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

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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

Tech Friday: Browser extensions and MacOS wish list item

Posted By on April 26, 2024

Making changes to the Apple MacOS, or my current MacBook Air M2 computer workstation setup, is something I hesitate to do when everything is working smoothly. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t a few things that I wouldn’t mind Apple addressing that “might” make my life easier. 

MacBook Air M2 Home Work Desk setup

First my tiny gripe … is that there isn’t a way to extend my MacBook desktop to access/control the iPhone (left) and iPad (right) in the above setup. There are so many times that I’m working on the Mac and “think” that I can move the cursor over to the iPad screen to make a quick change … but instead it needs to be “touched” with a finger (touch screen) … something that can’t be done on the MacOS. It really doesn’t make sense since Chromebooks and Windows devices have been touchscreen for years. Again, not a big deal, but obviously a decision to keep auto-tab-refreshApple users owning more devices.

Second, I hesitate to add browser based extensions, but sometimes it is just necessary. For example, one of my new favorites is the tab-auto-refresh extension. I have several tabs open on a Firefox browser all the time that I either keep alive and refreshing content on my older Intel-based iMac (off the photo to the right in the above) or a hidden tab or different desktop on my MacBook Air.  For example, I enjoy keeping an investment website “alive” as it will log out automatically if no actions are detected. The extension can be set to refresh the tab on whatever interval Text Editorneeded to keep it alive. Also I track an online portfolio of an advisor that I follow and the auto-refresh can be set to update these spreadsheet prices or changes.

The Third is another extension that I use on both Firefox and Brave (Chromium-based) browsers that will pop open a browser-based Text Editor. Simple and easy to use.

Remembering the visual learning of Morse Code #TBT

Posted By on April 25, 2024

It has been a while since I’ve posted anything amateur radio related, so this is a blast from the ThrowBack Thursday #TBT past … and it reminded me of my teenage years and learning Morse Code visually (chart below the break).
  

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Check out the “Devil Comet” in the hour after sunset

Posted By on April 24, 2024

An icy comet with a demonic sobriquet is now visible to the naked eye for the first time in 71 years.

Look for the “Devil Comet” in the hour after sunset in the Northern Hemisphere. The fuzzy blob can be glimpsed in the western sky, down and left from Jupiter’s bright orb. Using binoculars or a telescope will make it easier to spot.

“You’ve got a chance for the next couple of days,” said Jonti Horner, a professor of astrophysics at the University of Southern Queensland.

The comet is brightest in the sky this week, having just made its closest approach to the sun. With each passing day, it gets lower on the horizon and will soon disappear from view for skywatchers north of the equator. In the Southern Hemisphere, the comet should remain visible to the naked eye for another month or so.

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Great tip for those wanting to draw things better

Posted By on April 23, 2024

As a “non-artist,” I’ve always admired (or had someone on the CPP payroll) who have had the ability and training to create art. Here’s a social media video tip for those of us who would just like to draw a car. 😊 

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