New Laptop, New Problems, Possible Solutions…

After having issues with my Open Live Writer Application I resorted to using Google Blogger's service to publish the last two blogs. I did so because for some reason my photos quit showing up in Open Live writer once published.

We weren’t doing much more here in Mesa Arizona that I had already mentioned so I paused blogging because of the issues with Open Live writer and I also was having issues with my laptop keyboard. The space bar would work intermittently making it a pain to pen a new blog.

Then a few days later my laptops screen started acting up until one day I opened it up and the screen was a scramble of lit up pixels and nothing was discernable. Well, that meant it was time to buy a new laptop. Fortunately for me Best Buy had one that suited my needs for a 50% discounted price.

Now all I had to do was get everything off my old laptop’s hard drive. I took the back cover off to get to the hard drive so I could remove it and read it with a cable adapter I own that reads older hard drives. However, little did I know that this hard drive was the type that is hard waited to the motherboard. This SSD hard drive is nothing more than a small circuit board.

With a little research I found a device at Amazon designed to read such drives. For less than twenty dollars I was able to read the drive and retrieve all my files. Now all I had to do was install all my software on the new laptop.

However as we all know those of us he have dealt with Open Live Writer and new laptops know how tricky it is to get Open Live Writer installed and working as we want. Well, my new laptop is configured now and this will be a test post to see how it works.

NOTE: Adding this Java script:to the template for Open Live Writer forces a page refresh that loads the image. Not a perfect solution but one that works.

<script type="text/javascript">
//Get all the doc img
var imgs=document.getElementsByTagName('img');
//Defines
const srcA='drive.google.com/uc?id=';
const srcB='drive.usercontent.google.com/download?id=';
const srcBRemove='&authuser=0';
const targ='drive.google.com/thumbnail?id=';
const suf='&sz=w200';
function reWriteIMG()
{
//loop though the img if it contains the index of the string to replace
for (var i= 0; i < imgs.length; i++)
  {
  if (imgs[i].src.indexOf(srcA) > -1 )
     {
     imgs[i].src=imgs[i].src.replace(srcA, targ) + suf;
     }
  else
     {
     if (imgs[i].src.indexOf(srcB) > -1 )
        {
        tmp = imgs[i].src.replace(srcBRemove, '');
        tmp = tmp.replace(srcB, targ) + suf;
        imgs[i].src = tmp;
        }    
     }
   }
}
setTimeout(reWriteIMG, 5000);
</script>

Granite Reef Recreational Area, AZ

 

Near our park is another wonderful stunning natural landscape located in the Tonto National Forest in Arizona. A mere 15minute drive from our park we find ourselves in the Granite Reef Recreational Area. 

The area is best known for its access to the Salt River, where we often see people picnicking, kayaking, or fishing. The river is always flowing giving us an ideal place to escape our citified enclave or the Arizona heat.

We generally bird/hike one of the several trails within the park most often choosing the riverside ones..Across the river from Granite Reef Rec Area is the beautiful Red Mountain along with breathtaking views of other surrounding mountains.The river reflections of these mountains are also stunning. We love to visit after colder weather blows through as we can take pictures of the mountains with snow atop them.

The park is also a gateway to some nice desert hiking. We have hiked several of the trails near this area amongst the saguaros and other cacti typical of the Sonoran desert.

Birding the area means you will see various birds typical of riparian zones, deserts and open water. Ducks are always abundant on Salt River and near the dam which  can be accessed from one of the trails. This is a great spot for taking in nature and enjoying the great Arizona outdoors.