My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on October 5, 2018

The Amazon Echo has been a fun gadget to use and have in our home since Katelyn and Drew gave it to us for Christmas. After having our granddaughter Annalyn with us for a few days last week, I realized we don’t always have the volume set appropriately especially when she is sleeping. Hm … besides turning off the “OK” notifications when requesting a light off or something, how about getting Alexa to “whisper?”

Well, Amazon developers finally listened to users’ pleas and will be releasing a new feature called Whisper mode. Simply whisper your command to Alexa and she’ll whisper back.

Here are a few more details on CNET:

How it works

Human speech and human whispers are created differently. When humans speak, we use their vocal cords to create sound vibrations.

When we whisper, we mostly use puffs of air to make words. Because of this, the Amazon development team had to teach Alexa a new way to listen and how to respond in kind. Want to learn more about the process? They published a paper on their research and posted it as a PDF online, here.

When can I use it?

The whisper feature will be released in the United States in October. No word yet about releases in other countries, yet.

LINK

Category: How-To, Innovation, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: Alexa, amazon, assistant, automation, echo, gadget, home, tech friday, techfriday

Posted By RichC on October 4, 2018

Yes … I’m still waiting on my Elio. I can’t say that I’m confident they will ever roll off the factory assembly line, but since my deposit is likely already gone one way or the other, I’ll try to remain positive.

This week’s Momentum, the Elio Motors newsletter for customers, discussed their philosophy on “trim levels and models.” Most automotive manufacturers create a base model and several trim levels that escalate the price … often significantly.

Here’s their comment:

At Elio Motors, we plan on doing things differently. For starters, we will not offer trim levels. To keep costs down, we will produce 14 vehicles at the plant: 7 colors and 2 transmissions. From there, through our ePlus: My Elio, My Way option program, customers can pick their options a la carte, and without option packages. We believe that actually making an “option” an option, our customers will save money and be more content with their new vehicle.

LINK

Category: Automotive | No Comments »
Tags: automotives, elio, elio motors, eplus, options

Posted By RichC on October 3, 2018

If you use your battery powered drills as much as I do and are suffering with something a bit older than a couple of years, it is time to check out the new lithium powered tools. I can’t tell you how pleased I am with both my slightly older Craftsman Drill and Impact driver and new Ridgid GenX brushless tools and was embarrassed to have "tried to like" other lessor brands several years ago.

Probably the biggest reason I recently switched from the Craftsman line of hand tools is that Sears no longer made it easy for me to get something fixed … or even buy the one missing socket or broken wrench. This of course extended to their power tools that used batteries. When the price to replace an aging battery was nearly the price of a new drill on sale that included 2-batteries and a charger, that was the final straw for me. Besides … the Sears hardware stores in my area closed and few Sears department stores are around anymore – very sad.

Enter Ridgid, which are easily purchased at Home Depot. I have used their corded tools for years and now have found their 18V Gen5X tools to be excellent for the home workshop enthusiast. Priced "fair" and warrantied for life if you register (haven’t tested this just yet). One can only hope that Home Depot and Ridgid work together to grab a significant market share since most who buy decent tools for home use rarely if ever use the warranty.

Point being, don’t suffer any longer with short battery life or less than solid tools … get something better. At this point,  I’m happy with the Ridgid brand (in fact, I just added the work light below to my Christmas wish list!), but also know other premium brands are making great lithium powered battery tools.

Category: Advice, Marketing, Personal, Photos, Shopping, Tools, Woodworking | No Comments »
Tags: craftsman, drill, home depot, lithium, power, recommend, ridgid, sears, tools

Posted By RichC on October 2, 2018

FYI … not my work, as I’m nowhere close to having skills like this (although it may inspire me to practice!)

Category: Art, Misc, Tools | No Comments »
Tags: artwork, skill, talent, tig, welding

Posted By RichC on October 1, 2018

Air Force One is parked at Joint Base Andrews in Prince George’s County. Want to board? Run for the highest office in the land or join the White House press corps.

Or, for a slightly easier route, visit National Harbor as of Oct. 19, when what’s billed as an “identical model of the president’s aircraft” will be ready for tours.

