Today’s big thrill, after a prostate check during my annual physical, was getting a new case for my Pixel 4a. With the phone now being an ancient model from two years ago, Best Buy has the OtterBox Commuter on clearance for $17.
I don’t commute anymore, but my pal Denro and I will be seeing Joe Sinnott’s family this weekend in New York. The OtterBox case works well with the Topgo phone holder I have in the car. I’ll probably use the Waze app for navigation.
More about a subject I first posted two years ago. Beware of cosmic rays!
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20221011-how-space-weather-causes-computer-errors
A buddy of mine used to tease me about using a blue filter to adjust the color on my TV sets. My first encounter with a blue filter was with Joe Kane’s A Video Standard LaserDisc, back when there were only conventional CRT screens. More recently, a blue filter came with the Spears & Munsil Blu-ray disc.
Blue filters seem quaint now, with all of the advanced technology in TV’s today. Vincent in England gets into the nit-picky nitty gritty of nits and display calibration.
Speaking of video, the YouTube app on my Sony Blu-ray player has a feature I haven’t seen anywhere else. Stats for Nerds, displayed here with nerdy Joe Pera.
Today was tire buying day. My 2017 Toyota Camry has 21,500 miles on it, and before winter arrives I want to replace the very noisy Bridgestone Turanza EL400 tires that came with the car. For an all-season tire, I wasn’t impressed with its traction in snow.
I have been very pleased with the Michelin Defender T+H tires on my 2011 Honda CR-V. The ride in the CR-V is quieter with the Michelins than in Camry is with the Bridgestones! Which isn’t how it should be, comparing an SUV with a passenger car. Having a set of Defenders on the Camry seemed like a good idea, but another Michelin option seems even better — the CrossClimate2. Here’s the CR comparison.
The Camry’s mileage — up to 40 mpg highway — is much better than the CR-V’s, so the CrossClimate’s lower rating for rolling resistance compared to the Defender isn’t a concern. The Camry being FWD, not AWD like the CR-V, the CrossClimate’s superior snow traction is the big attraction.
Taking advantage of a Michelin promotion at BJ’s (the warehouse store for those of us not near a Costco), four CrossClimate2’s, including installation and tax, cost $800. The tires are on order and are scheduled to be installed a week from Monday. So if there’s a freak Halloween snowstorm like the one we had in 2011, I’ll be ready!
There are a lot of YouTube videos about the CrossClimate2. This one is the most informative and interesting overall.
This is jawdroppingly offensive. One case was designed to undo Jim Crow-era segregation; the other to promote racial diversity.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/09/30/supreme-court-term-conservative-targets/
The Constitution treats insurrection and rebellion as political dangers, not protected rights.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/27/opinion/us-second-amendment.html
Should Internet time synchronization run on rigorously tested and battle-worn but whimsical and arguably bloated code that someone may still struggle to fully understand, even after devoting decades to it?
https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/the-thorny-problem-of-keeping-the-internets-time
I’m going to amend what I’ve been saying about why I am hanging onto FiOS TV. First, now that Turner Classic Movies is in true HD, and looks and so good on the JVC D-ILA video projector, I’ve cleared out DVR disk space to record selections from the channel. Being able to watch something at my convenience, without keeping an eye on the “Expires in X Days” notice in the Watch TCM app is nice. So there’s that.
Also, I would like give a nod to Music Choice, which like Watch TCM continues to require a cable subscription.
My buddy Bismo, a serious Blues fan, says the Blues channel on Music Choice is very good. I have the same opinion of the Classical Masterpieces channel, which plays a widely varied selection of music. I first heard the Swedish composers Franz Berwald and Kurt Atterberg (19th and 20th century, respectively) on Music Choice.
