I learned that a “flock” of monarch butterflies is called a kaleidoscope.
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On Saturday, I learned you can book an appointment with urgent care (with the medical center where we have most of our providers) online and describe why you’re coming in. In our case, a nurse called back promptly to ask a few Qs and told us he conferred with ER doc and redirected us to ER because urgent care’s imaging was broken and they’d want the patient to get imaging for his breathlessness. I was impressed by the speed and efficiency on a Saturday night, saving us from waiting around at an urgent care, only to be told we had to go on to an ER.
I just learned this because I was searching for what urgent care might be available on Saturday night at 5:45pm.
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I learned this morning that you can change your billing address for your credit card to another billing address, online. I’ve never tried to do this (or done this) before. It’s good to know what can be done online.
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Maybe everyone but me already knew this technique but I just learned how to cut broccoli without making a mess and wasting all the little green bits that fall off when you chop it.
Cutting broccoli by splitting the head is a quick, low-mess technique that produces consistent florets. First, trim the main, tough stem. Next, make a vertical cut partially up the base of the stem, then pull the broccoli apart into smaller, tree-shaped florets, which limits tiny green buds from scattering.
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The college sport of crew is mostly popular in northern locations, where weather can be brutal.
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Our son rowed in HS (CT) and college (NY) and told us several times that his crew had to break up the ice at the edge of the river with their bare feet (because shoes are bolted to the footboard) at O’dark-thirty. Crew is not for the faint of heart.
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In Austin, we get lots of northern teams who come here to train in the winter.
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Deerstalker
A deerstalker is a type of cap that is typically worn in rural areas, often for hunting, especially deer stalking.
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Thank you! I had no idea and was irritated enough not to look it up!
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I learned that yellow billed cuckoos eat Eastern Tent Caterpillars and that caterpillars are a crucial source of food for baby birds, so plant native and leave the caterpillars!
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I’ve found Gemini AI helpful when installing or configuring software on my computer, but sometimes it sends me down blind alleys or tells me to configure settings that don’t exist. I asked how to avoid this and it told me I could add the following to my saved “Instructions for Gemini” that it is supposed to take in account on all it’s interactions with me.
“Be literal and verify. If you are suggesting a specific menu path or setting, check if it has been moved or removed in the most recent software updates. If you aren’t 100% sure a button exists in the current version, say ‘I don’t know’ or tell me it may have changed rather than guessing. Prioritize current official documentation over old forum posts.”
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I definitely have found settings move between my version/iphone mini 12 and online instructions. Sometimes I just have to do ‘search’ on the keyword/setting name.
I learned that there are people who judge others for “still” using an android phone. I’m amused that using an iphone makes you feel like you fit in with the younger crowd at your ripe old age of 49. Eventually you’ll care less about what you think others think about you based on your consumer choices.
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Gonna raise my hand here to make a comment. I do this with my sister. She has an android and has no clue how to do anything on it. If she had an iphone it would be a ton easier for both her and me (and the entire universe of people who need to communicate with her). I can’t facetime with her–she’s continually left out of the loop in the family. All because of a phone. The iphone has captured the market for very good reasons and it has nothing to do with “fitting in with a younger crowd”.
Many years ago when I was debating between android and iphone I asked a salesperson the difference. He extolled the many of virtues of android over the iphone and I’ll admit there were some good benefits. Then I asked “what if you just want the easiest phone to use?” And he said “iphone”. Sold.
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You have a good reason.
The relative who was repeatedly extolling his own virtues as witnessed by his choice of phone system did not. My comment was less about the features than the repeated pomposity. Perhaps it would have been better in the “say it here” thread, but I was truly surprised that some people were still feeling superior because they have iphones.
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I got my mom an iPhone and my mil
It was too hard to try and explain things when people have androids.
My oldest is an Apple anti fan. We can’t FaceTime them and the granddaughter. I know you can set up something different but we never do any family video chats. 
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I have a Google Pixel. Much cheaper than an iPhone, and I, an old dog, am not interested in learning new tricks.
There are many other ways to do vdeo chats including Zoom (35 or 40 mins free), Google Hangouts, Facebook Messenger, etc. etc. And I understand that there’s a way to invite someone to a Facetime chat via a link.
I know how to use my Android phone for everything you all use your iPhones.
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My H is not an Apple fan and has an Android. You can video call on WhatsApp and that’s what he does with family in Bermuda and the UK. He "talks” to our 6 month GD with me on my iphone or ipad.
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My D and H have androids and H & I have iphones (we are a mixed family). I mainly have an iphone because my sisters all have iphones and they communicate better with one another.
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I’m sort of shocked at the Android angst!
I’m an Apple user all the way but don’t really care or notice what others have - unless I’m texting with them and their messages are green. 
My SIL is pretty techy, a data scientist and he will likely never own an Apple. I will say his phone pics on family vacations have outshined our Apple photos.
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