Kindred School Bus Crash

Photo taken by WDAY News

Two of our busses were driving an activity run this morning..... in the fog. They were headed to Bagg Farm. Cathy crashed into a semi that pulled out in front of her. Then two other semi's crashed into them.

Cathy was pinned behind the steering wheel for way too long. Life Flight (helicopter) refused to fly in the fog. When I left the scene she was still stuck behind the wheel.) She has lost a lot of blood.

I was heading down hwy 46 @ about 9:00 when someone from the school called and told me about the crash. I said OMG! It's right in front of me. I pulled off to the side of the road. A min later the first cop car shot past. me.

Cathy was driving the first bus carrying 4th graders.Craig was following behind Cathy in a second bus, also carrying 4th graders. After getting out of the car, I checked out Craig's bus first. Those kids were fine...but excited. Craig, had taken off to reach Cathy. One of the teachers on the bus was trying to calm the kids, the other on her phone while pacing in front of the bus. They wouldn't let me get any closer to Cathy's bus. I told them that I was a fellow bus driver....but they nicely said that I would be in the way. I understood.

The teachers on the crashed bus safely got the hysterical kids off that bus and had them stand in the field while rescue people worked on Cathy.

For some reason, I feel like taking pictures during a crisis is wrong. but you know me, I have to document everything with a picture. So I stayed at a distance and snapped a few shots in the fog. You really can't see much in my pictures.

For a long time none of the TV stations could get to the crash because hwy 46 was closed off not allowing anyone to pass. Once they got there, they were able to take some really clear pictures including the picture at the top of this message.

Here is a link to KYLY's report:

http://www.valleynewslive.com/home/headlines/Injuries-Reported-in-School-Bus-Semi-Crash-in-Richland-County-329520631.html

Here's another link to a inForum report:

http://www.inforum.com/news/3848475-mom-child-wrecked-kindred-school-bus-says-seriously-injured-driver-saved-our-children

I forgot to mention, Cathy's husband Bob was on call at the ambulance building when the call came through! Can you imagine how he felt to get the call and yet how wonderful that he could be at his wife's side?!

Even though this happened a few hours ago, many of us are still shaking. I asked our superintendent how he was doing. (He was visibly shaken also.) His answer warmed my heart: "You know that we're all family."

My Digital Life

The reason that I'm writing this blog entry is because many people often ask me which laptop or which tablet that they should buy. Here is a list of my choices and why I made those choices.

Favorite Operating System: Android's Lollipop
I feel that Apple devices have wonderful hardware but they don't have the bells and whistles that Android has. Apple gets the same bells and whistles but a couple years after Android. I won't argue that Apple does have good looks and hardware.

Favorite Tablet: I like to stick to the flagship devices. Flagship means the brand's best product. For example: who makes the Android operating system? Google does. So who would make the best hardware to run their operating system? Google themselves. Resulting in Google's current flagship tablet - the Nexus 9.

Google commissioned HTC to make a tablet to Google's specifications and to run the most recent Android operating system. (Which was is lollipop) So when I wanted to replace my old Nexus 10 tablet I waited, and waited (two years), for the new Google Nexus tablet to come out - which is the current Nexus 9. Most people had to wait for the Lollipop update on their Android phones - sometimes over 6 months - but my new Nexus 9 was born with the Lollipop operating system. That's a big bonus. (I always want the newest bells and whistles.) In fact, Google will update their products before other Android devices. Now I'm waiting to see which bells and whistles the Google "M" OS (still unnamed, but it will start with M) will bring.

I have to add that I have owned two iPads....just to keep a foot in the Apple door. The iPad mini lives in my purse for the grandkids to use.....because my favorite tablet is definitely the Nexus 9.

So now the question comes up, Did I buy the Google Nexus phone? No.
My Favorite Phone: The Samsung Galaxy s5. Samsung flagship phones are the Galaxy series. The Samsung S6 and the Note 5 are lacking in a couple areas which are very important to me. You cannot remove the back cover to replace the battery or add a larger SD card. When I buy a phone I buy an extra battery. I also move my 32 gigabyte SD card from one phone to another. Most of my apps are stored on the SD card so I do not have to reinstall them on my newest phone. I just purchased a brand new, still in the box, Samsung Galaxy s5 for $300. I waited for the s6s to come out knowing that would bring down the price of the s5.

Another reason why I stayed with a Samsung phone is because I have Samsung Gear watch. I need the phone and the watch to connect to each other.

My Watch: Why did I choose the Samsung gear watch? Because of the price! I was able to purchase it at a ridiculously low price on a Best Buy one day sale. I love it. It does most of the things that my phone does....... like take pictures, texts, send and receive phone calls, etc. The watch has many apps. Is the Samsung Gear watch my favorite? To tell the truth, I haven't looked into the Android Wear watches.....but I am very satisfied with Gear.

