My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on March 21, 2023

When working with Bing‘s webmaster tools, I noticed that some search results for MyDesultory Blog.com were missing. After a bit of reading, it looks as if I may have crammed too much into the index HTML page? According to their guidelines (it doesn’t impact other search engines), a heavy index page (+125KB) removes a website from their indexing.

So, I’m going to try lighting up the homepage by removing the “tag cloud” and long list of “recent posts” that were at the bottom. Hopefully it is not a commonly looked at feature (more for my own shortcuts) and that it will help thin down my HTML. If it doesn’t bring the site back into Bing’s good graces, perhaps it is time to eliminate the growing and unused list of tags and categories?

On a further expansion of my spending and new computer build-out, I’ve added a new 15.6” IPS $99 portable CocoPar-brand display (Amazon “renewed” model – Gulp!) It is powered from the Thunderbolt/USB-C port on the MacBook Air M2 and will hopefully travel with me to give me added display space. It is nearly impossible to duplicate my two 27″ monitors, but having to try to do everything on the MacBook was not comfortable. Hopefully this will help as my small iPad on Apple Sidecar was not cutting it?

Also I’ve give up on trying to get comfortable with the Mac OS Stage Manager feature and am going back to just running multiple Desktops/Spaces to keep my windows and deskspaces organized.

Category: Apple, Blogs, Computer, Shopping, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: Air M2, amazon.com, blog, desktop, desultory, macbook, spaceship, tweaks, update, website

Posted By RichC on March 20, 2023

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Category: Music | No Comments »
Tags: jackie blue, mp3, music monday, musicmonday, ozark mountain daredevils, siriusxm

Posted By RichC on March 19, 2023

Although I always enjoy the Truth For Life website as a daily devotional, I am especially enjoying the archived sermon series on Jude by Alistair Begg.

Since it is an ongoing series in 2023, I’m looking forward to the next message as the last three weeks have been so applicable to current events … and the issues facing churches, and in turn family life as it relates to “cultural progressivism” in today’s society. 

Check out the well organized Sermon Archive starting with The Letter of Jude on February 27, 2023. 

Category: Faith | No Comments »
Tags: alistair begg, bible, christianity, jude, sermon, truth for life

Posted By RichC on March 18, 2023

Even though the new MacBook Air M2 is cloud connected and semi-backing up (to iCloud, gDrive, OneDrive, Dropbox, etc) … it is still uncomfortable to be loading up and using a new notebook computer for traveling without physically backing up files. In particular, setting up the built in Apple TimeMachine software in case the computer needs to be restored … apps, operating system and all. Yes… it happened once-upon-a-time on the iMac.

So … for $80, I opted to add a small “hopefully” reliable 1 TB Samsung SSD USB-C drive and created 2 partitions — one for archiving larger off-computer files like raw video and audio — and the larger one for TimeMachine backups. So far it is working great.

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Category: Apple, Blogs, Cloud, Computer, Shopping, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: Air M2, amazon, backup, Computer, macbook, macros, marsedit, samsung, ssd

Posted By RichC on March 17, 2023

It has been almost a week and I’m slowly getting comfortable with my new “open box” MacBook Air M2. Everything is working as it should, but there are changes for me in getting comfortable with smaller type and less screen real estate. I suspect a second monitor is in my future?

I’ve looked at the Apple Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter in order to plug in my Apple Thunderbolt Display (currently on my iMac), but can’t get myself to spend $50 if I’m really going to want something different when I’m traveling or away from my office and desk. So I’m looking at the portable display powered off the Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) port or a dongle hub to add some additional space. I’m just not sure this will be sufficient?

As a test, I’m liking the built-in Apple Sidecar feature that permits me to use my iPad as an additional monitor (photo with my iPad still attached to the Brydge keyboard, just flattened out). It works great and I’m finding myself wishing I would have opted for the 3rd or 4th generation iPad Pro 12.9” model a few year back when I upgraded? On the other hand, if i keep looking around, maybe an older model will become available for cheap???

