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  NY Mysteries August 29, 2020

A tale of two Roman Catholics: Well, there’s Cardinal (Prince of the Church) Dolan speaking at the Republican National Convention and there’s Sister Elaine Roulet who helped female inmates bond with their children and created innovative programs for mothers both in prison and after release.

A friend and I took the ferry to Hoboken. We left from the downtown Brookfield Place Terminal. Ever have the happy experience in crowded NYC of being the only one on the subway? No other car on the block except yours? We were the only ones on the ferry. It was a blissful, short trip to the Hoboken Terminal. Remember wood, brass, marble, Tiffany glass? It’s all present in the 1907 terminal. Once again, there were very few people present. We cut through the train station, a look-a-like of London’s Paddington Station, and took the Hudson River walk before heading back toward the terminal. Hoboken has become posh. I’m not kidding. What would Frank Sinatra say? 

Crossing the Hudson to Hoboken
Our private ferry
Isn’t this beautiful?
The Hoboken Terminal, Architect, Kenneth M. Murchinson
A building motif

New York Mysteries.com

  NY Mysteries August 22, 2020

Clamping = camping  + glamour. 

On Friday, A friend and I clamped on GOVERNORS ISLAND. We took the twelve noon five second ferry from the Maritime Building at the Battery along with ten million bikes and children, landed at Soissons and trotted south around the island. We passed Castle Williams (closed) and Half-Moon Battery (closed).  After we walked around the southeast corner near Buttermilk Channel, we came upon Collective Governors tent city !!!!  After gawking at the tents and peering at the double bed in the single tent rooms, we looked at one another: Could we, should we, dare we enter these hallowed grounds? The answer is evident. One of us was a native New Yorker and the other was a real estate agent. The employees at the entrance couldn’t have been more welcoming. We decided to have lunch and were escorted to a tent with an open view of New York Harbor. So Laurence of Arabia. Perfect luncheon of Rockefeller oysters, watermelon salad, flatbread and lots of beer. We politely snickered at the thought that our fellow diners (seniors, white and Asian) were paying close to $700 a day for the pleasure of bragging rights that you slept in a tent on Governors Island – or attempted to. The Ladies Rooms were across a gravel yard, past a fence opening, up a ramp and voilà, you had arrived at three little bathroom/shower combos with a sweet little vanity table. After, we circled around to the Soissons land and caught the three p.m. ferry back to Manhattan.

Ladies Room
Luncheon
Not the same tent !!!

NYMysteries.com

 NY Mysteries August 15, 2020

Quite a week: medical appointments. All good. Funeral Home visit to prepare for joining the great majority. Writing a short story about birthdays and candy. Finally, no thanks to Apple, my 11Pro iPhone is receiving and sending calls.

Thanks to my friend June Hirsh…

INVENTIONS BY WOMEN

1. The Car Heater

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We all owe our thanks to Margaret A Wilcox who invented the car heater in 1893!

(Margaret also invented a combined clothes and dishwasher)

2.  Monopoly

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This popular board game was designed by Elizabeth Magie in 1904, originally called the Landlord’s Game.

The purpose of this game was to expose the injustices of unchecked capitalism. 

Her game was ripped off by Charles Darrow who sold it to Parker Brother’s 30 years later.

However, Parker Brothers later did pay Elizabeth $500 for her game.

Gee Thanks!

3. The Fire Escape

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The fire escape was invented by Anna Connelly in 1887

4. The Life Raft

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The lifesaving Life Raft was invented by Maria Beasely  in 1882. (Maria also invented a machine that makes barrels)

5. Residential Solar Heating

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Solar heating for residential housing was invented by Dr Maria Telkes in 1947. 

Dr. Telkes was a Psychiatrist in addition to being a Solar-Power Pioneer

6.  The Medical Syringe

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The medical syringe which could be operated with only one hand was invented by a woman by the name of Letitia Geer in 1899

7. The Modern Electric Refrigerator

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The electric refrigerator was invented by Florence Parpart in 1914

(Florence also invented an improved street cleaning machine in addition to the refrigerator)

8. The Ice Cream Maker

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The ice cream maker was invented by a woman named Nancy Johnson in 1843.

Her patented design is still used today!

9. The Computer Algorithm

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Ada Lovelace is essentially the first computer programmer due to her work with Charles Babbage at the University of London in 1842.

In fact, her notes were an essential key to helping Alan Turing’s work on the first modern computers in the 1940s.

10. Telecommunications Technology

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Some of the Telecommunication Technology developed by Dr Shirley Jackson include portable fax, touch tone telephone, solar cells, fibre optic cables, and the technology behind caller ID and call waiting.

11. The Dishwasher

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The Dishwasher was invented by Josephine Cochrane in 1887. Before her time, she even marketed her machine to hotel owners and even opened her own factory without the help of a man!

12. Wireless Transmission Technology

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Hedy Lamarr, a world famous film star, invented a secret communications system during World War II for radio-controlling torpedoes.

This Technology also paved the way for everything from Wi-Fi to GPS

13. Closed-Circuit Television Security (CCTV)

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Marie Van Brittan Brown invented CCTV because of the slow response of police officers in 1969 to help people ensure their own security.

This invention influenced modern CCTV systems used for home security and police work today.

14. The Modern Paper Bag

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Margaret Knight invented a machine that makes square bottomed paper bags in 1871.

She almost didn’t get credit when Charles Anan tried to steal her work claiming that it wasn’t possible for a woman to create this brilliant invention.  (Margaret also invented a safety device for cotton mills when she was 12… that invention is still being used today)

15.  Central Heating

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Although Alice Parker’s invention in 1919 of a gas-powered central heater was never manufactured.

Her idea was the first that allowed for using natural gas to heat a home, inspiring the central heating systems used today

16.  Kevlar

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This life-saving material that is 5 times stronger than steel and used to make bulletproof vests was invented in 1965 by Stephanie Kwolek

17. Computer Software

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Dr Grace Murray Hopper was a computer scientist that invented COBOL which is the first user-friendly business computer software system in the 1940’s. 

She was also a rear admiral in the U.S. navy and the first person to use the term “bug” about a glitch in a computer system when she literally found a bug (moth) causing problems with her computer.

 NY Mysteries August 8, 2020

Backstory: Three years ago I bought an iPhone X at the Apple Store in Portland, Or. The technician made sure that all the data from my old iPhone was transferred to the iPhone X, that I received a discount because I was trading in the old model and the old model. was recycled.

New story: The Apple store on West 14 Street, NYC, Aug. 3. Because of my previous experience, I assumed my new 11 Pro iPhone would be all set to use. I bought it because I had dropped my X and it flashed vertical neon lines across the screen. The genius with whom I had an appointment let me assume that I’d receive full service. He introduced me to another employee who handed me a box. “That’s your 11 Pro,” she said. Apple had not removed the X data, had not followed the Portland, Or. procedure. I told a manager that the genius should have stated that Apple no longer set up your new iPhone for immediate use. He said the Covet was to blame. Apple is using the Virus to make customers do Apple’s work.$1500 later and in shock I contacted my computer specialist and we made the iPhone 11 Pro almost up and running. Except Apple had not included a Sim card so I can’t make outgoing calls. 

If you go to the 14th Street Apple store be lawyer-like. Don’t be like me and assume nonexistent service.

On to good stuff. I’m attending Writers Police Academy virtual two day conference. Yesterday, courtesy of Zoom, I learned about Fingerprinting, Drugs and Homicide. Today, there’s a lively chat before the meetings begin.On to Child Abduction and Murder. Did I mention that I write crime novels??