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Every day I take a 45-minute walk around my neighborhood, and the last few months I have noticed something rather curious. Every week or two I walk past a car parked in the street with someone just sitting in it, often reading a book. I don’t strike up a conversation because they seem totally engrossed in their pursuit, and pointedly sealed into their metal and glass capsule. Maybe they seek solace from the kids? The spouse? Loud music? Inner demons? Not really sure. Regardless of where you choose to read, or why, here are some suggestions y...
You have the advantage over me, Dear Reader. You know how the election turned out. Oh, I have a general idea. As I write this, it is November 4, the day after the election. At this point it looks like Biden is going to edge out Trump, the Senate will remain in Republican hands, and the Democrats will hang onto the House. I was waiting until today, when I thought I would know who won, to write my Senior Voice column. I expected that the Democrats would most likely control both houses of...
Q. My computer slows down the longer I use it. A restart will make it better for an hour, but I fear this problem will get worse. A. Computers slow down for many reasons. When a computer slows down, it generally means a resource is constrained. The most serious constraint is a nearly full disk drive. Every drive needs local storage to grow, and a too-full drive can cause slowing just as you describe. A good rule of thumb for drives is to avoid using the last 20 percent of free space. If the drive is not full, the next suspect is random access m...
Editor’s note: The recent death of former Anchorage borough mayor and long-time community booster Jack Roderick brought back lots of memories and stories, including this one from Older Persons Action Group staff worker Sheila Abbott Patterson, whose father worked for Jack loading cargo at the Anchorage airport in the 1950s. Many years later, she herself worked for Jack in publishing, which brought about this story. Alaska in the early 70s, also known known as pre-pipeline. Everything and everyone was high. On optimism as well as trepidation. A...
As we conclude our celebration of LGBT History Month, we must recognize how LGBT history has been told. For decades, the trailblazing work of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) LGBT pioneers has been eclipsed by white and cisgender narratives. Names like Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera have not always been at the forefront of our history. Far too often, we see the practice of whitewashing affect how history is told. This leaves the BIPOC community with the task of undoing this flawed storytelling. They cannot and should not do it...
Thanksgiving means different things to different people. For me as a child growing up in Glennallen, it meant a big turkey dinner that we always ate with just our family of six. Dinner was served at the usual time in the evening because Dad worked at the Copper Valley Electric power plant during the day, even on Thanksgiving. As I got older, I helped more each year with food preparation. We set the table with the real silverware out of the wooden chest, but used our everyday dishes. Most of Mom'...
Technically speaking, Anchorage was born in November 1920. According to information gleaned by the League of Women Voters many years ago, it was eligible to become a first-class city because it had a population in excess of 400 – provided that two-thirds of the voters were ready to assume responsibilities of city government for its 2,500 residents. A group of interested citizens filed a petition with the U.S. District Court at Valdez, which was the headquarters of the Third Judicial Division. T...
With the holidays approaching, seasonal movie favorites will soon be inching their way into television schedules. While considered perennial Christmas entertainment fare, the opening scenes of "Miracle on 34th Street" actually take place at Thanksgiving with the annual Macy's parade. The 1947 movie and Thanksgiving festivities hold special significance for actress Natasha Gregson Wagner. "I don't recall the first time my mother showed me 'Miracle on 34th Street,' but I remember as a child...
How about a novel that features characters "of a certain age"? And how about a book that is entertaining, totally engrossing, and makes you smile at least some of the time? Perhaps something that will help you forget about the depressing news program you just saw? Well then, take a look at these: The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill -- "Laos, 1976: Dr. Siri Paiboun, a 72-year-old medical doctor, has been unwillingly appointed the national coroner of newly-socialist Laos. Though his lab is unde...
The most stubborn myths usually start with a kernel of truth, which is then taken out of context. For instance, this is true: “You can give up to $15,000 away each year, tax-free”. But from that true statement, a number of untrue conclusions have risen up. To start with, this is a true fact only if you’re looking at the federal estate and gift tax. Gifts of up to $15,000 each year don’t count. By the way, this is not $15,000 total from one person; it’s $15,000 from any one person to any one o...
Q. What is the one tech gadget you would miss the most if it were suddenly gone? A. Of all the gadgets I own, the one I use most often in my daily life is the Apple Watch. Here are the highlights: I use the watch to play music and podcasts. At most stores I pay without touching anything by waving my wrist above the card reader. The watch maps my daily walks and measures the distance I travel. When walking, I use the compass and altimeter to get a sense of the landscape. If the watch detected that I suddenly fell and was unable to respond, it...
The misleading ads and distorted facts have not quite hit the level of the 2011 classic “granny off the cliff” political ad where an elderly woman was being foisted from her wheelchair over the edge of a cliff, which then-House Speaker Paul Ryan himself credited for sinking his budget proposal targeting Medicare. But the increasing confusion of information over the future of Social Security (SS) and Medicare has reached fever pitch in the current political environment. Both candidates for president are playing games with the facts. Dem...
