Using Old Apps on New Samsung Android Phones

The Magik Of Android

Accessing Old App Settings Menu

So you upgraded your android to the current generation phone. In my case that was going from a Galaxy Nexus to a Galaxy S5. Yeah, it was a leap. But I’m financially conservative and use products to their fullest to get my money’s worth.

One problem with doing this is that sometimes when a new product is created, manufactures make the item better and modify it’s functionality as part of that process. When you’re talking about cell phones, upgrades to the hardware and system functionality may also require modifications and upgrades to applications as well.

Most app creators upgrade their products and keep up with the times and changes made by manufacturers. While others drop support for some of their apps, because they have bigger and better products to offer you. Those unsupported apps may be left in the shadows and can no longer run on the new hardware.

But you loved that app. Or you really need that app because no one else offers the features you needed or wanted. Then what? Well it depends on why you can’t use it. If your problem is nothing more than accessing the Settings menu within the app; there’s a solution for you! Otherwise, you may need to call the developer and let them know what does or doesn’t work any longer. Then hope they’ll listen and support you.

How To Access Settings In Old Apps
The access settings problem is what happened to me when my apps were transferred from the Nexus to the S5. One app in particular has been a long time favorite with me, but I wasn’t able to use it on my new phone. For no other reason than I couldn’t access the Settings Menu. Continue reading →

When Tragedy Strikes Racing

Aug10

Tony Stewart Winged Sprint Car

Everyone Feels The Sorrow

Last night at the Canandaigua Motorsports Park in New York, the evening started like any other Saturday night race on dirt. Drivers lined up, the Four Wide salute to fans was given, pictures were taken and shared all over social media.

On lap14 of the final segment of the nights racing event Kevin Ward Jr., a 20-year-old competitor and Tony Stewart, 3-Time Nascar Champion were fighting for the same line on the track. The final segment consisted of 25laps on the 1/2mile dirt track.

Coming around turn 2 Tony’s #14 car on the inside of the corner, and Kevin’s #13 Sprint Car on the outside got into each other. Kevin ran up the track and hit the wall, not unusual and not a bad wreck. (read more from Jeff Gluck’s USAToday report). Continue reading →

One Degree Of Separation

Aug5

3-Time Sprint Cup Champion Tony Stewart

The Degrees Of Separation Theory

Six degrees of separation is the theory that everyone and everything is six or fewer steps away, by way of introduction, from any other person in the world. So the chain of “a friend of a friend” statements can be made to connect any two people in a maximum of six steps (such as a friend of a friend of a friend etc. out to 6 friends). It was originally set out by Frigyes Karinthy and popularized by a play written by John Guare.

For instance, my partner, has a cousin who co-owns a music school/concert hall in Charlotte NC where Jeff Bridges played a rehearsal concert. So I’m 2 degrees of separation from Jeff Bridges, and 3 degrees of separation from his brother Beau Bridges.

Today I learned that I’m 1 degree separated from my favorite person in the world (outside of my partner and our son of course). This idea made me very excited, so I had to share!

I’m friends with a guy who is a dirt track race car driver and who knows Tony Stewart. But it’s not a mere acquaintance, which I would count as a “friend of a friend” kind of separation. Others might, but I have higher standards I guess.

Today I learned that my racer friend is in Charlotte to visit the Stewart-Haas Racing Shop. I asked him, while he’s there anyway, to get me a picture of my Tony if he can. Ok, I didn’t really ask I said “get me a picture of my Anthony” and he agreed to make the attempt. Continue reading →

Don’t Worry – Be Happy

Aug1

“The Link on a Lance”
Maryland Renfaire 2007 by Springwolf

Funny Stories Can Lift Your Spirit

A few years ago, my son and I had a particularly hard week that culminated into one very difficult day. Life was presenting more challenges than either of us could handle alone and at the time, there was no one to turn to. He had his school stresses and I had my big adult life and parent stresses. The evening was filled with some yelling, from both directions and a lot of “you don’t do this or that”; again from both sides. It was a school night and I had put him to bed with no real solutions or comfort for either of us. At some point you have to stop arguing, because all you’re doing is going in circles and not getting anywhere at all.

While I went to my place for a cry, he was crying in bed. About an hour later he got back up and said he couldn’t sleep because he was too upset. Nothing can wrench your heart out more than your little boy crying because he too was hitting the rocks of despair. The annoyance of him being up nearly two hours after he was supposed to be in bed sleeping, flew right out the door. I knew how he felt. I felt the same way. Continue reading →

The Balance Of Water

Jul22

~ April Flooding by Springwolf

The Nature Of Mother Water

I’ve always admire how balanced water is.
It gives peace as we look upon its beauty.
It give calmness as we hear it flow.
It gently moves and shows us how to go with the flow.

It bends around obstacles,
and refreshes the spirit.
It cools the body on a hot summer day.
It refreshes the animals of the forest and field.
And it sustains all life from rain, stream and pond.

It shares excitement of white water rapids,
It inspires the mind from water falls great and small.
It strengthens the heart as we dip our toes in from the shore line.
It brings families together through boating, swimming and fishing.

