First, listen to this: Your browser does not support the audio element. No, that’s not Donald Trump’s mating call*. It’s the dulcet tones of the Black-crowned Night-Heron, a bird that I have heretofore never seen, but one appeared on the banks of our neighborhood pond a fortnight ago. MLB and I were out for a… Continue reading Bird Talk
Good Customer Service > Bad Wheel?
The rear tire went flat on our recumbent tandem during a ride a couple of weekends ago. This wouldn’t be unusual except we never have flats. Well, except for that one time. Oh, and that other time. Anyway, it’s rare that we get flats, because we run Kevlar-belted tires with heavy duty tubes on a… Continue reading Good Customer Service > Bad Wheel?
Ten Cover Songs Worth Checking Out
One measure of the success of a song is the number of cover versions it spawns. A great example is the multi-Grammy-winning Uptown Funk. I didn’t bother getting an exact count, but the iTunes Store shows page after page of remakes (including inexplicable ukulele and violin renditions, and multiple acapella arrangements by college groups) of… Continue reading Ten Cover Songs Worth Checking Out
My Top 10 Latin [Dance] Songs
My brilliant, funny (and much younger) cousin Wendy does a weekly Facebook post in which she reviews a song – usually after having a glass of wine – that’s meaningful to her in some way at that specific moment. I’d point you to the posts but they’re only for her friends and she doesn’t know… Continue reading My Top 10 Latin [Dance] Songs
Boxing Batch
I hate to alarm you, but we have a packaging crisis in the United States. As in…too much of it. This became obvious yesterday upon the arrival of two items we had ordered. Exhibit A is a dress that MLB purchased from the website of a well-known clothier. Here’s the box in which it was… Continue reading Boxing Batch
DIY: Installing a Cylinder Lock in Drawers
My latest DIY project was pretty simple but still intimidating as it involved drilling holes in our custom built-in cabinetry. As my pal Gene and I discussed over breakfast this morning, you can’t uncut lumber or undrill holes (well, I can’t), so measuring twice was just a starting point for me. Here’s one of the… Continue reading DIY: Installing a Cylinder Lock in Drawers
Removing Palm Trees for Dummies
I spent a couple of hours last weekend removing a dead palm tree from our front yard. Well, I should qualify that: I achieved partial removal, but I still consider that a victory. When we landscaped our new house eight years ago, we asked the contractor to plant a specific type of palm. In his… Continue reading Removing Palm Trees for Dummies
An Internet Pioneer: Me
Depending on usage, the Internet has the potential to become a wonderfully effective business tool, or a troublesome diversion of time and resources. The preceding quote – which today would likely be subject to an editorial “duh” – was lifted from a position paper dated December 14, 1994, authored by yours truly. I ran across… Continue reading An Internet Pioneer: Me
Fun with Google Earth
One of the many cool features about Google Earth is the ability to step back in time to see how an aerial scene has changed. Beginning with Google Earth 5.0, introduced in 2009, “historical imagery” was integrated into the application. As far as I can tell, much of the imagery (dating back to around 1984)… Continue reading Fun with Google Earth
Roaming the Web
It’s been a while since we’ve wandered around the web, looking at some cool new tech. Here’s a roundup of some things that have come across my Twitter feed lately. Snap – The Flying Camera Snap, the 4K flying camera with auto-tracking, is ready for the spotlight https://t.co/Kjf4LEtTgs pic.twitter.com/LwHABEOLs9 — TechCrunch (@TechCrunch) January 8, 2016… Continue reading Roaming the Web