My Camera: Nikon. Earlier this year I purchased a new point and shoot camera... a Nikon Coolpix. I also bought it for the same reason that I bought my watch. It was on one of the Best Buy's daily sales. The price was awesome and it has built in Wi-Fi. My camera will connect to my other mobile devices. It has a 30x optical zoom which is great! I take most of my pictures with my cell phone because it is handy. But there are many times when I prefer to take pictures with a camera. If you know me, you know I take a lot of pictures. I also have a Canon DSLR camera that I rarely use. Its too big to lug around. To tell the truth my point and shoot camera takes pictures that are almost equally as good. So why tote a camera bag with extra lens when my 30x point and shoot camera does the job?

My Laptop: I am in love with my old Windows 7 HP laptop. I should have replaced it years ago. But I don't use it very often and I have kept it in good shape. I format the hard drive yearly and I keep it updated. I am considering replacing my laptop with a new Microsoft Surface Pro 4 this fall when it comes out.... As long as it's running the new Intel processor called Skylake.

When do I use my devices?:I basically use my laptop as a briefcase for when I'm on the go and want to get a project done. I use my tablet when I'm watching TV, for playing games or reading a book. When I'm on my treadmill, I use my tablet to watch podcasts while I walk. If I am walking outside, I listen to my podcasts on my phone with earbuds. When I sit down to type, edit pictures, answer email, or pay a bill, I like to be at my desk on my desktop computer. I also like to do my video chatting from my desktop PC.

My Desktop PC:  A few years ago I bought a new i5 Dell PC. I bought it on Black Friday at a fantastic price. It has a mid size processor and plenty of ram. Sitting upright looking at a screen, using the keyboard is the most comfortable way to get work done. But.... I do like using voice the recognition that I get on mobile devices. Some day I will replace my desktop computer. For now I will just update it from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10.

My Favorite Streaming Device: Can you guess? The Google Chromecast. It does everything - nuff said. I also own Amazon Firestick, which I passed on to my mom, a Roku classic and a Roku 3.I also bought another mirroring device which I can't remember the name of. So all of our TVs have a streaming device attached to them but the Chromecast is my favorite. I carry an extra Chromecast with me in my purse in case there's something that I want to show someone on their TV. (chuckle) The Chromecasts are cheap enough (on Black Friday) so that I can afford to have a spare.

What are my favorite apps?

1 - My favorite favorite - favorite - favorite app is Google Now: I love this app. it gives me suggestions on what to read reflecting on subjects that I've read previously on the web. It updates me on the weather. It updates me on events to remember. It even updates me on how long it will take me to drive to our lake cabin considering today's traffic. Gmail updates Google Now's reminders with dates of events or plane arrivals. .

2- I use Google Docs to store nearly EVERYTHING. I am able to access all "my stuff" from any device that I am holding.

3 - Google Hangouts is my messaging preference. I like to video chat with my family. My favorite place to video chat is from my desktop computer just because of the way the webcam is set up. I use a $75 Logitech webcam that I purchased a few years ago from Amazon. It takes good pictures and can also be used wide angle. We have attached it to our TV screen and video chatted with our kids in Colorado on Christmas...... connecting their living room with ours. 

My favorite text messaging app is also Google Hangouts.  I like it because I can type my messages from my desktop if I choose.

4 - Another app that I enjoy on my Nexus 9 is the Google Handwriting Translator. When I am in a meeting I can take notes by writing on my tablet while listening to the speaker. My tablet recognizes the my handwriting and transcribes it into print. 

5 - My favorite note taking app is Google Keep. I can speak, use the Google handwriting Translator or of course type my notes. Google Keep is very visually appealing also.

6 - My favorite launcher on Mobile devices: The Google Now Launcher.. Even though I have a Samsung phone I installed now the Google now launcher instead of Samsung's Touch Wiz. The Google Now Launcher is also on my Nexus 9 tablet.

7 - My favorite photo storage app is Phanfare. I have used it for years. All my pictures are stored by date. I like the format Phanfare uses. It makes my pictures look pretty. I can easily access any of my photos from any device.... which often happens during conversations when I want to find a picture from years ago.

8 - My favorite photo backup: Google Photos. It automatically backs up all my pictures to the cloud. (PIctures in Phanfare have to be manually stored.) Google Photos gives me peace of mind. I also like the "Auto Awesome" pictures that Google suggests to me. There's always a new surprise.

9 - My favorite photo editors: I use Phanfare's basic editing tools daily. If I want to do something fancy I use PicMonkey. (I don't do any serious editing from my mobile devices.)  I like the way Google's Picasa tags people in pictures.

10 - I have to mention Dropbox. How can anyone live without Dropbox? You can easily move items from one device to another using Dropbox.

You can see that I am definitely in the Google Sphere. I have found that I can access all my stuff using the Chrome Browser (made by Google) through any device....even my iPad.

Now as I look back at what I've written... Actually spoken... because I used the voice transcriber in the app Google Keep to write down my thoughts and used Blogger to edit my words. By the way, Blogger is also owned by Google.. It looks like I have written an ad for Google. I didn't mean to - but I definitely live in the Google Sphere.

One more: My favorite Tech Podcast: DTNS (Daily Tech News Show) by Tom Merritt. No, he doesn't work for Google.....but his wife does. :)