She can put out a fire or make a fire grow.
She can replenish a dry field, or flood a family’s home.
She can flow free, or flow with incredible strength.
She can forth life in an abundance of flavors.
Or she can spread disease through ignorance and neglect. Continue reading →

The Mosquito Ringtone

Jul21

Mosquito Ringtone
by Springwolf © 2014

More Than A Secret Sound For Teens

The Man and I had our son (the Prince) a little late in life. I went after the career, before I was interested in going after the family. What that means is that that Daddy person and I have to explain some things to the child about aging that most of the “Moms and Dads” of his friends at school don’t have to deal with. I’m old enough to be their Mom and in a very few cases, their Grand Mom.

We’re like all people getting older, things stop working well as we age. Right now today’s challenge is… we don’t hear as well as we did when we were younger. Ok so some of that comes from blaring the radio in the car when we were teens and twenty somethings. The point is, we’re constantly asking the Prince to repeat what he says and he’s constantly getting annoyed by it. He thinks it’s simply a matter of our paying more attention to him. It doesn’t dawn on him that we’re talking about biological science here and he needs to increase the volume of his voice. We’re getting old, come on kid, speak up.

This has become an opportunity to have a teaching moment and conduct an experiment that will help keep the Prince interested in science.

A few years ago I had heard about teens using their cell phones when they weren’t supposed to be, by turning off all sound and loading a sound file onto their phone that only they and other kids can hear, The Mosquito Ringtone. Continue reading →

An Unexpected Picnic Lunch

Jul20

Elizabeth Taylor

With Elizabeth Taylor

One of our family members shared a link on FB that grabbed my attention. 36 Realistically Colorized Historical Photos article really was worth looking at. They are so well done that the colorization brings the photos and the infamous events to life like I’ve never seen before.

The Mind Unleashed released this article and describe the pictures as:
“A new artistic trend has broken out around the world which changes our perception of history dramatically. Colorizing historic photographs from the late 1800′s and early 1900′s changes their appearance from something historic and different, into a scene from today”.

This one of Elizabeth Taylor looks beautiful. I liked her as an actress and as a person. But the image was a little off; her eyes were green? Say what? She was famous for her violet eyes; and they are violet. I should know, back in the ’80s, I had lunch with her.

Say what?

Yep. Sure enough. An almost 90 minute picnic lunch. Under a giant shade tree with one of my friends, his family and Liz. 😉 Continue reading →

Our Animal World

Jul19

Living On The Water

Living on a lake means we have a diverse variety of animal visitors. Of course we have the usual Ducks, Herons, Cranes, Opossums, Raccoons, Wild Cats, there’s even a Bobcat or two around here. We’ve seen them in the early hours of the morning when the fog is flowing off the lake, over the dam road and down into what we call the dam valley. Our community lake is man-made, as most lakes in Virginia are.

We have Deer of course, a few nesting pairs of Bald Eagles, Red tail and Red shoulder hawks of course. We’ve seen a large Barn Owl once. Heard other owls at night when the neighborhood gets quiet. Bats, who we actually really like because they eat the bugs that make it hard in the depths of summer to sit outside and enjoy the evening by the water.

As with most places, we’ve got the typical song birds, hummingbirds and finches. Cardinals and Bluejays who like eating the cat food we put out for the wild cats that come to visit. What they don’t devour, the opossums and raccoons finish off.

We’ve recently been visited by some Osprey who decided to make this their summer home. It’s truly awesome watching them dive for fish. They make one heck of a splash and always seem to come up with a good catch. Continue reading →

Why I Love NASCAR

Jul13

NASCAR At Talladega Oct. 2014

They Do More Than Turn Left

Fast cars, slide jobs, banging on the doors, bump and run, a Chase, fight to the finish and big personalities! No it’s not the latest Fast and Furious movie, it’s NASCAR.

I’ve been a race fan (race as in any kind of car racing) since I was 12 or 13. I have no brothers, and my Dad wasn’t a race fan. But being the youngest of 3 daughters I was the tomboy in the house and I liked cars. Dad taught me how to change a tire, change the oil and oil filter, and check the timing of the engine. I was the son he never had.

Maybe that had something to do with it. But whatever it was, I loved fast cars and especially NASCAR and Indycar racing. As long as my favorite guy was in the race, I was watching and cheering and learning about the little things that make the race interesting. Continue reading →

Creating Ringtones from MP3

Jul12

Ringdroid by Ringdroid Team

Android App Review

RingDroid: ☆☆☆☆☆
There are several products recommended for creating your own ringtones. Recommended by who? Other users, a few technology magazines, people who are supposed to know about these things. Two of those seemed to appear on almost everyone’s list.

The first runs on your pc where you can manipulate files and turn them into notifications, alarms or ring tones from your music library. Once created, you transfer the new sound files to your phone. I tried this PC version program. I hated it! It was clumsy and made no sense to transfer a music file that you downloaded to your phone to your pc to create a sound file to transfer back to your phone. What?!

Then there’s RingDroid.
RingDroid is much easier to use and it’s right on your phone. You don’t have to worry about transferring files from your PC to your phone unless you want to. And if something goes wrong, you don’t have to go back to your pc try to fix it and transfer it again.

After using RingDroid for a week, let me say I LOVE IT!
I had some sound files that I wanted to use for alarm sounds, but they wouldn’t show up as available files for my phone. Start up Ringdroid and open the MP3, save it with a new name as a ringtone OR a Notification and tada you have your favorite sound on your new phone! (Thanks to the Folks on Galaxy Nexus for this tidbit!)

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