I live in a cocoon, my own little cocoon. Naively, I’ve lived in this cocoon thinking most people think like I do, that most people believe in Science with a Capital S. That most people do not believe the Conspiracy Theorists. The last 2-3 years have proven me vastly wrong in my view of the intelligence of people in these United States. [this is NOT a post about model railroading, nor is it about … [Read more...]
Don’t you hate this when it happens?
November 17, 2018 By
Get home, unload the backpack/briefcase of some personal papers and iPad, and then notice no work laptop. Ninety nine percent sure it’s still on my desk at work, but that nagging one percent says, it fell out of the backpack between the office to the bus, or getting off the bus. I would expect someone would be chasing me down, yelling about a busted laptop on the bus floor or sidewalk concrete, … [Read more...]
IOS 12 upgrade on the iPad
July 30, 2018 By
Upgraded the iPad to IOS 12.0 BETA yesterday (?) - “everything” is crashing (safari mostly, but sometimes FB, Photos, and a couple of other apps, like my banking app, etc.) Huh - now did I follow their strongly suggested recommendation of backing up the iPad first before upgrading? Who me? Now why would I want to do that? Apple never sends out buggy upgrades (in my usual experience). [updated: … [Read more...]
Fans
July 27, 2018 By
It’s rare that I smile a huge smile when skimming short videos but this one I just love. … [Read more...]
Robots
July 25, 2018 By
Frigging amazing. I remember how auto workers (in the 80s?) were (rightly so) afraid that these robots would be taking their jobs. It turned out that people were needed to program them (what you just saw was pretty good programming at work), AND people who could fix them when they broke. The only issue I had with this one’s programming was that “he” didn’t scoop up the bottle cap from the floor … [Read more...]
iPad camera roll vs albums – not
December 27, 2016 By
A geek post regarding Apple devices - you might not understand if you don't have an "i-xxx" device. A month or ago, I looked at all the photos on the iPad (copied from my phone) and decided to finally organize them (more than a few thousand taken over the last few years) into "albums", in order to reduce the size of my "camera roll". This also includes any screen shots or pics I've downloaded … [Read more...]
Lost my cell phone, or so I thought
August 20, 2016 By
So. I left the house to do some errands this morning about an hour or so ago. Right when I was turning off my street, I remembered I had forgotten my phone. No worries I said, I don't need it. Did my errands, and came home, put away the groceries, dry cleaning, etc. Then remembered to go check the phone in case I had missed any calls/texts. Of course, couldn't find it where I usually put it upon … [Read more...]
Friend with IT background unwilling to learn about new technologies(?), or just tired
July 18, 2016 By
Friend of mine (who shall remain nameless to protect the innocent) is an IT person with as many years of experience as myself. Wanted to share some "documents" with them. Me: "...Do you or use Dropbox?" Them: "Never heard of it." Well, OK, Then. I guess, based on your response, it seems you aren't even remotely interested in learning about it. Fine, be that way, I'll send them to you the … [Read more...]
IBM Robots, Carrie Fisher, and Watson
February 28, 2016 By
This, made my day (ok, not really, but it's pretty funny!) … [Read more...]
Pandora and an irritating limitation
November 7, 2015 By
Pandora thinks one hundred stations is enough for a Pandora listener. I wonder if this was just an arbitrary decision by the developer (who, obviously doesn't like lots of different music/artists), or did someone actually say in 'The Requirements', "the maximum number of stations for each user should be 100" … [Read more...]
Video of a guy “driving” a self-driving car
November 4, 2015 By
Article on self-driving cars (opens in new window) Haven't really been paying much attention to google or tesla and their auto driving cars - but just watched this demo video of how the Tesla car works. (Software + Hardware) engineering is just freaking amazing! I am now able to better understand those Star Wars (prequel trilogy 10-15 yrs ago) scenes where all those "personal flying cars" are … [Read more...]
Passing of a great man: George Mueller
October 22, 2015 By
Back in the '80s, one of the predecessor companies of Unisys (Burroughs), bought a company called SDC (System Development Corporation) where George Mueller was the CEO, merging that firm into Burroughs, with Mr. Mueller becoming a Senior VP of Burroughs. He was at the head of NASA's endeavor to put a man on the moon in the '60s. He recently passed away. Passing of George Mueller (open in new … [Read more...]
Completely Mirrorless Camera Photog Now
October 3, 2015 By
FYI, fellow FB photographer friends: Over the summer and as of this past week, I've slowly gotten rid (via trade-in or selling) all of my DSLR camera equipment, and am now a bona fide "Mirrorless Camera ONLY" photographer (now having had my Mirrorless for the past 16 months). While I do not (yet) have the same quantity/style of lenses, I anticipate, over the next several years, the lens stable … [Read more...]
Miscellaneous thoughts
September 12, 2015 By
Such a nice day out there today, my favorite season is fall - the temp is "just right". Too bad it only lasts 4-6 weeks here in MN. (Lol) I've got a few (good) stories to write about but I'm not doing it today. But, I'll preview them for you: First one is about my (accidentally) providing some excitement and joy to a person in my life by introducing them to something a few months ago. Maybe more … [Read more...]
Sonos speakers – Video
May 9, 2015 By
Sonos Video Best speaker purchase I've made in a long time - have had them now for six months and still love the quality of the sound coming out of them. … [Read more...]
Cameras – new camera in my bag
March 7, 2015 By
This is the guy (professional photog) who has helped convince me to start moving away from my Canon DSLR to the Sony A6000 "mirrorless" (which I bought & have used as my main camera since last June, BEFORE seeing his you-tube posting). The autofocus is much, much faster than the ("more expensive") Canon, the camera is physically smaller and lighter on weight, and I really enjoy using it - I'll … [Read more...]
Camera Technology: Rapid pace of change – last 20 years
July 22, 2013 By
I first became interested in Photography sometime in high school. This led me to ask for a specific 35 mm SLR (Single Lens Reflex) camera as a High School graduation present. One of the parental units apparently felt they should “consult” with a colleague who they apparently perceived as a "Photography Expert". The colleague’s recommendation: "Buy Brian a Sears brand “110” … [Read more...]
