Hearing aid brands that are made specifically for the iphone

Reply to Ken 82: We're a quarter mile from the edge of the continent...or, that really big antenna, the Pacific Ocean. However, our acreage and the acreage that abuts it on two sides (hundreds of acres total) is mostly old growth spruce, which is damned dense...and wonderful. Although we are so close to the ocean, we're in a small, steep-sided valley; house is at 55' above sea level. There's a Verizon cell tower a mile above us, with a high hill (about 500') between us. The next nearest tower is an AT&T 5 or 6 miles away, and we can get reception by hiking up on the back of our place and pointing the phone in that direction--not at all practical, as that's about a quarter mile away, through thick woods. Before we moved here full time, I kept a "cell phone trail" gouged out, but it was hard to write things down in pouring rain.<g> I've heard that the reason I can't get WiFi with my cell is due to the modem supplied by Charter; their cable provides phone, 'net, and TV (sorta) when there's electricity. There are far better modems available, but I've hesitated to invest in one, fearing that it would only add to the piles of electronic crap that doesn't work here, or work well enough. Believe it or not, here there's zero reception in CITY HALL, unless you have the pw for their WiFi. About half the places in town have zero reception. This is a concept that the techs in the Willamette Valley east of the Coast Range just fail to grasp. No point in asking about providers, as Charter is the only provider available to us (except CenturyLink for phone and 'net, no TV). All you need to do here is mention "Charter" and everyone has multiple stories about the lack of service. Right now, we're waiting for a repairman to rehang the cable, which was torn loose from the house when a tree limb fell across the cable a couple of weeks ago; fortunately, we still have some reception, but I can't drive up the driveway far enough to turn around (really long driveway that crosses a creek, which is flooded much of every winter). It had been three weeks since I'd been able to drive across the creek...and then the cable came down. I'm now parking where the cable crosses from a pole on our property to the house, where the cable hangs down almost to ground level. That does mean that I don't need to carry everything in from the road. Unfortunately, another storm is on the way, so, once the cable's rehung I still may not have use of the driveway.

All sounds glum, but where else would deer come and breathe on the window behind my monitor, begging for me to bring apple slices? Where else could I watch elk graze not 10' from my office window? There's the resident great blue heron, a male egret that's been thinking about living here, and the Canada geese have arrived to nest in the beaver pond between our place and the ocean. We have a great assortment of birds, from a bald eagle to lots of year-round hummingbirds. Every morning, Wiley the limping coyote trots down our one-lane road and then comes back, crosses the creek on the driveway culvert, and hunts pine squirrels in the reeds just past the acre I mow. We also occasionally have coastal black bear and cougar in the woods, as well as the pack of coyotes. The pine squirrels, packrats, and mice I could do without! Nearest neighbors are a quarter mile away, both west and east. Last week was about as cold as it ever gets here: clear, sunny, and down to the low 40s at night. A day over 75 in summer is "red hot." Perfect!

Several years ago, before we moved here full time, a mid-sized tree fell across our electric line. We weren't here. Pacific Power came out, cut the trunk and larger limbs into stove lengths and stacked them beside the driveway, hauled all the small stuff away. No extra charge.

When, after two hours of trying, I finally got through to Charter about the limb on our cable, the first thing they told me to do was to call a landscaper to remove the limb!!!! I told them to forget that, I'd move it myself (good firewood anyway). What a difference in service!

The annoyances of living in a fairly remote area (except for weekends and late summer when the "flatlanders" arrive by the tens of thousands) is more than offset by the wild creatures that visit here every day. Living here, you learn that waiting in line while the checker talks to a customer about her grandkids may slow things down, but it's just one sign of how friendly everyone is. When a forest fire (at the beach...unbelievable) struck almost five months ago, nearly everyone pitched in to help the nearly 300 who lost everything. As a result, people are working to clear their own lots of debris, and volunteers have appeared to take down huge dead trees, cut up metal debris, haul bags of ash and metal debris to the dump, reconnect water service, and provide temporary electric service. Less than three months after the fire, a few families were back living on their own land, albeit in travel trailers or campers. Recently, the first new modular homes have arrived. Some of us provide hot lunch every day for everyone working or volunteering...at one point, I was cooking for 100 every weekend day! You wouldn't find this kind of help from strangers in any city! Those of us who were evacuated but had homes to return to know that we were very fortunate, so the least we can do is pitch in wherever we can help.

Thanks to living in a home that I paid off nearly 60 years ago, I didn't need stimulus money last summer,,,or now. Several of us are giving back all the stimulus by feeding people or donating where it's most needed. Much more satisfying than buying something I really don't need!

Several years ago, before we moved here full time, a mid-sized tree fell across our electric line. We weren't here. Pacific Power came out, cut the trunk and larger limbs into stove lengths and stacked them beside the driveway, hauled all the small stuff away. No extra charge.

When, after two hours of trying, I finally got through to Charter about the limb on our cable, the first thing they told me to do was to call a landscaper to remove the limb!!!! I told them to forget that, I'd move it myself (good firewood anyway). What a difference in service!

The annoyances of living in a fairly remote area (except for weekends and late summer when the "flatlanders" arrive by the tens of thousands) is more than offset by the wild creatures that visit here every day. Living here, you learn that waiting in line while the checker talks to a customer about her grandkids may slow things down, but it's just one sign of how friendly everyone is. When a forest fire (at the beach...unbelievable) struck almost five months ago, nearly everyone pitched in to help the nearly 300 who lost everything. As a result, people are working to clear their own lots of debris, and volunteers have appeared to take down huge dead trees, cut up metal debris, haul bags of ash and metal debris to the dump, reconnect water service, and provide temporary electric service. Less than three months after the fire, a few families were back living on their own land, albeit in travel trailers or campers. Recently, the first new modular homes have arrived. Some of us provide hot lunch every day for everyone working or volunteering...at one point, I was cooking for 100 every weekend day! You wouldn't find this kind of help from strangers in any city! Those of us who were evacuated but had homes to return to know that we were very fortunate, so the least we can do is pitch in wherever we can help.

Thanks to living in a home that I paid off nearly 60 years ago, I didn't need stimulus money last summer,,,or now. Several of us are giving back all the stimulus by feeding people or donating where it's most needed. Much more satisfying than buying something I really don't need!

joyces@joyces I so enjoyed your description of life where you live including the having to wait in line while the customer before you is talking about her grandchildren to the person manning the register. Speaking as a New Yorker, I can say you'd be surprised at how New Yorkers have reached out to help strangers in ways similar to what you describe!