The sound of the Red-Tail Hawk vs Bald Eagle

Posted By on December 12, 2023

As someone who enjoys birds and birdwatching, I found this Red-Tail Hawk (left) vs Bald Eagle (right) X.com video worth sharing.

Music Monday: The Emotions – “Best Of My Love” from 1977

Posted By on December 11, 2023

Best of my loveThe song “Best Of My Love” by The Emotions was a song that I only listened on the radio to when it was released in 1977 (it was not in my music collection), but over the years I do enjoy how it reminds me of being “back in my younger days.” Hm, perhaps Don Williams should have a future Music Monday song?
 

  “Best Of My Love”
    The Emotions
| 1977

As for today’s song, “Best of My Love” reached Number 1 on the Billboard Pop and R&B charts and won a Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a duo or group with vocals. It also won the American Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B Single and has been certified Platinum in the US by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Will 2024 be the year to cut the cable TV cord?

Posted By on December 10, 2023

It has been a few years since we entertained the idea of “cutting the cord” when it comes to cable TV. I’m once again inching closer as Altafiber (acquired Cincinnati Bell and Fioptics) has bumped up prices and forced an equipment update on us. It is both good and bad … since I’m not really ready for change.

New TiVo Cloudbased remote

We have moved from a hardware based whole-house DVR with tons of storage that we’ve used for years … to a cloud-based TiVo system (love TiVo systems years ago). After the switch, I can say it is an improvement … so that does half justify the bump up in cost. That said, I’m not sure we really need cable TV, but the convenience is nice?

EDIT: Altafiber “enticed me” with lowering my bill for another 12 Laughing Emojimonths to the 2023 rates … so we’ll stay and pay … and pretend to be happy another year. 

Finding a Chrstmas Tree while Brenda shops with Taylor

Posted By on December 9, 2023

This would be a great photo of Brenda and Taylor, but for being a blurry selfie (click to see larger). Oh well, I enjoyed seeing the two of them out for their annual mother and son Christmas shopping and evening dinner. I hope they were successful? 

Brenda Taylor Shopping 231208 Christmas Tree Wrapped on backporch

While they were out, I did my annual the tree searching thing … which is becoming more and more frustrating each year (receipt:$$$). This year, the selection was slimmer and prices were “inflated” … as I has already beenwarned and expected. Buying a “real” tree shouldn’t be so expensive, perhaps it is time to cut a few of our Charlie Brown looking trees down in our backyard?

But too late for this year as the credit card has been dinged again, the tree was shaken, then wrapped and tossed into my utility trailer. I assume those without a pickup truck or a trailer do not buy an 11-12 foot tree as there’s no way to put it … and keep it … safely on the roof (even if I had a roof rack). 

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Tech Friday: Apple news for 2024 and an iPhone 7 plus battery

Posted By on December 8, 2023

While doing a little tech reading this week, it doesn’t look as if Apple is planning more than incremental updates for the MacBooks and iPads for spring … although they do like to surprise us? 

Apple plans to refresh the MacBook Air around March 2024, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said today in a report on Apple’s future iPad and Mac plans. Updated 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pro models are in the works.

Macbook image

As Apple overhauled the MacBook Air ‘s design in 2022 and then introduced a larger model in 2023, no design changes are planned for the 2024 models. The focus will instead be on new internal hardware, including the updated M3 chip.

LINK

– – – – –

Apple’s 2024 iPad Pro models will feature OLED displays, a first for the iPad lineup. Apple has been using OLED technology for the iPhone and the Apple Watch, but larger OLED screens are more expensive. Compared to LED or mini-LED, OLED brings deeper blacks and more vivid colors. OLED displays will be a Pro-only feature, with the iPad Air to continue to use standard displays.

LINK

I’m not in the market for anything new when it comes to computers or tablets at this point anyway, but am planning to “try” to self-replace the battery in my older iPhone 7 Plus since it is drained by afternoon. I also read that software in iOS slows down the phone to preserve battery power when it detects a “struggling battery.” 

AMZN order of iPhone7plus battery

So … I’ve placed an order with a seller on Amazon that has a few more reviews than other sellers (unfortunately not all reviews are positive … but who knows when batteries are all made in China and people are self replacing?) 

Taylor’s first VW and a CinciTDI Throwback Thursday #TBT

Posted By on December 7, 2023

CinciTDI Header

About a month ago, I stumbled across a photo that I think was used as a header for the CinciTDI website at some point after Katelyn and I sold our VW Jetta TDIs, but I had to smile noticing the Volkswagen in the header photo was once Taylor’s GTI. Very good memories for sure (and what really makes me smile is that both Katelyn and Taylor drive Volkswagens today – click for 2019 photo).

Katelyn's 2001 VW Jetta TDI RichC's 2003n VW Jetta TDI

After sending the photo to Taylor to get his reaction, I thought it might make for a good Throwback Thursday #TBT memory post … and am adding a leftover screen shot of our club’s How-To videos in the camcorder (pre-smartphone) and early Internet video pre-YouTube days. 

VW TDI How To Videos
Shockingly the donation link still seems to work?

Have you glanced at the moon lately? We’re going back next year.

Posted By on December 6, 2023

Phy Moon Article Jan25
Read the full article in Phys.org

Ok … so it is not “manned,” but check out these physics facts from Discover Magazine anyway 😉 

Q: Why does the moon always present the same face to us? I find it impossible to believe that this could happen by chance. — Michael Connelly, Toronto

A: Nope, not by chance — it’s pure physics.

For starters, the moon is not stuck in place with one side facing us. Our lunar companion rotates while it orbits Earth. It’s just that the amount of time it takes the moon to complete a revolution on its axis is the same it takes to circle our planet — about 27 days. As a result, the same lunar hemisphere always faces Earth.

How’d this come to be? In a word: gravity. The moon’s gravity slightly warps our planet’s shape and gives us tides. Likewise, Earth tugs at the moon, creating a rocky, high-tide “bulge” facing us. That bulge ended up working like a brake, slowing the moon’s spin down to the current rate, so the lunar high tide permanently faces us.

When that happened, about 4 billion years ago, the moon became “tidally locked,” and it has presented us the same visage ever since.

Our backyard Fox scampering by triggers daily Wyze Cam alerts

Posted By on December 5, 2023

Music Monday: Daryl Hall and John Oates – “Private Eyes”

Posted By on December 4, 2023

The music I listened to in the early 1980s was in my opinion still leftover from the 1970s. I was still finishing up college and grad school … but growing up since Brenda and I were married in 1982 (although “grown up” would be a stretch)!

Daryl Hall and John Oates in 2017

So for me, Hall and Oates and their hit “Private Eyes” in 1981 was still 1970’s music and fit pretty well for today’s Music Monday selection. 

Books: “Profiles In Courage” by John F. Kennedy

Posted By on December 3, 2023

On the recommendation of General Keith Kellogg this past week, I check out the late Senator and President John F. Kennedy book from the library. It was written in 1956 called “Profiles In Courage.” Having grown up with a larger than life version of President Kennedy, I started reading immediately (also, the book “John F. Kennedy and PT-109” was a highlight in my early school reading years). Oh how the Democratic Party has changed … and in my opinion, “progressively” for the worse.  

Profiles In Courage Chapter one

My summary goes like this and applies equally to all who are in public service:

It’s not always politically wise to take positions and make decisions based on what is best for one personal career or short term gains … but to make the often difficult decision that is best for one’s country. Those who are elected to political parties are always being tugged this way or that based on loud voices and personal survival in elected office … but it take courage for patriots to make the best decisions the country as a whole. 

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