My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on November 24, 2018

This really should have been yesterday’s Tech Friday post, but between the holiday with turkey, family and football watching on Thursday and another market drop and oil plunge of another 7.7% to $50.42 on Friday my focus was elsewhere.

As for a tech tip, a viral tweet last week caught hold when it really shouldn’t have been anything new.  The iPhone text editing tip suggests that instead of "fat fingering" the cursor to a text location, that holding a finger down on the spacebar and dragging  the cursor to a new location makes the task easier. Hm, this something users have been doing for years … and BTW, it is not only the spacebar, but click/hold any place on the virtual keyboard to move the cursor to a new location works too.

A three-year-old iPhone function which was apparently largely unknown to many has gone viral on social media – and it could change the way you text.

Despite being available on iPhones for the last three years, the keyboard feature has recently been discovered by thousands of Apple users – after Krissy Brierre-Davis shared her ‘discovery’ on Twitter.

LINK

Category: Apple, Cellphone, Social Media, Technology, Tidbits | No Comments »
Tags: apple, cursor, editting, iphone, tech friday, techfriday, text, tips, twitter, viral

Posted By RichC on November 23, 2018

Even as someone who watches markets and oil, the precipitous drop in price over the past month has been shocking. Most observers expected the increased inventory to cause the price per barrel to drop a bit, just as it has in the past when oil is stored in surplus, but a $20/barrel collapse in 1 month is either too much (likely if producers like OPEC & US shale companies restrain production) … or a predictor that a bigger global economic slowdown is in our future. If looking at this from a "glass half full" perspective, optimistically maybe "just a little" of both, but palatable?

Thoughts from a NYTimes article after President Trump decided to reimpose sanctions on Iran, one of the biggest producers of oil:

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Over the summer, the Saudis and other producers, who had been restraining output since 2017, opened up the taps, aiming to ease consumers’ worries and placate Mr. Trump. They may have been overly proactive. Traders have shifted their focus from Iran to other factors, like whether Mr. Trump’s trade battles with China and rising interest rates might dampen global economic growth and demand for oil.

At the same time, production in the United States has been rising faster than expected. Output has also risen in Libya, despite continuing warfare, and it has held up better than expected in another troubled country, Venezuela. Volumes of oil held in storage tanks around the world are beginning to build again, raising fears of a renewed glut, analysts say.

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Category: Business, Energy, Financial, News | No Comments »
Tags: crude, energy, Financial, nytimes, oil

Posted By RichC on November 22, 2018

This was probably not a Thanksgiving meal with my late mom and dad, but it was in the fall of 1987 and is a perfect #TBT memory.

My daughter Katelyn was pretty close to her daughter Annalyn’s age and my brother Ron and Claire just engaged to be married. It seems like yesterday, but was obviously a lifetime ago.

Thanksgiving this year will be with a smaller turkey and fewer to eat it, but I am so thankful for our family and the many time we were together each year.

Category: Holiday, Memories, Personal, Photos, TBT | No Comments »
Tags: brenda, claire, dadc, family, Holiday, katelyn, momc, ron, TBT, thanksgiving

Posted By RichC on November 21, 2018

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Category: Automotive, BMW, Diesel, Personal, Photos, Software, Travel | No Comments »
Tags: android, annalyn, babysitting, BMW, diesel, display, google, GPS, Navigation, waze, x5 35d

Posted By RichC on November 20, 2018

Plenty of jokes were bantered around last week when Hasbro announce a new version of Monopoly for Millennials. The "forget real estate. You can’t afford it anyway" comments and winning is collecting points, such as a "3-Day Music Festival" EXPERIENCE or "going to a vegan bistro because memories last forever."

Without digging a little  deeper or playing, it is difficult to separate truth from the cynical jokes. Is there a jail, or just a "cry room?" Is one of the pieces a "hashtag?" Is every player a winner? 

Category: Entertainment, Humor, Marketing | No Comments »
Tags: cynical, entitled, games, generation, hasbro, jokes, millennials, monopoly

Posted By RichC on November 19, 2018

Music Monday posts are usually a reflection of what I’m listening to at the moment; this week it is not. The older music video below was trigger after seeing Nicki Bluhm‘s name on a concert listing when Brenda and I were at the Taft Theater in Cincinnati.

