Hello from Atlanta

technomom · 11-10-2010, 05:02 PM

Hi there. I'm not completely new - I've posted twice and I've been lurking for a bit. I live in Decatur, which is an intown suburb of Atlanta, Georgia (US).

My partner, Sam, and I have moved to reading e-books almost exclusively in the past year or so since we got iPod Touches. I was already reading on a Palm m130 I had "inherited" from him for a time, but a few months after he got his Touch I gave in and let him buy one for me, too. We're working on getting our daughter to switch over from dead tree media now.

Being able to carry 50 books in a pocket is part of the attraction, but for me there's also the fact that carpal tunnel in both wrists plus arthritis and fibromyalgia add up to lots of pain, and holding books is painful for me any more. The Touch is just easier - and the fact that it provides its own light is a big plus, as well. Not being tempted to lug around a tote bag full of books "just in case" I finish whatever I'm reading every time I go to an appointment makes my whole body happier, too.

I'm an avid reader - always have been. My preference is for science fiction and fantasy, first, but I also enjoy some mysteries. I don't like anything with too much of a creep factor. I read some non-fiction, as well - Robyn Silverman's Good Girls Don't Get Fat is my most recent finish. Now I'm reading God Is Not One by Stephen Prothero and Sex at Dawn by Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jetha. On the fiction side, I just finished the Clash of the Geeks anthology and began Side Jobs by Jim Butcher and Casey Mayes' A Deadly Row.

Another benefit of e-books: I can easily switch to whatever I happen to feel like reading at any given moment.

I try to keep track of what I'm reading at GoodReads. I used the WordPress plug-in Now Reading for a long time, and I really did like having things on my own site, but the Rob Miller (plugin author) has been very busy, so the plugin isn't compatible with the current version of WordPress (no dishonor to him, of course - I'm thankful that he kept it up as long as he did! Now Reading was a massive undertaking!)

However, in searching for a link for the post, I learned about Now Reading Reloaded, which I intend to test tomorrow! (Tonight is one of my and Sam's regular date nights, or I'd be installing it right now.)

I do have other hobbies, including being a general computer geek (not so much on the hardware end these days, largely due to loss of hand strength), collecting quotations, stitching and designing counted-thread needlework, and making music. I'm a terrible blogger these days, having fallen out of the habit of posting. It isn't really a hobby, but we homeschooled my daughter from mid-elementary school through high school for several reasons, but she is now in college. (She does still live at home, for now.)

I'm a big fan of Calibre and Sigil - Calibre because we have already collected quite a few e-books in various formats, and Sigil because, well, I'm ridiculously picky. Whether I buy a book or get if from a free (LEGAL!) site, I usually find myself going a bit nutty over little errors, and now I usually open it in an editor if at all possible before I start trying to read it. (Yes, I do have an official diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive disorder, and it does have a hyphen, why do you ask?) I strongly prefer books without DRM for that reason.

We considered upgrading to an iPad so I could pass my Touch on to my daughter, but I found it too heavy to consider for everyday reading. It would be a lovely screen size for displaying scanned needlework patterns, though I think that would have to wait until the prices come down quite a bit.

We still have a license for and were heavy users of Readerware at one time, but lost the data in a move-related problem, so I need to rebuild that database. While we're replacing as many dead-tree books as possible with e-books, there are some things that just don't lend themselves to bytes. For instance, you just can't have a sing-a-long without songbooks to pass around, so I'll keep collecting as many copies of Rise Up Singing as possible and most of my other music remains printed. And until I get an iPad or something that is suitable for good graphic display, my needlework patterns will remain physical. And that means that cataloging them is necessary. Are there any other Readerware users around here?

In my pre-disability working days, I was most recently a software quality assurance analyst and technical writer. Before that, I did many other things over the years, from running a self-insured health insurance fund for the foreign missions board of a fundamentalist Christian denomination to being a call center supervisor for an ISP in the mid-80s, doing medical transcription for ER departments and setting appointments for a dating service.

