Tech Friday: Inching closer to the paid version of ProtonMail

| October 13, 2023

We live in a world where personal privacy has all but disappeared when it comes to our lives. We are surveilled everywhere and by practically every device. Our connected gadgets collect and send data on our every movement … and increasingly “inner” goings-on (smart devices monitoring our health). New cars are pumping data to the […]

Tech Friday: Web email and deleting ProtonMail how-to tip

| August 18, 2023

Proton Mail offers a free email service with limitations … as expected. There is a paid version which over time I’ve contemplated switching to for both the enhanced privacy and ability to use my old original business email domain: whatevername@cppnet.com. The monthly (yearly) subscription price is reasonable, but since I already run several Linux servers […]

Google advertising and Gmail, if you believe it (+AI voice)

| April 28, 2023

Do you trust that Google isn’t using your emails to push advertising to you? Personally I’m thinking this might be a “sleight of hand” considering the cookies and the fact you are signed into your Google account and search are used in advertising. Perhaps they aren’t using the content of Gmail to generate advertising, but […]

Logging in and adjusting to new My Desultory Blog security

| October 5, 2021

I received an email from a regular blog reader questioning the new Sign-In feature that I implemented last month; it hinders anonymous viewing on My Desultory Blog for some posts. Yes it is a restrictive change, but it is not all that cumbersome once you are “Sign-In.” The WordPress security is minimal and the only […]

Tech Friday: Security and less than consistent VPN connections

| June 18, 2021

Generally, I don’t use a VPN connection at home, but since I’ve been having slow connections on my laptop and iPad with VPN connections (both TunnelBear and ProtonVPN), thought I was test at home. ProtonVPN has been working pretty well and doesn’t restrict as much as the “warm and fuzzy” Tunnel Bear, but I’ve not […]

How to run email lists, sell your product and retain customers

| March 10, 2021

After cleaning out my email in-box and “attempting” to unsubscribe to a bunch of marketing oriented email lists, it became clear that I chose to remain subscribed to the lists that do more than plug their products or repeat sales again and again. A couple “subscribed-to” lists stood out because they were informative and were […]

Tech Friday: How to “shift-click” select multiple emails in Gmail

| July 31, 2020

It has been a while since reviewing the stats of My Desultory Blog, but realized that one Tech Friday post in particular was getting quite a few looks. It is obvious that I’m not the only Apple Macintosh Magic Mouse user to have scrolling issue when using the popular Google Calendar and stopping the infuriating […]

Things I should know by now – Unistrut Connecting System

| July 15, 2020

“So that’s what this is for?” I had a “duh” moment the other day when sifting through subscribed emails from vendors. A company called OnlineMetals.com sends out educational marketing emails to customers who enjoy working with metal. I’ve used them as a supplier for a variety of small projects as a source for steel and […]

Tech Friday: Options to subscriptions services raising prices

| January 18, 2019

The recent price increases rumbling through the economy are starting to be felt in the products we all use and have learned to appreciate. One of the services I’ll likely eliminate before the monthly price increase is the streaming service Netflix. We did this once before, but with all the new added content and lack […]

Tech Friday: Yahoo and AOL sift through your emails

| August 31, 2018

Tech news this week highlighted Yahoo and AOL brand email services. There are still plenty of users still using them and unknowingly being spied on (including me since I still use Yahoo for "junk" mail — I started with AOL & Yahoo in the early 1990s kept the simple rdc2@ addresses). The search algorithms and […]

Tips on making Gmail easier to use by Joanna Stern, WSJ.com

| May 18, 2017

Great tips from tech writer Joanna Stern of the Wall Street Journal on dealing with a few Gmail nits most of us using Google’s free services have. See her article at WSJ.com. 1. Priorities, Priorities You may not know it, but Google’s email bots have not one but two ways of automatically organizing your messages: […]

TechFriday: Quick easy-to-read news update by email

| July 10, 2015

For the past few weeks I’ve been enjoying a quick read each morning summarizing the previous day’s news from theSkimm.com. Currently it is a free subscription and is delivered to your email box and worded in a light and easy to comprehend way. For those interested in more of a business news update, check out […]

TechFriday: Messages with attachments, ISPs, email and iOS

| December 26, 2014

Here’s a very short Apple iCloud iOS tip from a question that came up this past weekend. The question had to do with what size files can be emailed or messaged back and forth between smartphones. A large message may be undeliverable even if it’s smaller than the iCloud Mail message maximum of 20 MB […]

HAMing it up with HF radio and Winlink Pactor connections

| October 7, 2014

Summer has passed without giving much of a thought to turning on my HF rig or making any amateur radio contacts. The recent Last Man Standing amateur radio event had me firing my ICOM IC-718 and connecting my upgraded SCS PTC-IIe Pactor modem. Obviously using it for “slow” Winlink email is not a priority when […]

