Monthly Archives: December 2013

My Verizon Boomer Voices Farewell Tour

31 Tuesday Dec 2013

Posted by in Product Reviews, What's the Buzz?

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Disclosure: I am participating in the Verizon Boomer Voices program and will be provided with a wireless device and six months of service in exchange for my honest opinions about the product.

Disclosure: I am participating in the Verizon Boomer Voices program and will be provided with a wireless device and six months of service in exchange for my honest opinions about the product.

Today is my last day as a member of the Verizon Boomer Voices program. I feel as though I should go out with a song—you know, something by the Verizon Boomer Voices—that great girl group that used to record on the Motorolatown label. (That’s borrowed from a joke I cracked at our dinner in Chicago on the 95th floor of the John Hancock Tower.) Envision 16 midlife bloggers from across the Midwest, dressed in spangley gowns and performing synchronized, rhythmic hand gestures while holding a variety of mobile devices.

Dinner at Coco Pazzo Cafe with some of the Verizon Boomer Voices gang.

Dinner at Coco Pazzo Cafe in Chicago with some of the Verizon Boomer Voices gang. I’m at the far left.

What a ride this was. From those intense training sessions in Chicago at the start of the program in June, to testing the DROID RAZR MAXX HD and the FitBit, to my house party in October, to the finale—my great, big raffle earlier in December—the experience has been extraordinary. I’ve had fun, elbowed my way out of my technology comfort zone, and made a rebellious decision.

In June 2014, when my contract with AT&T ends, I’m jumping over to Verizon Wireless. Why? Because it’s a phenomenal company with great customer service that just happens to have the fastest 4G LTE network around. And although I no longer live in Oberlin, Ohio, I still visit my old college town fairly frequently. AT&T’s service there has always been spotty at best. It will be a relief to enjoy social media with my coffee at the Black River Café!

Verizon Wireless surprised my program colleagues and me in November by sending us each a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 to test. As you might recall, I fractured my foot around that time; I wasn’t in much of a mood, therefore, to go exploring new technology, especially since I was ingesting some powerful pain meds.

BrokenFootNote3Fear not, dear readers. I found a workaround to the dilemma that pleased my husband to no end. I gave him the device as an early Christmas present, and to thank him for being such an incredible tower of strength and support during my time on the injured list.

I think of the Galaxy Note 3 as a phone masquerading as a tablet. John had recently acquired a tablet, but he quickly abandoned it favor of the Note 3.

He’s come a long way since the day I first met him, checking his email on his Blackberry. When that conked out, I gave him an old iPhone of mine to use so he could discover the joys of the touch screen.

Now, after using the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, he’s an Android convert. He likes the Note 3 better than the iPhone, and certainly more than he liked his tablet. “It offers all the advantages of the tablet, but it fits neatly in my hand,” he says.

He finds reading a breeze on the Note 3, since the standard text is, he says, “comfortably sized,” and the retina quality display is “easy on the eyes. Samsung has made the most of the viewing surface.”

He also finds the built-in app that allows him to accept Microsoft Office docs  “very useful.” If the developers really want to send him over the moon, they’ll devise a way for the Note 3 to launch a new MS Office program. A frequent flier, John often works on the plane; this way, he says, he’ll no longer have to bruise the shins of the unlucky passenger seated in front of him while grappling to remove his laptop from his briefcase.

His favorite feature, though, is the snooze button on the alarm.

He does have one minor quibble, and I’ll let him tell you:

The developers have built-in a small quick-view tab that remains on the left of the screen to allow the user to access folders and other frequently used apps. Because it is always there, the small part of the screen that it occupies covers up areas of games that are occasionally important to see. Although this is a nuisance (I have yet to find a help topic that will allow me to hide it), overall I’m very happy with the Note 3 and plan on making it the only companion to my laptop.

For an executive who travels a lot, this is high praise.

I want to thank Verizon Wireless for sending me such a fabulous mobile device, thus solving my Christmas-shopping dilemma at a time when I can barely leave the house. I also want to thank them for inviting me to be part of this incredible program. I’ve learned so much, and made many wonderful new friends. To all of them—and to you, my loyal readers—a very Happy New Year!

