Archive: Some Christmas photos and KDAE finally moving in
Posted By RichC on December 13, 2023
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The sound of the Red-Tail Hawk vs Bald Eagle
Posted By RichC 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.
Did you know?
The iconic sound of the bald eagle you always hear in movies and TV shows is the one of a red-tailed hawk.
Why?
This is the red-tailed hawk's vocalization vs a real bald eagle's.pic.twitter.com/zFy0U7LJLl
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) December 8, 2023
Music Monday: The Emotions – “Best Of My Love” from 1977
Posted By RichC on December 11, 2023
The 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 RichC 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.
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 
months 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 RichC 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?
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).
Tech Friday: Apple news for 2024 and an iPhone 7 plus battery
Posted By RichC 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.
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.
– – – – –
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.
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.”
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 RichC on December 7, 2023
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).
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.
Shockingly the donation link still seems to work?
Have you glanced at the moon lately? We’re going back next year.
Posted By RichC on December 6, 2023
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 RichC on December 5, 2023
Music Monday: Daryl Hall and John Oates – “Private Eyes”
Posted By RichC 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)!
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.
Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee
- lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
- digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.