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Category: Apple, Computer, Software, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: Air M2, display, ipad, macbook, sidecar, tech friday, techfriday

Posted By RichC on March 16, 2023

The South China Sea has become a hotly contested region in recent years, with multiple countries claiming various parts of the sea as their own. China, in particular, has been actively asserting its dominance over the region by building military structures and increasing its naval presence in the area. The WSJ published a detailed article this past weekend that is worth reading. 

The disputed sea is ringed by China, Taiwan and Southeast Asian nations, but Beijing claims nearly all of it. It has turned reefs into artificial islands, then into military bases, with missiles, radar systems and air strips that are a problem for the U.S. Navy. It has built a large coast guard that among other things harasses offshore oil-and-gas operations of Southeast Asian nations, and a fishing militia that swarms the rich fishing waters, lingering for days.

The U.S. missed the moment to hold back China’s buildup in part because it was focused on collaborating with Beijing on global issues such as North Korea and Iran, and was preoccupied by wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. China also stated outright in 2015 that it didn’t intend to militarize the South China Sea.

The Chinese have been constructing artificial islands in the South China Sea, which has raised concerns among other nations in the region, as well as the international community. These islands are being equipped with military installations, such as airfields, radar systems, and missile defense systems, which are capable of supporting offensive military operations.

The militarization of the South China Sea has led to increased tensions between China and other countries in the region, such as Vietnam and the Philippines. The United States has also been involved in the dispute, conducting freedom of navigation operations to challenge China’s territorial claims.

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Category: AI, History, Millitary, News, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: chatgpt, china, History, islands, militarization, pacific, philippines, reefs, wsj

Posted By RichC on March 15, 2023

While reading a health related social media post this past week, a graphic struck me as interesting since it highlights many of the ailments that most doctors and aging humans eventually face. Just to keep it personal, I’m noticing the hair thinning, vision and hearing loss as well as my high cholesterol needing some work (not to mention that I’ve gained weight since last summer). On the female side, Brenda has her aging battles too … with bone loss, orthopedic repairs and varicose veins. We can only hope that a few of the more life threatening issues are avoided as we age. How are MyDesultoryBlog readers measuring up?

On a much happier … and far more satisfying note … Drew sent me a cute photo of our granddaughters working on their “spiritual health” last Sunday in church; I loved the photo … and those little girls! 

Category: Blogs, Faith, Health, Human Interest, Photos, Social Media | No Comments »
Tags: aging, church, family, granddaughters, graphic, Health

Posted By RichC on March 14, 2023

Over the weekend, I started a woodworking project that has been buzzing around in my head. There is no hurry to this side-table (mentioned previously), but wanted to use recycled hardwood rather than the particle board in the mass manufactured tables. 

This required a different design that I patterned after our antique octagon foyer table and some delicate cutting and glue up. I used the same router technique for the beveled glass (photo) used in cutting the Cornhole game boards … but focused a bit more on the jig to keep it tighter. All in all the glass sits nicely in the octagon top and looks good … now I’m questioning the antiqued painting the finished project (like the toothbrushing stool below).

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Category: Personal, Photos, Woodworking | No Comments »
Tags: octagon, project, side table, weekend, workshop

Posted By RichC on March 13, 2023

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Category: Music | No Comments »
Tags: all right now, free (band), mp3, music monday, musicmonday

Posted By RichC on March 12, 2023

Now that I own a MacBook Air M2, it is time to get it set up for a few of the daily computer chores … like posting to My Desultory Blog. I’m still trying to get comfortable using MarsEdit5 blogging app, but do enjoy the ability to be able to write custom macros that helps with a few of the normal items that were part of OpenLiveWriter. I’m learning. (Testing side by side photos below)

New MacBook Air M2 on my desk on Sunday night and my granddaughters setting up the green rope I left behind pretending they were laser beams. So imaginative! 

Category: Blogs, Computer, Photos, Software, Weather | No Comments »
Tags: granddaughters, kidgenuity, macros, marsedit, snow, spring, wordpress