Tech Friday: Time to update Linux servers and backup data

Posted By on May 3, 2024

Linux update and upgradeA bigger than usual update this month for my Linux based servers and as it the norm, I spent a few minutes cleaning up storage and deleting unwanted bulked up logs (usual for me). Hopefully all will continue to run normally and that security will be improved.

Personally I’ve notice a speed improvement (???), but I have also noticed more invasiveness of Google Ads … particularly when not using blockers, etc. It may be time to re-evaluate the limited monetary advantage of having ads … although I do learn from Thinking Emoji including them on my personal blog.

The Doppelgänger look-a-likes always impress me #TBT

Posted By on May 2, 2024

Taylor at Ben and Emily's Wedding in October 2011Every once in a while there is a doppelgänger photo, person, sculpture or something that reminds me of someone else (software isn’t always accurate). 😉 

Also a few years back, there was a person who reminded me of my brother Ron, so I posted about it. Back October 2011 at my nephew’s wedding, there was a portrait on the wall that looked a bit like my son Taylor at the time … so took a photo (photo right)

BUT the other day on social media there were a few more uncanny photos that I thought might be worth including on the subject (click each for larger). Impressive. 

Photo 1 Photo 2

Photo 3 Photo 4

We need to work on addiction to too much diet soda/pop

Posted By on May 1, 2024

Soda artBoth my wife and I drink too many carbonated beverages. For me it is usually Diet Mountain Dew and for Brenda it has always been Diet Pepsi. I scaled bad several times in my life, but ended up right back in the habit of 3+ cans everyday. Brenda seems to be able to turn it off when needed (pregnancies and medical procedures), but hasn’t really considered it a bad or overly harmful habit — although it has most recently become a financial cost (inflation). FYI, she drinks more than 3 per day! 

Over the years, we’ve read article after article on all the “bads” associated with carbonated soft drinks, but have started to send a few articles back and forth to each other in hoping to reduce the number of cans per day we consume. Here’s one Harvard Health article of interest:

Zero weight loss from zero calorie drinks? Say it ain’t so

… If you’re drinking two 12-ounce cans of regular Coke each day, you could eliminate 280 “empty” (non-nutritive) calories by switching to a zero-calorie alternative. Over a month, that’s 8,400 fewer calories, enough to lose almost two and a half pounds. So, what’s the catch?

One worry is that artificially sweetened diet sodas may create a craving for sweet, high-calorie foods. So, even as calorie counts drops from zero-calorie sodas, consumption of other foods and drinks might add back even more. In rodent studies, at least one artificial sweetener (aspartame) has been found to damage a part of the brain that tells the animal when to stop eating.

(more…)

A trip to Florida has me pondering the future of my iPhone7+

Posted By on April 30, 2024

Delray Beach Pano - April 2024

While uploading a late April 2024 peaceful looking Delray Beach scene from my “aging” iPhone 7 Plus, the distorted panorama photo has me wondering just when it will be time to upgrade? Since my 7 year old smartphone will no longer update a few of the apps due to an old iOS … I do realize that Apple will soon force me to do something (even with the replaced battery last year).

Chart of Gold - 1 year 2023-2024Back to the above pano photo:
Brenda and I had a short but very relaxing trip to Florida to both enjoy the beach and closed the condo for hurricane season. I was able to semi-work half days, took an online option writing course and even sold an ornate 22K gold necklace and earrings I gave to Brenda in the 1990s. She doesn’t wear it so due to gold is selling at near $2400 an ounce, we decided it was time to say goodbye. Eyeopening

Also … I’ll add an interesting Florida alligator photo … not mine or near our condo  … but still eyeopening. 

Alligator climbing wall in SW Florida

Music Monday: Fleetwood Mac and “Rhiannon” from 1976

Posted By on April 29, 2024

Fleetwood Mac Album SMEarlier this year, someone on my X.com feed included a Fleetwood Mac video from 1976. I saved it remembering how nearly all of us in Founders Hall at ONU who were listening to albums on our turntables, reel to reels, 8-tracks or cassette decks enjoyed their music.

One of the favorite songs … of many … was “Rhiannon.” So for today’s Music Monday, here it is from the album and the video mentioned above.
 

  “Rhiannon” – Fleetwood Mac | 1975

No surprises after Brenda finally took her Ancestry DNA test

Posted By on April 28, 2024

This content is restricted.

Zillow lists “Pending Sale” on the property where I grew up

Posted By on April 27, 2024

Towards the end of last year, I added a post titled “Semi-Depressing reminiscing about my childhood home for Throwback Thursday #TBT in December 2023. A Zillow For Sale listing had me remembering good times AND a not so good photo that did not make me smile (see link).

Our house on Lake Erie in 1967
My childhood home on Lake Erie in 1967

Fast forward to this past week and I noticed that there is now a sale pending on the property … which almost had me asking my brother“did you make an offer.”

EDIT update: After talking with my brother, it was him (shock!): “Our offer was accepted, and the closing should be on or before May 13.” 😊  

Sale Pending

Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee

  1. lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
  2. digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.
My Desultory Blog