From the Verizon Boomer Voices Greatest Hits album…

Do DROIDS Dream of Electric Sheep?

Do Advertisers Care what Boomers Think?

DROID’S RAZR MAXX HD Vs. the iPhone

FitBit Fits the Bill, I’ll Fit in New Dress

Whad’ya Know About Verizon Wireless?

Is it Better to Give than to Receive? Find Out with this Verizon Wireless Raffle.

The First Winner of the Verizon Wireless Raffle …

The Second Winner of the Verizon Wireless Raffle is …

And the Grand Prize Winner of the Verizon Wireless Raffle is …

How I Learned to Stop Worrying (Sort of) and Love the DROID. And yet …

In Memoriam: Seamus Heaney, and Other Writers we Lost in 2013

29 Sunday Dec 2013

Posted by in The Writing Life

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A prized possession: a first-edition copy of Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney's poetry, inscribed to me.

A  first-edition copy of the Nobel laureate’s poetry, inscribed to me: “To Marci—well met in Oberlin. Seamus Heaney”

I thought about writing the standard New Year’s Eve fare this year, illustrated with balloons and noisemakers, and festooned with streamers of resolutions. In a contemplative mood, I even toyed with the idea of riffing on the word “resolution” to see where the associations might take me. (You know: “I’m a writer. I resolve to write every day without fail.” That sort of thing.) But my contemplative mood took an unexpected turn. I pulled this copy of Seamus Heaney’s poems down from my shelf, and began thinking about the writers we lost this past year.

Seamus Heaney, awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995, died on August 30. I met him in the late 1980s; he had come to present a lecture and reading at Oberlin College, where I was a student majoring in English. (A “specialization” within the major allowed me to take creative writing workshops, where I could concentrate on my own poetry.) Members of the English and creative writing faculties were entertaining the “greatest Irish poet since Yeats” at a dinner preceding his lecture. To my astonishment and eternal gratitude, my poetry professor invited me to join them. I was the only student there.

What do I remember of that dinner? There were perhaps six of us, seated at a round table in a windowed corner of the Oberlin Inn. I remember drinking a glass of white wine with whatever it was that I ate. Seamus Heaney regaled us with wonderful stories. Another of my professors talked about reading Danté in the Italian with an esteemed emeritus.

You have to remember: I was an older student, probably 31 or 32. My parents never went to college. I hadn’t even read an English translation of Danté yet. But one thing was clear to me: I had come a long way from the darkened movie theater where I saw Educating Rita and resolved to return to school.

My professor had told Seamus Heaney something of my story: married student with a young son, commuting every day to classes from a neighboring town, writing poetry that they all thought showed promise. I know this because at the book signing following the lecture, the greatest Irish poet since Yeats told me. “I think what you’re doing is wonderful,” he said. And then he signed two books for me.

Rest in peace, Seamus Heaney. I hope you’re enjoying many fine meals in the sweet hereafter, and that Yeats and Danté are among your table companions.

In Memoriam

Chinua Achebe, Nigerian author

Iain Banks, Scottish writer

Dr. Joyce Brothers, psychologist and author

Carolyn Cassady, writer

Tom Clancy, best-selling military novelist

Janet Dailey, romance writer

Roger Ebert, film critic and journalist

Syd Field, author of books on screenwriting

Rev. Andrew Greeley, best-selling author and columnist

Marcella Hazan, cookbook author

Seamus Heaney, Irish poet, Nobel Laureate

Oscar Hijuelos, Pulitzer Prize winning Cuban-American novelist

Peter Kaplan, editor, New York Observer

Elmore Leonard, best-selling crime novelist

Doris Lessing, novelist, essayist, poet, Nobel Laureate

Albert Murray, novelist and critic

Alvaro Mutis, Columbian writer and poet

Ahmed Fouad Negm, Egyptian poet

Barbara Park, children’s book author

Ida Pollock, romance novelist

Lou Reed, songwriter, singer, musician

Andre Schiffrin, editor

Mary Thom, feminist, writer, editor

Ned Vizzini, YA author

Bernard Waber, children’s author

Colin Wilson, British author

How I Learned to Stop Worrying (Sort of) and Love the DROID. And yet …

26 Thursday Dec 2013

Posted by in Product Reviews, Technology

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The DROID RAZR HD's "self-portrait-by-screenshot"

The DROID RAZR HD’s “self-portrait-by-screenshot”

Disclosure: I am participating in the Verizon Boomer Voices program and have been provided with a wireless device and six months of service in exchange for my honest opinions about the product.

