The weather has been mostly lousy — cool and wet. But we had a couple of nice days early in the week. Tuesday was the nicest — sunny and 85. Danita and I drove the bikes down to Patapsco Park and rode a mostly paved trail to the Bode Dam. Because it was election day, schools were closed. There were plenty of other people out there enjoying the park with us. We had a good time. When we got back to the car, we split up. Danita drove her bike home and I rode mine up Ilchester Hill. Yep, I can still do it.

The neighborhood’s office computers are driving me nuts. I had been letting them go for quite a while. Once I started looking at them, I saw one thing after another. I’ll be going over this afternoon to get a couple of concentrated hours on one vexing issue. There is at least one more issue. The rest should be standard clean-up. It will take several weeks, but only because I don’t want to change too many things at once. We’re looking to see if we can find a helpful professional company to make things work better.

Obnoxious Old Keyboard with Nexus 7 tablet

I wrote some time ago about a tablet / keyboard that was portable enough to fit in a cargo pocket and powerful enough to do anything that’s done on the Internet. The tablet has proved itself. On the other hand, the keyboard has proved itself to be a damned nuisance. I like this keyboard because it doubles as a case. It becomes part of the tablet and the two fit into one pocket. I can even type standing up without a table. I hold the tablet/keyboard in one hand and type with the other. (I know there’s a screen keyboard, but for whatever reason I have not been able to learn to type on it.) Unfortunately, the keyboard is rapidly dying. In the mean time, it ignores key strokes, gives out 6 letters for one keystroke, and in general exhibits extremely obnoxious behaviors. All the other Nexus 7 solutions seem to source the same cheap keyboard.

New not-quite-as-portable keyboard

I found a folding portable Bluetooth keyboard that will arrive this weekend. It has many good points. I have high hopes for it’s longevity and reliability. Typing will be better. Keys are larger, and all the keys are there. (I won’t have to use any multi-press functions to get characters like an apostrophe.) I will still be able to use my tablet as a mini-PC. But the world of mini-keyboards isn’t perfect. The new keyboard is not specifically made for my tablet. It doesn’t double as a case.  It’s a 3-piece solution that takes a few seconds to set up. It will require two of my precious pockets. And it’s just not as portable. I guess the world isn’t perfect yet.

We had planned to attend a dance recital at UMBC last night, but at the last minute we decided to blow it off. We are looking forward to neighborhood concert and deserts this evening.

Next Sunday is Mother’s Day. Danita and I will spend Mother’s day with Julia this year. Bryon’s first communion is Saturday, and there will be a big family party afterwards. I know I will have a good time at the party, because the Reed family is very nice and because we will have great food. Danita is catering the affair. We are driving to Staunton, VA Wednesday afternoon. We stay overnight in Staunton and attend Shakespeare’s “Henry the Fifth”. at the Blackfriars Theatere. Thursday we will drive to NC and visit the grocery store. Friday, Danita will cook all day while the Reeds are at work and the kids are at school. We’ll come home on Monday. It’s nice that we have time to spend a couple of extra days with the Reeds.

That’s enough for this week. I hope everybody is doing well.