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They added spell check and some other important features today, many of which I have been testing over the last few weeks.
The fun part is that I’ve been included as a contributor!
Here’s the release notes:
https://github.com/OpenLiveWriter/OpenLiveWriter/releases/tag/0.6.0.0
Primiarily, this is a test post, making sure that the latest version didn’t break anything. So far, it is looking good.
I’ve learned a lot about Open Live Writer in writing the test plans. I wasn’t doing half of what it was capable of.
However, I need to learn a lot more.
I will admit I still don’t understand the code yet – but I spent the holiday week creating test plans. I think I have plans for most of the dialog boxes. I had the majority of them in a pull request that was merged this morning. I had a few more that I hadn’t merged yet, but put them in pull requests this morning.
I freely admit that GitHub and I aren’t friends, but we’re talking. I don’t entirely understand the process but I am getting there, thus I don’t trust it yet.
Give me another week and I think I will be more comfortable with it.
I haven’t had to do a lot with source control. I have source control setup on my local server, but it’s Subversive which is a good way to start.
I’ve always had a bit of trouble wrapping my head around source control, I love it, but I’ve come late to the party.
So as I’ve blogged before, I’m working on an Open Source project. Right now, I’d doing what I do best, doing error checking, writing test plans, and documentation. I’ve even looked into some code.
I’m proud of myself as I have been able to create my own branches, add test plans, and consolidate the branches. When the other people get back from their breaks, I’ll do another push. I’ve done two pushes so far that have been accepted the project.
I mentioned a group the other day that retirement was hard. Here’s the deal. I didn’t plan retiring – and I still have a really cool part time job doing exactly what I like. The bonus is that I can do it anywhere I have good internet access – though that can be a problem traveling.
I didn’t plan retiring, it kind of just happened. I was removed from my classroom because of a classroom management issue. It was supposed to be investigated, but it never was. It had been I would have been cleared.
I decided to go back into the technology space, and did. Quite successfully. Unfortunately Google bought the company out, and afterwards, just didn’t find what I wanted to do full time.
It was okay though because my husband had to have brain surgery and recover from a brain injury. Being between jobs was great, because I had to get him to rehab most of the time. It would have been really hard if I had to work full time. As it was, I was able to increase my part time hours.
Once he recovered and had been back on the job for several months, and I’d gone through the interview process a few times, we decided that my retiring wasn’t a bad thing. I am eligible for full retirement from teaching on December 31, including insurance, so that’s where I am going.
The income is less than half of what I was making as a teacher, but that’s okay too. I don’t have quite the expenses, I put a lot of money in my classroom, especially for robotics.
The question is what do you do with yourself? Especially since I have a pretty good education.
I’ve explored a lot of options – being a volunteer teacher didn’t work out – having someone who hasn’t been in the classroom since high school trying to tell me what to do wasn’t good.
Right now though, I’m in a really good place.
I get to do the very thing I’ve been passionate about for years – teach computer science and web design to talented and gift students – Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth.
I am doing my own version of Extreme Makeup Weight Loss. First, it isn’t extreme. I have memberships at Planet Fitness and Sunstone FIT (which is a Yoga/Exercise studio) and the local pool. I’m doing things at my own pace and feel good.
I’m a patient at Baylor Dental College, which so far is working out. I have appointments in January with the graduate school and with a regular student. Already my mouth is better – they got me to go back to a local dentist change and have a crown fixed which makes my bite better.
I’m currently working on an open source project and I’ve already contributed to it in a small way. It’s one of my favorite programs, and Open Live Writer.
Patiently waiting for the retirement insurance and pay checks.
Oh, and an official retirement party is happening on January 15th, Blue Mesa at Northwest Highway.
Of course, if the absolute right gig would come knocking on the door, I would be all over it. I do enjoy having my own full paycheck. The last job was great – 15 minutes from the house, attached to the local mall.
I found a typo in the FAQs while looking through the documentation. Reported and it got fixed. Something I’d liked to start getting involved in.
Also want to start working on code. Would love to see a mobile version too.
I found my first issue when I set up my blog. It might be related to another issue, but not sure. Then I spotted the typo so reported it first.
Feels good to have Open Live Writer up and feeling like I am contributing in some small way.
I took advantage of a couple of CyberMonday opportunities and the Medtronics Connect device was one of them.