When I was younger I was a worrier. Now this might run counter to most people’s experiences, but I’ve found that the older I get, the less I worry. Maybe it has something to do with the wisdom that accrues with age. Or maybe it comes with the realization that in my life’s narrative arc—divorce and cancer being two notable plot points—anything else is small potatoes. (I’m not thinking of the global concerns that keep me—and you too, I suspect—up at night, but that’s fodder for another post.)

In my own little corner of the world, I have learned to let go, explore, and question old habits. Take my iPhone habit, for example. I’ve been a Mac girl ever since my first Apple desktop back in the 1980s, and I can state, unequivocally, that I’ll never trade in my Mac for a PC. But after three months of testing the DROID RAZR MAXX, I have to admit that I seriously thought about trading in my iPhone for the DROID.

Thought about it…agonized over it…but ultimately decided that although I’ve kinda sorta stopped worrying about the DROID, and can say in all honesty that I do love it, I’m not in love with it. You know what I mean?

In an earlier post on this topic, I said the clincher for me would be cost and security, and I promised to write one more post on the DROID to let you know how this all settled out for me. So let’s talk.

The DROID lists for $199.99 But then so does the iPhone 5S (at least, the one with the least amount of horsepower—16 GB). To lock in the price for both, one must commit to a two-year contract with a wireless provider such as Verizon, AT&T, or Sprint.

As for the new low-cost option Apple released this year, the plasticized iPhone 5C with a list price of $99.99 plus a two-year contract, I say good. Those who have longed for an iPhone but couldn’t afford one are benefiting from Apple’s decision to enter the lower-end market. It’s not for me, but I like that it exists.

As for contracts: I’ll have a word or two about wireless providers in my final wrap-up post for the Verizon Boomer Voices program, so look for that in the coming days.

Back to my comparison exercise. With cost eliminated as a factor, we’re left with security. And this is where I do sleep better at night with the iPhone.

Apple is famous (some might say notorious) for its closed operating system, which limits the seemingly endless opportunities presented by software designers who are free to contribute to Google’s Android system. That’s why the DROID can practically butter your toast for you. But what the iPhone lacks in options, it makes up for in security. According to a recent article in the MIT Technology Review, a study at North Carolina State University revealed that “changes manufacturers made to the stock Android software were responsible for more than 60 percent of the security flaws uncovered in phones from different handset companies.”

In years of using an iPhone—indeed, in years of using a Mac—I’ve never once experienced a security issue. Malware and viruses were things that happened to other people. That means something to me. One could say that with Apple, security derives from simplicity.

In design and functionality, the DROID lacks that elegant simplicity. Because the DROID’s open operating system allows it to do so much more than the iPhone, it arrives with a certain amount of baggage—numerous mysteries to unlock before one can give in to its charms—although the tutorials and videos, accessible from the DROID’s Help icon, are a nice touch. Some of that baggage, however, includes the risk of a security breach. At this stage of my life, I just don’t need the hassle.

So there you have it. I’m staying with my iPhone. But I was thrilled to have had the chance to experience the Android operating system, and for that I have Verizon Wireless to thank. As for those of you who want help buttering your toast, I am happy to recommend the DROID RAZR MAXX HD. It’s really a cool, fun phone.

PREVIOUS TMSW POSTS ON THIS TOPIC:

“Do DROIDS Dream of Electric Sheep?”

“DROIDS RAZR MAXX HD Vs. the iPhone”

Disclosure: I am participating in the Verizon Boomer Voices program and will be provided with a wireless device and six months of service in exchange for my honest opinions about the product.

From my Home to Yours, Happy Holidays!

