Posted By RichC on April 21, 2026
After a pre-posting … but incorrectly dating … Music Monday post (next week) and Tuesday late addition, here’s a humorous social media video that triggered an idiom idea. The video is a “pig in a chair” with the comment of a “pig in a blanket” X.com comment. For me it had me thinking about “pig in a poke” … and wondering where the reference came from?
A “pig in a poke” is an idiom for a purchase or commitment made without examining it first, often resulting in a bad deal or deception. It refers to buying something blindly, where the item’s true value is hidden, likely inferior, or completely different from what was expected.
Aspects of the Phrase:
– Origin: Dating back to medieval times, a “poke” is a sack or bag. Sellers would sometimes try to trick buyers by placing a worthless cat in a bag instead of a suckling pig. If the buyer didn’t “look in the poke” (check the bag) before paying, they were cheated.
– Meaning: It acts as a warning against acting without due diligence, similar to the concept of caveat emptor (let the buyer beware). – Common Usage: Used in business, shopping, or negotiations to describe risks, such as “buying a pig in a poke”. – Modern Context: It refers to any blind purchase, such as buying something online that looks fake, or accepting a contract without reading it.
Category: Human Interest, Humor, Idioms, Social Media, Video |
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Tags: filler, idiom, idioms, mp4, pig in a chair, pig in a poke, video, x.com
Posted By RichC on April 19, 2026
Our daughter sent ;us some thought provoking reading from The Gospel Coalition regarding Artificial Intelligence and the “uncomfortable or even disturbing truths about ourselves” last week.
“Are You Ready for the AI Apocalypse” was written last summer, but noting the rapid evolution of AI, it is equally eye-opening today.
AI presents us with a vision of almost infinite productivity and almost zero friction, and in this way it acts like a living thought experiment to help us see something that was hiding in plain sight all along: Friction is a gym for the soul. The awkward conversation, the blank page, the child who won’t sleep when we have a report to write––these aren’t roadblocks to our growth; they’re the highway to wisdom and maturity, to being the sort of people who can deal with friction in life with resilience and grace. Without it, we remain weak and small, however impressive our productivity.
We can have too much friction; we knew that already. But AI, perhaps for the first time, shows us we can also have too little. Without friction, we can never become “the sort of person who . . .”
And since this topic is a bit too deep at the moment for me, I’ll gaze at the simple (but beautifully created) jellyfish 
and settle for being amazed with God’s awesome handiwork — it is beautiful (yes, from our beach walking this past winter).
Category: AI, Faith, Human Interest, Productivity, Technology |
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Tags: artificial intelligence, christianity, jellyfish, katelyn, snippet, thegospelcoalition.org, thinking, wikipedia
Posted By RichC on April 18, 2026
Today’s update is a follow up from yesterday’s Tech Friday post on “Contemplating an Apple MacBook Air update” … done.
I was able to convince Brenda that she needed to switch to an Apple computer since 
her Chromebook has reached end of life status. I suspect that she will continue to stick with her limited Google apps and email, but maybe she’ll start to appreciate a few of the apps that work better with her iPhone?
Nevertheless, I’ve updated my MacBook Air M2 (zero problems with it) to a discounted M5 that should have enough memory (16GB vs 8GB) to keep the out-of-memory problem from haunting me when running IB’s Trader Workstation. Besides, it is a great computer for $949 at Costco (plus whatever bonus cash back we are awarded). 😉
Category: Apple, Computer, Shopping, Technology |
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Tags: apple, costco, macbook air m5, notebook, sale, update, upgrade
Posted By RichC on April 17, 2026
A recent drop in price for the MacBook Air M5 notebook computer has triggered my tech shopping interest. Earlier this year, my MacBook Air M2 started showing signs that the 8GB of memory is struggling to run the multiple browsers, tabs and 5 spaces/desktops.I also run an external USB-C powered display that runs 
my Interactive Brokers Trader Workstation (stock/options tickers and chart windows).
The other problem is that Brenda’s Samsung Chromebook is no longer supported by Google’s Android and so I “was” planning to convert it to a Linux notebook — I can guarantee she will not like that. So the thinking is to take advantage of the lower price for the M5 with 16GB of memory and set up the M2 for her, even if she’ll have to get used to not having a touchscreen.
Perhaps it is time for me to “sell her” on the idea?
MacBook Air M5 in Midnight color
Category: Apple, Computer, Shopping, Technology |
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Tags: amazon, apple store, costco, m2, m5, macbook air, tech friday, techfriday, upgrade
Posted By RichC on April 16, 2026
I might give this a try when my granddaughters come down for their summer visit. 😊
Category: Humor, Sports, Video |
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Tags: .mp4, baseball, fishing, kids, lazy
Posted By RichC on April 15, 2026
The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act – known as the SAVE Act or SAVE America Act – would require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections. 
It has already passed the House and is now before the Senate. Congress should approve it without delay.
The bill amends the National Voter Registration Act to ensure that applicants provide acceptable documents such as a U.S. passport, a REAL ID that indicates citizenship, a military ID with birth records or a birth certificate paired with photo ID. It includes provisions for name changes (like marriage certificates) and allows states to use the Department of Homeland Security’s SAVE database to verify records and maintain accurate voter rolls. Some versions also require photo ID at the polls for federal elections.
The goal is simple: make certain that only U.S. citizens vote in our federal elections.
Federal law already prohibits non-citizens from voting in federal elections, with penalties including fines, imprisonment and deportation. Yet registration currently depends almost entirely on self-attestation under penalty of perjury. That system leaves gaps.
(more…)
Category: News, Politics |
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Tags: commentary, congress, editorial, opinion, safeact, senate, thehustings, us law, voting
Posted By RichC on April 14, 2026
We had a good time “shelling” even though the beach winds were a little more challenging than the Delray Beach, FL spring break normal (sand was on every towel and in every orifice). 😉
Brenda’s sister Chris and husband Jerry were down for a week … and are beach “diggers” (for shells) … unlike us – we are walking beach combers (and fast walking at that so I’m sure we miss a lot). Nevertheless, we all are happy with this years’ finds after the 2026 beach renourishment project.
Besides the smiling photos of our mugs after a windblown day, I’ll include Brenda’s box of shells after our season walking the beach. It is hard to believe we stopped and picked up this many shells … although Brenda would clarify she did most of the picking up (FYI, I did most of the rinsing in the ocean and quality inspection). 😉 Good times!
Category: Archive, Personal, Photos, Travel |
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Tags: beach combing, beach renourishment, brenda, chris, delray beach, family, florida, jerry, richc, shells, vacation