I've done a lot of volunteer work since leaving the for-pay working world, especially in the internet safety field, mainly with Working to Halt Online Abuse (http://haltabuse.org/ ). I'm not working with the group now, but I was their webmaster, then their executive VP for many years.

That's probably more than y'all wanted to know, but it's an introduction. This seems like a lovely place you have here.

Cyn

GA Russell · 11-10-2010, 05:44 PM

Welcome techno!

I lived in Norcross for ten years and Winder for seven.

joycedb · 11-10-2010, 06:13 PM

Hello and welcome, technomom. My, you have an impressive list of hobbies and activities. Enjoy the forum.

Joyce

desertgrandma · 11-10-2010, 06:16 PM

Welcome to MobileRead, technomom.....

Goodness.....enjoy the forums!

MickeyC · 11-10-2010, 08:24 PM

Hi Cyn and welcome to MobileRead

ImogenRose · 11-10-2010, 09:38 PM

Hello and welcome to MR!

Imogen

technomom · 11-11-2010, 02:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GA Russell

Welcome techno!

I lived in Norcross for ten years and Winder for seven.

Nice to meet you! :-)

I grew up on the Gwinnett county side of Tucker and graduated from Berkmar High School. My parents and sister are still in Gwinnett, but we prefer living in an area where we don't have to have a car for everyone in the family. Unfortunately, Gwinnett is still behind the times regarding mass transit.

I still prefer Gwinnett's library to Dekalb's, though. They have a MUCH better fiction section, and put a lot more funding into the library. They're even starting (just barely) to get a few e-books. Nothing compatible with my hardware yet, but I'm hoping!

Thanks,
Cyn

GeoffC · 11-11-2010, 04:59 AM

Welcome to mobileread ....

Wow . 2005 ! a newbieoldie ....

technomom · 11-11-2010, 07:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeoffC

Welcome to mobileread ....

Wow . 2005 ! a newbieoldie ....

LOL - thanks to early Usenet experiences, I take "lurk for a while and learn your way around" pretty seriously sometimes ;-)

Cyn

neilmarr · 11-11-2010, 07:49 AM

Good to have your company, Cyn. Coincidentally just swapped emails with a neighbour of yours, an ex-pat Australian who's lived in Atlanta for the past thirty years or so. Well, maybe not a 'neighbour', I guess Atlanta's a pretty big city. Great to read your enthusiastic post. Best wishes. Neil

technomom · 11-11-2010, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by neilmarr

Good to have your company, Cyn. Coincidentally just swapped emails with a neighbour of yours, an ex-pat Australian who's lived in Atlanta for the past thirty years or so. Well, maybe not a 'neighbour', I guess Atlanta's a pretty big city. Great to read your enthusiastic post. Best wishes. Neil

Atlanta is rather large, yes. We have the biggest airport in the southeast, so we tend to be something of a hub.

I don't believe I've ever met anyone from Monaco before!

Thanks for the welcome :-)

Cyn

neilmarr · 11-12-2010, 04:25 AM

I'm actually a Scot, Cyn, but have been here for twenty-five years now. My wife, Skovia, is Monegasque, though. Several friends in Atlanta. Oddy enough, mostly ex-pats I first met whilst working on newspapers in New York and who decided to stay in the US, take US citizenship ... and then go marching to Georgia. Must be some place to hold such appeal for relative newcomers. Sadly, one state I never had the chance to visit myself. Cheers. Neil

desertblues · 11-12-2010, 08:33 AM

I was in Atlanta once when I made a tour through the US.
Welcome to MR from the Netherlands.

CaraM · 11-12-2010, 06:48 PM

Hi, Cyn, and welcome. I like your kitty avatar. I'm an avid reader too, and writer, who has discovered I love reading on my Kindle.

happy_terd · 11-22-2010, 11:43 AM

Hello and welcome to MR!!!