24 Tuesday Dec 2013

Posted by in House and Garden, Special Events

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Rich_FullMoonChristmascrpd

Photo credit: John Rich

By the light of the silvery (full) moon earlier this month, I wish you and yours a happy holiday and a joyous new year!

And the Grand Prize Winner of the Verizon Wireless Drawing is …

20 Friday Dec 2013

Posted by in Giveaways, Product Reviews, Technology, What's the Buzz?

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Ellipsis7WinnerWish I had a sound file of a drum roll for this. I’m pleased to announce that the grand prize winner of this week’s Verizon Wireless drawing—the lucky individual who will receive the Verizon Wireless Ellipsis™ 7, is:

Julie Phelps of Massachusetts

Julie, your tablet is on its way to you, along with a SIM card and a few other goodies from Verizon Wireless and me. Not sure it will reach you before Christmas, since there’s a lot of traffic out there what with Santa’s reindeer and his massive fleet of UPS trucks. Nevertheless, you and Patricia Craven (winner of the Mophie Juice Pack Power Station) and Shawna Elkins (winner of the Mini Jambox by JawBone), definitely have something wonderful in store.

My heartfelt thanks to all of you who entered the drawing through the blog, the Midlife Second Wife’s Facebook page, and on Twitter. And a special thanks to Verizon Wireless for being such a phenomenal brand partner for the last six months. My time with them is drawing to a close, but I’ll be back here in a week or so with some closing thoughts on the experience.

Happy weekend, everyone!

Disclosure: I am participating in the Verizon Boomer Voices program and will be provided with a wireless device and six months of service in exchange for my honest opinions about the product.

Disclosure: I am participating in the Verizon Boomer Voices program and will be provided with a wireless device and six months of service in exchange for my honest opinions about the product.

The Second Winner of the Verizon Wireless Raffle is…

19 Thursday Dec 2013

Posted by in Giveaways, Product Reviews, Technology, What's the Buzz?

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MophieWinnerLadies and gentlemen, the plot thickens in the exciting cliffhanger known as “Who Won Those Three Amazing Devices?” in the Verizon Wireless raffle. The drawing was held Wednesday, Dec. 18, and I’m delighted to announce that the person who can expect delivery of the Mophie Juice Pack Powerstation is …

Patricia Craven of Connecticut

Congratulations, Patricia! Your prize will be shipped soon, along with a few other goodies from Verizon Wireless and me. Thanks very much for entering the drawing!

Now, for those of you playing along at home, that means there’s one prize left—the The Verizon Wireless Ellipsis™ 7. But you’ll have to check back here tomorrow to find out the winner!

My heartfelt thanks to all of you who entered the drawing! And there were a lot of you!

Disclosure: I am participating in the Verizon Boomer Voices program and will be provided with a wireless device and six months of service in exchange for my honest opinions about the product.

Disclosure: I am participating in the Verizon Boomer Voices program and will be provided with a wireless device and six months of service in exchange for my honest opinions about the product.

The First Winner of the Verizon Wireless Raffle…

18 Wednesday Dec 2013

Posted by in Giveaways, Product Reviews, Technology, What's the Buzz?

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JawboneWinnerI held the drawing this afternoon to select the winners of three amazing devices from Verizon Wireless. Because I suspect you all love suspense as much as I do, I’m going to announce the prizewinners individually over the next day or so.

This evening, I’m happy to announce that the winner of the MiniJambox™ by Jawbone is …

Shawna Elkins of West Virginia

Congratulations, Shawna! Your prize will be shipped to you soon, along with a few other goodies from Verizon Wireless and yours truly. Thanks so much for entering!

Check back later for news about the other two winners!

Disclosure: I am participating in the Verizon Boomer Voices program and will be provided with a wireless device and six months of service in exchange for my honest opinions about the product.

Disclosure: I am participating in the Verizon Boomer Voices program and will be provided with a wireless device and six months of service in exchange for my honest opinions about the product.

Greetings, Midlife Friends!

17 Tuesday Dec 2013

Posted by in Humor Me, Special Events, The Life Poetic

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HollyDecember is here, and so time again
For season’s greetings to fine blogger friends.
A new group in town—this is no canard—
Broke ground along Midlife Boulevard.

