A View of the Valley

by Linda Schwanke Technology had a rough time last week. Facebook was down on Monday. The new tower behind Rite Way Plaza isn’t pretty and people aren’t happy about it. Gmail keeps sending valid emails to spam. Cell services have been on again, off again but frequently more off than on and I get voicemails that are days old without any calls coming through. NewsPub had a massive software upgrade at the central office in Black Earth and there’s been some hick ups.  First, my thoughts on Facebook. I didn’t miss it and didn’t even realize there was a problem until a friend called asking me if I could open it. Since Facebook is frequently such a hot mess, I don’t check it very often and I don’t feel like losing it for a few hours was a bad thing. I love seeing pictures of friends and family’s friends and family and keeping up with how everyone is doing but there are parts of the rest of it that a waste of time. And since all my friends and family – by a lot - are not on Facebook, it’s not something I think about very much. The new tower, put up by Bug Tussel behind Rite Way Plaza, is in the best place it could be in that field. It’s close to development and it would be much worse anywhere else. It’s ugly, sure, but that’s the cost of progress, right? There is no point in having a NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) attitude if you don’t vote for people who will prevent such things from happening.  Cell service. Wonderful things, cell phones. They give us the ability to be in touch 24/7, which is itself a mixed blessing but still mostly a blessing. My carrier reported outages, then issues.  It’s funny that while I use my smartphone for emails, internet searches, weather and all sorts of apps, not nearly everyone does. In fact, there are people who don’t use a cell phone for anything other than phone calls. Or don’t even have a cell phone or a computer. I think it’s important to remember that while you and I may be into all this tech stuff, not everyone is.  And quite a few people can’t be into because the Valley is so rural. It’s being worked on. I’m not going to worry about it because what can be done is being done. But let’s all be patient and cut each other a little slack. And as long as I’m mentioning cell service, I got a notice that area codes are soon going to be needed to make calls. So it is time to go through your phone and edit the numbers that don’t have area codes on them. It might be a good time to clean up your contacts, too. I have three numbers for a friend who kept changing her number and now have no clue which  is which. I’ll be doing a little sitting on my behind and getting my contact list updated on these rainy days. The same goes for emails. The NewsPub emails are gmail based. I found out gmail has been sending random emails to spam for no reason whatsoever. So I’m checking my spam folder each day. But email isn’t perfect. Nothing is. Time to stop stressing about it. Finally, there was supposed to be a picture of two River Valley boy cross country runners in last week’s Home News but instead the picture of Madeline Hutnik was in twice. Madeline looks like an amazing runner and you can see on her face just how hard cross country runners work at their sport but we didn’t mean to have that picture in two times. I and the NewsPub crew apologize for the mistake. The system that drives a lot of the work we do at the Home News, and NewsPub, went live last week. The upgrade has been in the works since February but it wasn’t a perfect rollout. And that is my point this week. Nothing in life is perfect. No matter how hard we try, life is full of up and downs and good things and bad things. So take a step back from all the things that are stressing you out, lighten up and enjoy yourself every chance you get. The issues will wait for you but live your life as though they won’t. Be nice. Be generous. Be giving. Eat right, take a walk, give yourself a technology break and be happy. Take a walk in the rain and let it go. Stay in touch. My phone number is (608) 574-3159 – call or text me anytime. You can also email me at homenewseditor@newspubinc.com or write to me at the Home News, P.O. Box 39, Spring Green WI 53588. Visit our website at homenewsrv.com Get in touch with Gwen for sports or features at homenewssports@newspubinc.com. If you need a display ad, Dave Pronold can be reached at homenewssales@newspubinc.com or by calling him on his cell at 588-4777. Display ads, or ads that are in boxes, are due by 1 p.m. on Wednesdays. The classified ad deadline is noon Thursdays the week prior to publication for both the Buyer’s Guide and Home News. Classified rates are $13 for the first 10 words, then 30¢ per word for each additional word. Call (608) 767-3655 or email classifieds@newspubinc.com  Legal notices are due by 2 p.m. on Fridays, email them to legals@newspubinc.com Call the NewsPub central office at (608) 767-3655 for subscriptions and all other information Monday through Wednesday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 12 noon, although afternoon hours can vary. Closed Fridays.