"Where have you guys been all week?" our son, Patrick, demanded when I answered the phone one morning back in October 1999. He was calling from his home in Colorado. "We haven't gone anywhere. Why, what's up?" I asked. "I've called three different days, morning, afternoon and evening, and you're never home. I thought something happened to you," he scolded. After we discussed which days and what time of the day, I realized we'd been out of the house on each occasion. In the morning we had gone...
Alaska's governor from 1933 to 1939 believed that more people and more roads would help the territory achieve statehood. And John Weir Troy, who came to Alaska during the gold rush in 1897, thought a larger population and a better road system would help achieve that goal. "More people for Alaska is her greatest need," said the former pack-train worker. "But they won't come, and we could not take care of them if they did, until we have roads to take them to the valleys, hills and mountains where...
When Halloween returns each October, so do the 50-year-old memories for actress Judith O'Dea who starred as Barbra in the 1968 horror classic "Night of the Living Dead" as one of several characters taking refuge in an isolated farmhouse under attack from flesh-eating ghouls. O'Dea remembers watching the film on the big screen for the first time when it premiered in her hometown of Pittsburgh, where the film was also shot, although she recalls identifying more as an audience member than one of...
Al Martinez was a longtime syndicated newspaper columnist. Toward the end of his career, he said that of all the controversial subjects he had written about (including a lot of articles about politics and social turmoil), the column that generated the most angry mail was when he suggested that it was perfectly okay to shave with cold water. I haven’t been writing for the Senior Voice for anywhere near the same length of time, but this is my fifth anniversary column (the Senior Voice staff n...
Q. I have several old computers in my garage that are just taking up space. Before I send them to the recycler, I wonder if there is anything useful I could do with them. A. Working from home and remote learning has increased the demand for computers everywhere. As I have noted before, the fate of old hardware is that it often stops being useful long before it stops operating. Fortunately, there is a whole cottage industry of developers who try to breathe new life into old hardware. Try converting that old computer into a ChromeBook (laptop)...
Major-party presidential candidates Trump and Biden have dramatically different visions for the future on health care issues. So in assessing their policy positions, it's also important to look at actions versus talk. Trump has been president for almost four years; Biden had eight years as vice president under Barack Obama, and before that 36 years in the U.S. Senate. So both have actual records with which we can look at what they've tried to do, versus what they say they plan to do. Here's a...
Social Security’s finances depend largely on payroll taxes, tying the strength of Social Security to the strength of the U.S. economy. The U.S. unemployment rate was more than 13.3% through May. That was worse than the 2009 Great Recession, when the unemployment rate reached a peak of 10.6% in January 2010. With 20.5 million people out of work, combined with a higher number of new claims for benefits as older unemployed workers turn to Social Security, there will be a significant impact on the finances of the Social Security Trust Funds. The d...
Although staying inside may be new, and a bit challenging, to us, it isn't new for our house cats. They know that inside your home is the safest place to be. While finding ways to keep yourself amused at home, how about finding new ways to keep your cat entertained too? Cat trees. An oldie but a goodie, cat trees give cats options and they love options, especially when it comes to feeling safe. A cat tree allows cats to get away from dogs or over-anxious grandkids. Plus, cats like to sit up...
Every woman needs a ladies night out once in a while. I experienced one such evening in the fall of 2004 during the years my husband and I operated Nabesna House Bed and Breakfast out of our home in Slana. To prepare for my time away, I came in from weeding the strawberry patch, took a shower, and carefully remembered not to apply deodorant. Then I drove four miles to my friend's house, parked my car and rode with her to Mentasta Lodge. We looked around and spotted the Mobile Mammogram Unit...
Criminals dabbling in everything from prostitution to bootlegging to gambling flourished in the Alaska territory during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Believing that gold miners and other citizens easily could be parted from their hard-earned income, thugs crossed the border into Alaska when law enforcement in the rest of the United States cracked down on their criminal enterprises. A January 1921 newspaper article from Juneau captured the flavor of the situation: "In anticipation of an influx...
It's a sobering thought for fans of classic film. The passing of Olivia de Havilland in late July, just three weeks after her 104th birthday July 1, represents the loss of the last surviving big-screen legend from Hollywood's Golden Age of the 1930s. While other actors are still with us who were indeed active in film during the 30s, Ms. de Havilland was truly the last A-list star from that era whose name could be bundled with the likes of Bogart, Gable, Hepburn and so many others. They are simpl...
Baseball fans love to nickname things. A home run can be a simple “homer” but it can also be a “tater,” a “dinger,” a “jack” or “going yard”. In fact, there are dozens of nicknames for the baseball fan’s favorite play. One thing nobody in baseball likes to see, however, is a “comebacker”. That’s when the ball is hit directly back at the pitcher. Because the pitcher is off-balance after throwing the ball, he may not have a chance to get his glove up and protect himself, so a comebacker ca...
Q. I can’t print from my laptop computer. When I checked if my HP5255 was connected, I found a printer email address that ended with @hpprint.com. I also do not understand why that address is different than my regular email address. A. I feel your pain. Troubleshooting printer problems is one of the toughest aspects of home computing. Moreover, helping to fix printer problems is hobbled by the fact that everyone’s setup is slightly different. Keep in mind that there are two connections that must both work. The first is the “hardware” connection...