With style and wit (but no fountain pen),
On bandwidth they ply their acumen.
For editors Mesdames Greenthal and Parris,
I bestow a day off with Bueller, Ferris.

Oh, the places they’ll go! The things they will see!
As they ride alongside that blonde, Shelley Z.
There to help them avoid a hazardous turn
Are Vikki Claflin and Jessica Bern.

May they shop ‘til they drop on Avenue Worth
(Laughing heartily with these ladies of mirth:
Tracy Beckerman, Jane Emaus, Barb Best, Tammy Bleck)
Let’s all end the night at a fun discotheque!

All roads lead to Rome (or New York or Boston),
So let’s give some plane tickets to Karen Austin.
When she arrives she’ll have fun pallin’
With Laurel Regan and Sandra Sallin.

Don’t look now (I said please don’t look)
But huddled together in a quiet nook,
And dining intime in this posh galleria,
Are Lisa Carpenter and Andy Garcia.

Oh my, Grandma! I best be brief
So as not to disturb your aperitif.
Far be it from me to annoy and to pester.
I’ll just go sit by my friend Cathy Chester.

We’ve much shopping to do, anyhow, anyway,
For Princess Rosebud and Judy Rothman Rofé.
Seashells for one, madeleines for the other.
For Risa Nye, a song sung by Usher.

What shall we buy Evelyn Kalinosky?
(And what shall we rhyme? Why, I know! Brioschi!)
May Evelyn never encounter distress.
But instead whirl around in a Furstenberg dress!

Here is my gift for the writer Jane Gassner:
A peck on the check from the actor Ed Asner,
May he star in a screenplay written by Jane,
Produced by our own Kim Jorgensen Gane.

And while we’re back on the subject of actors,
Let us take time to note an important factor:
Before there is acting there must be the word.
Actors are not just seen, they must also be heard.

So for blogger Mary Anne Tuggle Payne,
I’ve ordered a snuggle from Eddie Redmayne.
And a prayer for Barbara Hannah Grufferman,
That she’ll not find herself Waiting for Guffman.

But adieu, Hollywood, because we’ve a lotta
Travelin’ to do with Mindy Klapper Trotta.
We’ll head to Europe, but first to Great Britain
Come along, Rosalind Warren and Helene Cohen Bludman!

At Harrod’s we’ll purchase some brilliant bling
For Felice Shapiro and Shelley Emling.
For Ellen Dolgen, great closets of shoes.
Your usual suspects: Manolos and Choos.)

When dining in London, rare Beef Wellington
For Julie Phelps and Mary Dell Harrington.
In Italy we can’t forget the other Lisas—
Heffernan, Flowers, and Froman—we’ll order you pizzas!

Here’s haute couture from Paris
For Estelle Sobel Erasmus,
And Belgium chocolate, rich and dark,
for our idol, Lois Alter Mark.

P.K. Fields says that our time is now,
So to her a gold Rolex—oh golly! Oh wow!
Oh WHOA! When what do my wondering eyes appear,
Darryle Pollack and Lynn Forbes—they’re here!

They’re here! Their network’s a hit. (Have you seen it?)
Great chatter, great topics. (Proud to have been on it.)
To this dynamic duo we bestow
Two life-size Golden Globes.

Hard to carry around, but hey, what the hay?
YOLO, you know? Or so they say.
For the gentle and kind Lori Lavender Luz,
We’ve booked passage on a Viking River Cruise.

For intrepid traveler Carol Cassara,
An exquisitely jeweled ruby tiara.
And for Judy Krell Freedman and Sheryl Kraft,
A grand yacht apiece, complete with life rafts.

For the writer with the wondrous surname—
Barbara Storey—an inextinguishable flame.
And to she who won’t lean-in—Julie Danis—
I wish joy in her new-found work-and-life balance.

To all of the bloggers and writers called here,
I send you glad tidings and eggnog and cheer!
To those I forgot, I hope you’ll forgive
The poetic lapse in my narrative.

We’ll do this again in two thousand fourteen,
So I’ll see you back here midst the red and the green.
And my readers and followers, you know who you are,
Peace, love, and joy on your own boulevard.

