When I first joined as a member of Medium, there was an article by someone who said that she gave fifty claps for almost everything she read. Since fifty is the maximum that can be given by a person for any one piece, she tries to reward the writer by clapping heavily. If she really doesn’t like something, she won’t clap. Usually, she claps at everything. After all, someone worked hard to do the writing, and claps may be deserved.

Claps apparently used to be connected to the amount of money a person made on Medium. Now they don’t make any difference in payment for a story, but they just may show a writer that people liked what they wrote. …

Technology is not only for the young

Although young people are definitely the “experts” when it comes to technology, many of the older generation are able to enjoy social media and other methods of communicating through technology. Everyone is using technology much more during the pandemic, including older people. Senior citizens such as grandparents are usually not as adept at technology and computers as younger people, but there is no reason that they cannot enjoy social media, emails, ZOOM meetings, and all types of technology.

Lots of people have said that they discontinued their Facebook accounts because it takes too much time to look through all those posts. Also, there is a lot of hate expressed on the posts, especially if they are political in nature. …

Money is an important factor in life

Finances are a big part of life. We cannot get along without some amount of money, which is important and necessary. Some people have a lot of money, and some people have very little money. Some means of securing money are essential.

Two lucky people in the United States suddenly became extremely wealthy. The Mega Millions and the Powerball lotteries were both won. The jackpot of $1.05 billion for Mega Millions was won by one person in Michigan. A Maryland convenience store was the site where a Powerball ticket was sold. It won a total of $731 million. …

Writing on Medium means publishing

Responses are part of the program on Medium. They can be responses that readers leave for something you wrote, and your reply to them. Your responses used to be included with your published articles or stories. A writer on Medium some while ago wrote that she had hundreds of stories published, but half of them were her responses. Recently Medium made a change where responses are now in a separate category from published stories. That makes sense to list them separately.

Your total of stories published will be less with the responses not included with them. …

Chapels and temples were closed

Almost as soon as the pandemic was announced as a reality of life, leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints became one of the first churches to announce that meetings in their buildings around the world would be temporarily canceled. It was just before the semi-annual general conference of the Church was to be held on the first weekend of April 2020. That conference was their first completely virtual meeting although the conferences are generally viewed by most Church members throughout the world by television and satellite transmission.

After the start of the pandemic, Church members were encouraged to hold their own church services and gospel study each Sunday in their homes. Families were to worship together without going to a meeting at a church building. That went on for many months as the method of worship. …

A hero in major league baseball

Baseball great, Hank Aaron, is being remembered fondly as he passed from this life on January 22, 2021, at the age of eighty-six. Aaron was named Henry Louis Aaron when he was born on February 5, 1934, in Alabama. He was nicknamed “Hammer” or “Hammerin’ Hank” after his success in baseball.

Aaron played for twenty-three seasons in Major League Baseball from 1954 to 1976. He was with the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves for twenty-one seasons. He played two seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers. He usually played in the position at right field.