11-10-2010, 05:02 PM	#1
technomom Enthusiast Posts: 40 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Atlanta, GA, US Device: Kindle Paperwhite, iPad Pro, iPhone 12 mini	Hello from Atlanta Hi there. I'm not completely new - I've posted twice and I've been lurking for a bit. I live in Decatur, which is an intown suburb of Atlanta, Georgia (US). My partner, Sam, and I have moved to reading e-books almost exclusively in the past year or so since we got iPod Touches. I was already reading on a Palm m130 I had "inherited" from him for a time, but a few months after he got his Touch I gave in and let him buy one for me, too. We're working on getting our daughter to switch over from dead tree media now. Being able to carry 50 books in a pocket is part of the attraction, but for me there's also the fact that carpal tunnel in both wrists plus arthritis and fibromyalgia add up to lots of pain, and holding books is painful for me any more. The Touch is just easier - and the fact that it provides its own light is a big plus, as well. Not being tempted to lug around a tote bag full of books "just in case" I finish whatever I'm reading every time I go to an appointment makes my whole body happier, too. I'm an avid reader - always have been. My preference is for science fiction and fantasy, first, but I also enjoy some mysteries. I don't like anything with too much of a creep factor. I read some non-fiction, as well - Robyn Silverman's Good Girls Don't Get Fat is my most recent finish. Now I'm reading God Is Not One by Stephen Prothero and Sex at Dawn by Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jetha. On the fiction side, I just finished the Clash of the Geeks anthology and began Side Jobs by Jim Butcher and Casey Mayes' A Deadly Row. Another benefit of e-books: I can easily switch to whatever I happen to feel like reading at any given moment. I try to keep track of what I'm reading at GoodReads. I used the WordPress plug-in Now Reading for a long time, and I really did like having things on my own site, but the Rob Miller (plugin author) has been very busy, so the plugin isn't compatible with the current version of WordPress (no dishonor to him, of course - I'm thankful that he kept it up as long as he did! Now Reading was a massive undertaking!) However, in searching for a link for the post, I learned about Now Reading Reloaded, which I intend to test tomorrow! (Tonight is one of my and Sam's regular date nights, or I'd be installing it right now.) I do have other hobbies, including being a general computer geek (not so much on the hardware end these days, largely due to loss of hand strength), collecting quotations, stitching and designing counted-thread needlework, and making music. I'm a terrible blogger these days, having fallen out of the habit of posting. It isn't really a hobby, but we homeschooled my daughter from mid-elementary school through high school for several reasons, but she is now in college. (She does still live at home, for now.) I'm a big fan of Calibre and Sigil - Calibre because we have already collected quite a few e-books in various formats, and Sigil because, well, I'm ridiculously picky. Whether I buy a book or get if from a free (LEGAL!) site, I usually find myself going a bit nutty over little errors, and now I usually open it in an editor if at all possible before I start trying to read it. (Yes, I do have an official diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive disorder, and it does have a hyphen, why do you ask?) I strongly prefer books without DRM for that reason. We considered upgrading to an iPad so I could pass my Touch on to my daughter, but I found it too heavy to consider for everyday reading. It would be a lovely screen size for displaying scanned needlework patterns, though I think that would have to wait until the prices come down quite a bit. We still have a license for and were heavy users of Readerware at one time, but lost the data in a move-related problem, so I need to rebuild that database. While we're replacing as many dead-tree books as possible with e-books, there are some things that just don't lend themselves to bytes. For instance, you just can't have a sing-a-long without songbooks to pass around, so I'll keep collecting as many copies of Rise Up Singing as possible and most of my other music remains printed. And until I get an iPad or something that is suitable for good graphic display, my needlework patterns will remain physical. And that means that cataloging them is necessary. Are there any other Readerware users around here? In my pre-disability working days, I was most recently a software quality assurance analyst and technical writer. Before that, I did many other things over the years, from running a self-insured health insurance fund for the foreign missions board of a fundamentalist Christian denomination to being a call center supervisor for an ISP in the mid-80s, doing medical transcription for ER departments and setting appointments for a dating service. I've done a lot of volunteer work since leaving the for-pay working world, especially in the internet safety field, mainly with Working to Halt Online Abuse (http://haltabuse.org/ ). I'm not working with the group now, but I was their webmaster, then their executive VP for many years. That's probably more than y'all wanted to know, but it's an introduction. This seems like a lovely place you have here. Cyn

