Make-Do Technology

This week, today and tomorrow, I am leading an online retreat for the Maryknoll Lay Missioners in Cambodia. We are using Zoom and getting it set up took some doing:

  • My desktop computer has no microphone but I needed to show a PowerPoint from there so I made one Zoom connection with that computer. (I have an external mic for the desktop but it stopped working.)
  • Then I used my smartphone for a second connection for speaking and listening to the group.
  • I needed good background for my presentation so I moved to the end of my desk for the blank wall behind me, and then turned the monitor a bit sideways so I could see it. I couldn’t face the monitor because it put bright reflections on my glasses.
  • Working sideways on my desk, I had no place for the keyboard and mouse so an ironing board became a credenza.
  • I added the table lamp on the desk to help balance the light coming from the windows.
  • Our office wi-fi connection went out so I had to use the data connection on my phone to connect to the Internet. Luckily my data connection here only costs $5 a month.

The setup had its quirks and problems, but in the end we basically got through the two-hour session and hopefully tomorrow it will be easier and smoother.

Two for One

There are about a million different sizes, shapes, and colors for bananas—just not in the United States where Those Who Know have decided that U.S. consumers should be limited mostly to the one type that lives in our supermarkets. One other variation of banana that I had not encountered before establishing domicile outside the U.S. is the twin banana. They probably occur in all varieties all over the world, but probably Those Who Know don’t think they should be allowed to disturb U.S. banana eaters. Twin bananas like the ones above are relatively common here. They taste the same as single bananas but do present a logistical problem because I have to plan to have the second half at the next meal or else have someone with me to eat the twin.

COVID-19 Notes

My sister-in-law Hope Dittmeier is connected with an organization in Louisville, Kentucky called WaterStep which provides equipment for disinfecting surfaces and for water purification. This afternoon I received a shipment of four sets of disinfecting supplies to use in Maryknoll projects here, especially in the hostel for our young deaf adults. It took more than two weeks for the boxes to get here by courier because of the few aircraft flying routes to Cambodia now. Thank you, Hope!