To read the holiday poem from 2012, click here.

Is it Better to Give than to Receive? Find Out with this Verizon Wireless Raffle.

11 Wednesday Dec 2013

Posted by in Giveaways, Product Reviews, Technology

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Tickets in a basketOne of my favorite books when I was just learning to read was Joan Walsh Anglund’s beautifully illustrated Christmas is a Time of Giving. I also loved O. Henry’s short story The Gift of the Magi. I’m sure that the sentiments expressed in those pages set me up for a lifetime of loving to give presents. This holiday season, I’m honored to have a little help from Verizon Wireless as I put on my Santa suit.

My time as a member of the Verizon Boomer Voices program is drawing to a close. To celebrate a collegial and successful partnership, and to thank you for following my adventures in technology, I’m giving you a special holiday present: the chance to win one of three phenomenal mobile devices, courtesy of Verizon Wireless.

Disclosure: I am participating in the Verizon Boomer Voices program and will be provided with a wireless device and six months of service in exchange for my honest opinions about the product.

Disclosure: I am participating in the Verizon Boomer Voices program and will be provided with a wireless device and six months of service in exchange for my honest opinions about the product.

Without further ado, here is the first item offered through my raffle: The Verizon Wireless Ellipsis™ 7, a portable full-feature tablet available exclusively by Verizon and its fast 4G LTE network.

vzellipse_tableThe Ellipsis features a 7-inch HD display, ample battery life, and a 1.2GHz quad core processor that lets you easily switch from e-books to games to email. Here are some qualities that make the Ellipsis a perfect gift:

• It allows you to seamlessly balance your personal and professional life. Read emails, download documents and files, manage calendars, and sync your contacts easily so you can stay productive on your next adventure.

• It enables you to share photos, videos, contacts.

• It helps you stay connected with the enriched features of Verizon Messages.

• It provides an array of preloaded apps that bring you custom radio and the latest games and movies on demand, including the Amazon Kindle app and Redbox Instant by Verizon. (Redbox Instant allows you to stream your favorite movies or find the closest Redbox kiosk, where you can pick up new releases on DVD.)

Behind “Door Number Two” we have the MiniJambox™ by Jawbone. (And if you caught that reference be sure to say so in your comment on the blog! See rules below for details.)

The MiniJambox by Jawbone brings beautiful, wireless sound to any experience via Bluetooth or a 3.5 millimeter stereo cable. Completely portable, it’s small enough to fit into a pocket or a clutch purse. In fact, it rather looks like a clutch purse, doesn’t it?

mini_jamboxThe MiniJambox comes with up to 10 hours of built-in rechargeable battery life. You can customize and personalize it with the Jawbone app. A built-in speakerphone even lets you take calls on the go.

Finally, here for your raffling pleasure is the Mophie Juice Pack Powerstation. With a quick-charging 4,000 mAh external battery, this handy device was designed to provide rapid charging. The Powerstation can switch between 500 mA, 1 amp, or 2.1 amps, giving you high-output power for just about any USB-charged device. Its compact, lightweight design makes it easy to carry, and it works with a range of devices—smartphones, tablets, and portable gaming systems.

vz_power_stationOkay now. Are you ready to play? Here are the details on how to enter this amazing raffle:

Leave a relevant comment on this post, tweet about this giveaway (if you follow me on Twitter, retweeting this post will count as an entry!), or leave a comment on the Midlife Second Wife’s Facebook page.

If you tweet or retweet, be sure my Twitter handle is included: @midlife2wife. That way I’ll be sure to see your activity.

The more comments and tweets the better, so by all means feel free to leave more than one. The deadline to enter is 12 o’clock noon (Eastern Time) on Wednesday, December 18, 2013.

I will have Colin, my intern, select product winners from the different platforms on the afternoon of December 18. You have just one week to fill my inbox with comments, tweets, and Facebook notes! One prize per person and three prizes to be given away, along with a few extra swag-bag goodies for each winner. For shipping purposes, I must have a U.S. address to send the items.

I’ll announce the winners here on the blog.

Thanks again for reading, for following, and for entering the raffle. May you be one of the lucky winners!