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11-10-2010, 05:44 PM	#2
GA Russell Montreal wins Grey Cup! Posts: 7,583 Karma: 31484197 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC Device: Paperwhite, Kindles 10 & 4 and jetBook Lite	Welcome techno! I lived in Norcross for ten years and Winder for seven.

11-10-2010, 06:13 PM	#3
joycedb Guru Posts: 997 Karma: 1086596 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Florida Device: none	Hello and welcome, technomom. My, you have an impressive list of hobbies and activities. Enjoy the forum. Joyce

11-10-2010, 06:16 PM	#4
desertgrandma Enjoying the show.... Posts: 14,270 Karma: 10462841 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Arizona Device: A K1, Kindle Paperwhite, an Ipod, IPad2, Iphone, an Ipad Mini & macAir	Welcome to MobileRead, technomom..... Goodness.....enjoy the forums!

11-10-2010, 08:24 PM	#5
MickeyC Grand Sorcerer Posts: 16,732 Karma: 12185114 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Florida Device: iPhone 6 plus, Sony T1, iPad 3	Hi Cyn and welcome to MobileRead

11-10-2010, 09:38 PM	#6
ImogenRose PORTAL Posts: 7,204 Karma: 2884640 Join Date: Apr 2010 Device: Kindle 1, Kindle 3 (3G), iPhone	Hello and welcome to MR! Imogen

11-11-2010, 04:59 AM	#8
GeoffC Chocolate Grasshopper ... Posts: 27,600 Karma: 20821184 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Scotland Device: Muse HD , Cybook Gen3 , Pocketbook 302 (Black) , Nexus 10: wife has PW	Welcome to mobileread .... Wow . 2005 ! a newbieoldie ....

11-11-2010, 07:49 AM	#10
neilmarr neilmarr Posts: 7,216 Karma: 6000059 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Monaco-Menton, France Device: sony	Good to have your company, Cyn. Coincidentally just swapped emails with a neighbour of yours, an ex-pat Australian who's lived in Atlanta for the past thirty years or so. Well, maybe not a 'neighbour', I guess Atlanta's a pretty big city. Great to read your enthusiastic post. Best wishes. Neil

11-12-2010, 04:25 AM	#12
neilmarr neilmarr Posts: 7,216 Karma: 6000059 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Monaco-Menton, France Device: sony	I'm actually a Scot, Cyn, but have been here for twenty-five years now. My wife, Skovia, is Monegasque, though. Several friends in Atlanta. Oddy enough, mostly ex-pats I first met whilst working on newspapers in New York and who decided to stay in the US, take US citizenship ... and then go marching to Georgia. Must be some place to hold such appeal for relative newcomers. Sadly, one state I never had the chance to visit myself. Cheers. Neil

11-12-2010, 08:33 AM	#13
desertblues Home for the moment Posts: 5,127 Karma: 27718936 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: travelling Device: various	I was in Atlanta once when I made a tour through the US. Welcome to MR from the Netherlands.

11-12-2010, 06:48 PM	#14
CaraM Guru Posts: 924 Karma: 1000000 Join Date: Aug 2010 Device: Kindle	Hi, Cyn, and welcome. I like your kitty avatar. I'm an avid reader too, and writer, who has discovered I love reading on my Kindle.

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11-22-2010, 11:43 AM	#15
happy_terd Banned Posts: 13,045 Karma: 10105011 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Finally made it to Walmart. Device: PRS 420	Hello and welcome to MR!!!