of General Conference. Especially nice it’s broadcast on BYU TV so I don’t miss church recuperating from surgery.