Since I’m an avowed Windows girl, it is a big awkward but works. I do have a iPod Touch, and am using it to upload my data. I can keep it in my bag, attached to a portable charger and use the hotspot on my phone.
I really wish they would create a Windows Phone app – or let me.
I wish they also had more than CGMS data uploading. I’d like to be able to see everything on the Connect app and website that you can see on the pump.
Not bad though, for a release 1.0
Oh, and the diabetes dog still works better – if she is relaxed, my blood sugar is just fine.
It is taking me quite a while to get here — and I'm not completely retired — I have a really cool part time job.
I'm still working for Johns Hopkins — I've been with them over a year and in fact am taking my first vacation from them — will have a sub for three days. I teach 5 courses for them:
It's interesting — most of the time I average about an hour a day but it is seven days a week. In the summer it frequently went up to 5 hours a day, but not every day.
I have one web client who I host and do her web design for her. I also consult with her on a regular basis on the best way to do her business with a computer.
I have another client who swears she needs help with a web site I set up for her a couple of summers ago, but she updates it just fine.
I also do computer stuff for a non-profit — we raise money for beagle rescue. That's been a lot of fun and I recently did a project for them that was fun, I'll do again, but would do it a lot differently.
I'm doing very little face to face tutoring. In fact, I've turned the inactive flag on and I'm really only working with one student – but I think she's coming to the same place I am.
A lot of my recent experiences have shown me what not to do.
My last paid gig was working on a mobile payment app which I loved the work, but not the people so much. I've done quite a few job interviews since and I'm completely over that.
That whole job interview stress thing is why I'm not into the face-to-face tutoring — that whole getting to know new people and trying to please them — yeah, I'm over wanting to do that.
I'm also not into teaching people I don't know for free. Tried that one day but the biggest problem with that was the person I was working with was too controlling. Seriously: someone who hasn't gone to one college class is trying to tell a person with a master's degree in education and 20+ years of experience how and what to do?
I'm certainly into working with someone I know to set up a website they can update. I'm even into do a flat page thing and hosting it, like I do for the one client. But doing that full time, not really into that at all. If I know you and you want to learn something from me — hey, ask, I'll probably make the time and probably won't even charge.
My next explorations include learning how to do Windows 10 things and how to do mobile responsive websites, starting with my own.
And teaching for Johns Hopkins.
I'm on the board of the American Beagle Relief Fund. We raise money to support rescues who rescue beagles.
I found TechSoup, because I was looking for non-profit hosting for Microsoft's Office 365 program. Which rocks by the way.
TechSoup listed GoDaddy as a non-profit supporter so I signed up for their free web hosting. It took awhile to get all the paper work going, but I got a call this evening from one of their management people.
He had setup everything for me and we're up and running with the non-profit under it's own GoDaddy account and hosting.
Everything bad I've thought of GoDaddy just got erased.
#IStandWithAhmed
RANT MODE ON -
Deeply Edited most of the caffeine has left the brain.
Dang, You go out of town for a few days and the next door neighborhood goes nuts.
I'm on the Irving cop side. They aren't the bad guys in this at all. Irving has always had cool cops, especially when Aubrey Hawkins was there. He'd had stood up with Ahmed. He was an amateur radio operator and he would have built that. But most cops aren't Aubrey.
Most cops on the force are guys whose going to go with the principal. But cuffing 14 year old kids that aren't fighting isn't.
Back in the day when I was writing K9 Police protocols and policy I learned this is all wrong. Now to cuff Ahmed, they have to have probable cause that he was going to harm someone. I don't think they had probable cause. They had a box of junk.
Here's who is wrong:
The first teacher who saw the device. I seriously went through this time and time again. Kid brings me something to show me, heck Jay Urish did it all the time. He'd bring me a new ham radio (well, new old one), and I would admire the piece and then gently say:
"Jay, I don't want anything to happen to that. We're putting in the closet, it's right here. Here's a note in case I get called away so the custodian will give it back if I get called away."
Then I'd write him a pass to come to me at the end of the day, and a note to get him if he didn't come.
PROBLEM SOLVED!
The next person is the principal. He is supposed to be acting in loco parentis. Which simply means acting in the absence of the parent.
That principle should know his kids. If he doesn't know his kids that school is too big. We had a nice small school and the luxury of principals who had come from elementary. Every principal in that school knew our kids, especially the frequent flyers.
Ahmed is NOT a frequent flyer.
I stand with Ahmed.