Last weekend, I posted about the demise of my faithful Swing-a-way can opener. I had that opener for probably 20 years. It had been a good kitchen tool, but it was finally wearing out. The parent company, Amco, still sells the Swing-a-way opener, and I was going to go that route, but the reviews on Amazon were pretty negative. In a familiar story, Amco closed up their US operation, moved the...
Microsoft, Apple, Thunderbird (indeed, all MUA’s): It is time to remove the “reply all” option. I know that there are valid use cases for it, but alas, the general population has failed to grasp the implications of this seemingly innocuous button on their email. Yes, there are times that people really really do want to spam their colleagues like it was a listserv, but this is an...
I have always used the time to upgrade computers to buy the biggest, fastest, bestest computer I could get. I typically keep them for 3-4 years (and use them hard) so skimping on the price is not a really a priority. My macbook pro is getting a little long in the tooth (but by no means giving up the ghost), and I was flirting with the MacBook Pro Retina display. But I took stock of my needs, and...
I don’t mind the heat here in Phoenix. Yep it is hot, often getting well above 110F, and the sun is punishing when it does. It doesn’t stop me from exercising, but I do adapt, and adjust my routine to remain safe. But what is killing me is the humidity that has settled in. It has been as high as 60% RH. Couple that with 105F, and it is brutal. None of the usual “It’s a dry...
A few weeks ago, it was a madhouse at the local Fry’s supermarket. Packed to the gills, and tons of rude people. Alas, I stumbled across a woman doing extreme couponing. She had an expanding file folder that was literally stuffed with coupons, and a shopping cart full os odd items. This caused me to recall why I am not really a fan of coupons. It is an American dream to get a good deal...
I have to say goodbye to an old friend. We have been together for a long time. Probably 20 years or so, a good run. Alas, all good things must come to an end. All the cans we have opened. All the meals we shared. You have been reliable and faithful. Always there when needed. You never demanded much, but always ready for an adventure. Lately, you have been slipping your gears. No longer able to...
When I was growing up, in a suburb of Sunnyvale, the neighborhood was typical. Single family dwellings, clean yards, lots of grass, and busy professionals who worked at Lockheed or Westinghouse. There were a couple of enterprising youths who leveraged this situation by mowing lawns. $5 a week, they had their own power mower and edger, and would come and keep your lawns in good shape. Just about...
I have been working on a fun project lately, creating a website and online personas for my adopted greyhounds. Since I started the bit of an advice column for how to create a website, and what tools to use, I figured that I would try one of the simple builder sites. The two I played with are Weebly, recommended by my friend David Kendall Grant, and Virb, a spin off of the hosting I use, Media...
After my first “So you want a website” post, one of my faithful readers, David Kendall Grant mentioned that Weebly is an awesome, free, and very flexible website creation option. I recall hearing about them in the past, but thought nothing about it, so I thought I would give it a try. First, a basic setup is free. Like WordPress or Blogger, you can easily get a site up that is...
Yesterday I talked about the different avenues to putting up a website, and mentioned some of the pros and cons. Today, I will talk about some of the mechanics. It will be boring, because you aren’t doing anything, but planning at this point. What sort of site do I want? Ask yourself what you intend to do with it. Are you a photographer and want to share your portfolio? Do you want to write...