I’ve mention Nicki Bluhm and The Gramblers several times on My Desultory Blog, but as their schedule and popularity grew, and since she dropped her band (and husband) a year or so ago, I haven’t really followed her music as a touring solo artist. Perhaps the music is more personal or maybe her politics that seeps through (as it often does for artists and musicians) … or maybe I just enjoyed the music they once recorded on a smartphone in a van and posted to YouTube? I also saw chemistry, comradery and ambition that came through in their music and faces as they traveled to music festivals and small venues in California. That much traveling and time together can take its toll.

Nevertheless, I did enjoy listening and watching this older Jam In The Van YouTube video that I had not previously seen.

Category: Entertainment, Music, Video | No Comments »
Tags: gramblers, jam, jet plane, music monday, musicmonday, nicki bluhm, solo, van, van sessions, youtube

Posted By RichC on November 18, 2018

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Category: Misc, Personal, Photos, Productivity, Woodworking | No Comments »
Tags: annalyn, desk, distracted, distraction, dovetails, drawer, kitchen, Productivity, sidetracked, woodworking, workbench, workshop

Posted By RichC on November 17, 2018

Last week while clearing off our bookshelves I came across a ticket to The Music Man from 18 years ago when my nephew Ben played the lead in his high school musical. It occurred to me that his birthday was this month and that I should post it to his Facebook page while sending him a “Happy Birthday” greeting. My sister-in-law replied back that she would love to have the ticket, but it was stuck firmly to the shelf?

What to do, what to do? A: Try steam???

Oh, that was that easy … well, nope … once again a distraction sidetracked me as I ended up opening a box that had my old Stirling Engine model and remembered that the small gasket was why it stopped working and that I was going to fabricate a new one out of a latex glove … which like all of us with “too much brain“ (cough, cough) … proceeded to spend the rest of the evening tinkering and testing the new gasket and deteriorating rubber connectors on the model engine.

I did end up getting the ticket steamed off the bookshelf for my sister-in-law Chris. Now to remember to give it to her!

Invented by Robert Stirling in 1816, the Stirling engine has the potential to be much more efficient than a gasoline or diesel engine. But today, Stirling engines are used only in some very specialized applications, like in submarines or auxiliary power generators for yachts, where quiet operation is important. Although there hasn’t been a successful mass-market application for the Stirling engine, some very high-power inventors are working on it.

A Stirling engine uses the Stirling cycle,­ which is unlike the cycles used in internal-combustion engines.

The gasses used inside a Stirling engine never leave the engine. There are no exhaust valves that vent high-pressure gasses, as in a gasoline or diesel engine, and there are no explosions taking place. Because of this, Stirling engines are very quiet.

The Stirling cycle uses an external heat source, which could be anything from gasoline to solar energy to the heat produced by decaying plants. No combustion takes place inside the cylinders of the engine.

MORE

Category: Energy, Hobby, Productivity, Science, Tidbits, Video | No Comments »
Tags: ben skinner, distracted, distraction, efficiency, engine, heat, model, mp4, musical, sidetracked, stirling, ticket, video

Posted By RichC on November 16, 2018

The Brydge keyboard attached to my aging iPad Air2, which I love, has been slowly causing me a few irritation when it come to getting a connection while charging. The tightly sealed aluminum clad keyboard was much better than my original Kensington (left) and tested Zagg (right), both which were great. Still the Brydge is not meant to be taken apart or even service the battery, from what I can tell. I’ve narrowed down the problem (I think) to a loose or faulty USB socket on the device since I’ve tried several cords with different clearance plug ends. None of them work correctly but a couple will eventually make a connection "IF" I wiggle and pressure the tip down away from the key surfaces (illustrated above).

Thankfully the Brydge keyboard does not need to be charged often as the iPad, but without a way to fix it, I think its days are numbered. Perhaps I’ll start looking for a new iPad/Brydge pairing in 2019?

Category: Apple, Productivity, Tablet, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: apple, brydge, connector, ipad, kensington, keyboard, plug, problem, repair, tech friday, techfriday, usb, zagg

Posted By RichC on November 15, 2018

Winter is here as the ice came in the morning bringing down branches and knocking out power all around Cincinnati … and just when I thought it was over, the Dark Sky app indicates the heavy snow is beginning in Liberty Township. Ugh!

(I’m also playing a little bit with the slow-motion settings on the iPhone)

Category: Cellphone, Photography, Software, Video, Weather | No Comments »
Tags: app, dark sky, first, iphone, slow motion, snow, video