Follow up from my TechFriday First World Email Problem

| August 9, 2014

Ok … scratch this week’s Tech Friday post on setting up the iPhone to receive Gmail as if it were “push” rather than “fetch” (the only way Apple’s email client can receive free Gmail nowadays).  Unfortunately my iCloud workaround was a convoluted experiment that wasn’t elegant or simple. I’ve toyed with the idea of switching […]

TechFriday: Google Sync workaround for the iPhone and iOS

| August 8, 2014

I am late to the game in addressing a workaround for a newer Apple iOS devices (recently updated my iPhone 5 to a “secondhand” 5s) and the changed Google Sync services. The changes happened in 2013, but since my old devices were still working it wasn’t a big deal … now it is! Initially, iOS […]

Tech Friday: Adding Undo Send to your Gmail

| February 21, 2014

Have you ever clicked the “send” button after typing a Gmail and realized you forgot to include something or made a mistake? Maybe addressed the email wrong … or written something that you regret saying? Well Google Labs has a simple, but limited way, to “unSend” that email IF you enable the Undo Send Lab […]

Tech Friday: ‘;–have i been pwned?

| February 7, 2014

With data breaches in the news recently (Obamacare website, Target, Neiman Marcus) it was just a matter of time before someone archived the list of sites and collected a list of email addresses so that users could check their own. Check your email address with haveibeenpwned.com and see if your information has potentially been compromised. […]

A country founded by geniuses, but run by idiots

| March 28, 2013

A filler blog post … just heavily forwarded “Food For Thought” email. If you can get arrested for hunting or fishing without a license, but not for being in the country illegally …you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots. If you have to get your parents’ permission to go […]

Forwarding email – as Bill Envall would say “Here’s your sign”

| March 10, 2013

When older friends start to included your name on forwarded emails, they might be thinking that you are “older than dirt” too! Hmm, maybe I need younger friends! (Tip: Edit your forwards or use something like Papercut Software’s “email stripper” if you enjoy forwarding emails.) OLDER THAN DIRT Q: A kid asked the other day, ‘What […]

Use caution with email links and check your anti-virus software

| October 10, 2012

Knowing that email links can be dangerous isn’t always enough to prevent even a relatively experience Internet user from occasionally being suckered into clicking embedded links in emails. It happened to me yesterday morning with a bogus Skype Voicemail notification (below). Emails can seem legitimate and be over looked if you’re not paying close attention […]

Tech Friday: Free online email services compared

| June 8, 2012

Like many long time Internet users, I have signed up and used my share of free client based and online email services over the years. One from back in the 90s that American Express offered was free to small business customers, but ended up spun off and turned fee based a decade ago. Since I’m […]

According to this there aren’t many reasons to check email

| April 20, 2012

Tech Friday: A couple Gmail tricks and a Thunderbird update

| February 3, 2012

I’ve been using Gmail for years and recently found a hidden gem for filtering email. It works particularly well for me while using the Mozilla client Thunderbird, although is equally useful with any other client or the Google’s web client (BTW the upgrade to 10.0 was pushed out this past week).  Without getting overly detailed […]

A Short Neurological Test

| December 17, 2011

Successfully passed the test … so thought I would share it on the blog  instead of irritating friends by forwarding it in an email  (something I very rarely do and always Bcc … hint, hint) 1- Find the C below… Do not use any cursor help. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO […]

Tech Friday: Simple Thunderbird email add-on to pass on

| September 10, 2010

I’ve used Mozilla’s Thunderbird email client for quite a few years now and as it is with most software, it all in what one get use to using. Recent upgrades have required me to make adjustments to my set-up and I grumbled a bit … but for the most part upgrading to 3.1.3 has been […]

I have a bone to pick with Avast antivirus software

| August 15, 2010

I’ve used the same antivirus software on my PC for over a decade and have been pleased with how the company has supported updates and discreet reminder in both the free version and low priced home protection. Unfortunately things have changed for me, after struggling with an upgrade to the 5.0 update, I shifted back […]

The followupthen.com webbased email reminder service

| July 24, 2010

I regularly email customers and friends with something that needs a follow-up from them, but I often forget to check back IF I don’t hear from them. Simple things like setting up a meeting or gettin gan ok on a proof often go unanswered … easy to do. I’ve tried adding it to my calendar […]

Helping to “Spread the Stupidity”

| June 17, 2010

I’m not a regular email ‘forwarder,’ but occasionally one tickles my funny bone. Thanks D. Only in  America … do drugstores make the sick walk all the way to the back of the store to get their prescriptions while healthy people can buy  cigarettes at the front. do people order double  cheeseburgers, large fries, and […]

Mural art taken to the extreme by artist John Pugh

| April 25, 2010

A friend forwarded me an email from an airbrush artist who paints murals on the walls of buildings. I’ve seen a few beautiful photos painted on walls before, but John Pugh’s mastery of creating depth and confusing the mind is impressive. Below are a few examples from the email.   John Pugh’s – Personal Artist […]

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.
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