The Air Force One Experience, a full-size 747 replica of said aircraft, is scheduled to arrive at National Harbor — by barge, from Rhode Island where the plane was refurbished — on Monday between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. It will remain there, at 701 National Harbor Blvd., adjacent to the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, through the holiday season.

(more…)

Category: Aviation, Politics | No Comments »
Tags: air force, aircraft, barge, harbor, museum, national, one, president, replica, rhode island, tour

Posted By RichC on September 30, 2018

This content is restricted.

Category: Archive, Personal, Photos, Video | No Comments »
Tags: annalyn, archive, bompa, doll, family, giving, katelyn, mp4, rhm, visit

Posted By RichC on September 29, 2018

This content is restricted.

Category: Archive, Personal, Photos, Video | No Comments »
Tags: annalyn, archive, babysitting, family, granddaughter, katelyn, mp4, overnight, sidney, stool, swing, video

Posted By RichC on September 28, 2018

Facebook Inc. discovered a security flaw affecting almost 50 million accounts, the company said Friday. Attackers exploited a vulnerability in Facebook’s code for its “view as” feature, which lets users see what their profile looks like to someone else. Facebook discovered the problem Tuesday, the company said in a blog post.A problem in the code allowed outsiders to steal access tokens, the digital keys that keep people logged in to Facebook …

Source: Facebook Finds Security Flaw Affecting Almost 50 Million Accounts – WSJ

Category: Social Media, Technology | No Comments »
Tags:

Posted By RichC on September 27, 2018

Can’t wait for the return of Tim Allen and Last Man Standing cast to FOX after being cancel on ABC — my DVR series is set for Friday night at 8PM (yes, I know about streaming services … but I just don’t trust them!)

Multi-cam comedy LAST MAN STANDING, starring Tim Allen, heads to FOX for its seventh season on September 28, 2018.

A fan-favorite for six seasons, LAST MAN STANDING stars Allen as MIKE BAXTER, a married father of three girls, who tries to maintain his manliness in a world increasingly dominated by women. Produced by 20th Century Fox Television, the series also stars Nancy Travis, Jonathan Adams, Amanda Fuller, Christoph Sanders and Jordan Masterson.

“Excited?,” said Allen. “Team LMS was in the sixth inning, ahead by four runs, stands were packed and then for no reason, they call off the game. It leaves you sitting in the dugout, holding a bat and puzzled. Now we get the news from FOX that it’s time to get back out on that diamond – hell yes, I’m excited! When I heard the offer to create more episodes of LAST MAN STANDING, I did a fist pump so hard I threw my back out. It’s the fans! I could not be more grateful for the fans who wrote petitions and kept up the passion and incredible support for the show. And a fist pump, ouch, for Dana Walden and Gary Newman at FOX for not only listening to the fans, but for making the bold move to bring LAST MAN STANDING back. I’m sure audiences will be curious to see what we look like after all these years. Oh, has it only been one year? Well, just goes to show you – a lot can happen in a year.”

“LAST MAN STANDING ended too soon and the outcry from the fans has been deafening,” said Gary Newman and Dana Walden, Chairmen and CEOs, Fox Television Group. “We’ve wanted to put the show back together since its final taping a year ago, and Tim never gave up hope either. Thanks to its millions of devoted viewers and the irrepressible Tim Allen, we haven’t seen the last of LAST MAN STANDING.”

“Last Man Standing” averaged 8.3 million viewers in Live + 7 ratings for the 2016-2017 season on ABC. It was the network’s second most-watched comedy, after “Modern Family.” Among the key Adults 18-49 demographic, the series averaged a 1.7/7. The series ranked as the No. 1 new program across all syndication when it debuted off-net during the 2016-2017 season.

LAST MAN STANDING is produced by 20th Century Fox Television. The series was created by Jack Burditt.

Category: Entertainment | No Comments »
Tags: fox, last man standing, sitcom, television, tim allen

Posted By RichC on September 26, 2018

Although I suspect Google management and most of their Silicon Valley  employees are of a left-leaning tilt, there reminder and LINK to "register to vote" is a great universally welcomed message. Hopefully ALL U.S. citizens will exercise the privilege to vote come this November … although personally disagree with non-citizens and illegal aliens voting in any U.S. election.

Category: News, Politics | No Comments »
Tags: alien, google, illegal, non-citizen, Politics, register, voting