Wednesday, June 22, 2022

Two More Wonderful Children's Books From Kar-Ben Publishing

enjoying The Topsy-Turvy Bus 
I really value the education children get from Kar-Ben books. This young man definitely agrees. Here he's looking at The Topsy-Turvy Bus by Anita Fitch Pazner, Illustrated by Carolina Farías.

The Topsy-Turvy Bus teaches young children about alternative energy for powering buses, cars and more. Anita Fitch Pazner connects it to the Jewish concept of Tikkun Olam, Fixing the World, making the world a better place. AKA ecology for youngsters.

Carolina Farías' illustrations are gorgeous adding to the attractiveness of The Topsy-Turvy Bus, which isn't at all preachy. When I first read the book I thought the basis of the story seemed familiar. I must have read about the bus it's based on which was built by Hazon, the largest Jewish environmental organization in North America.



listening to Frank, Who Liked to Build:
The Architecture of Frank Gehry
 
Frank, Who Liked to Build: The Architecture of Frank Gehry by Deborah Blumenthal, Illustrated by Maria Brzozowska is another fascinating  children's book by Kar-Ben. 

As made clear in the title, it's about the famous architect Frank Gehry. Written for young children, Frank, Who Liked to Build: The Architecture of Frank Gehry tells about Gehry as a child and the problems his imagination and creativity caused him. It even mentions that he's Jewish and had changed his last name from Goldberg to Gehry.

Frank, Who Liked to Build: The Architecture of Frank Gehry encourages children to be creative. Many of Gehry's buildings don't look anything like conventional building, but they are gorgeous and function. Apparently Gehry showed signs of creativity and a love of building things from the time he was a young child.

If you want some really great educational books for children of all ages, which are a joy to read and don't sound at all like textbooks, then check out what Kar-Ben books has to offer.

Wednesday, June 08, 2022

Hearing Aids Report #4 Data Usage Warning aka Good News-Bad News

You may find it helpful to read my previous articles about life with hearing aids, updates #1#2, #3 plus mask-tying advice for avoiding COVID and loss of expensive hearing aids.

It has been awhile since I've written one of these reports about living with hearing aids. You probably thought that I had figured it all out and written all that's important; I sure did.

Recently my phone has been nudging me with these Data Usage Warnings, and I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong. I hardly use any apps, just one game, which isn't very addictive. I even changed "providers" hoping that would help. It's now saving us money, thank Gd, but the warnings retuned.

I began to suspect that the "good news," one of my favorite things about using my hearing aids could be the cause. So I went to the phone shop that had recommended the new company and told the helpful young man working there that I had one of my "dumb questions." 

"Could my use of Bluetooth to hear my phone straight into my ears via the hearing aids be using up all the data?" I asked him, hoping/praying for a negative reply. 

I really enjoy being able to hear things clearly and not bothering others. Well, you probably guessed it. The "bad news" was that my suspicion was correct. The Bluetooth uses up a lot of data. 

Next year when I start negotiating with a "provider" for our cellphone service I'm going to have to try to triple the usage in the deal. 

And to think I had to replace a wonderful phone just because its Bluetooth wasn't compatible with my hearing aids.