Month: February 2023

Outlet

I got a deal on electrical outlets with USB plugs built in from the OWC garage sale. I decided that my office was the perfect place to install one of them as I generally have something charging plugged in. The electrical box is a pretty large piece of kit. Basically, it takes up most of the outlet box. This proved to be an issue. The outlet box that they used when redoing the house is attached via screws inside the box.

Unfortunately, this style doesn’t leave enough room for the new electrical outlet. Thus, I’ll need to pull the outlet box out and replace it with a traditional “old work” 1 gang box.

Sigh, something that should’ve been incredibly easy.

Public Domain Pictures in browser

I”ve been using the wonderful Library of Congress- Free to Use Browser Extension for a bit now. I can’t tell you how much I enjoy the bit of serendipity that it adds to my day. Essentially, every time you open a new tab, instead of a blank page, you get an image that is free of copyright restrictions. These pictures frequently incite me to think about what is going on in the picture.

This may be horrific if you are trying to maximize every second of your day (or avoid distractions), but for me, the little bit of serendipity is well worth the potential distraction.

Orange Wine

We had some Oranage Wine (Experimental Orange 2020) ) from Black Star Farms the other night. It is not made from oranges, but is named for its orange hue. Orange wine is made with white grapes that are fermented with the skins. The wine had a complex taste to it. I was reminded in some ways of whiskey tasting in that there was some complex finish notes.

Date Night

We had date night the other evening. We went to see Living at a small local theater. The movie stars the wonderful Bill Nighy as a bureaucrat in London in the 50’s. After receiving a grim diagnosis, he decides to take some action. Sad but wonderful.

Ford Sync Frustration

Ford really has struggled with Sync. Those struggles continue for me. According to my Bronco Sport, Sync is up to date (I’ve connected to my WiFi). However, according to Ford records when connecting to my online account, there is a Sync update.

I tried to run this at the end of January. I gave it a few days and checked again. Ford Sync within the Bronco still says that it is up to date. The web site says there is an update.

So, OK, I’ll use the USB drive option. I prepare the USB drive. Hm, it says that you need a USB:

But then the next line says:

• What is exFAT?

Hm. “previous than SYNC 3”? Notice the odd wording. Not “previous to SYNC 3” or version prior to SYNC 3. I have SYNC version 3. So, I’m going to guess that I need exFAT. I prep a USB drive, follow the directions to download the update and unzip it (using Unarchiver only) directly on the drive, and move the files back to the root level of the drive.

Out to the car and plug it in (to the front USB port since the rear is charge only). There is no indication that the update is starting (the directions do not mention any indication will be provided). The directions state that it can take up to five minutes for the update to start and another thirty minutes to complete. Once it completes, you will get a notification. So, great, I need to run the car for 35 minutes hoping that it is updating?

It didn’t work.

Mastodon

Why do people stay? There is no UX that works to “addict” the users. Rather, it is the people.

This may be one of the most underrated, and potentially positive, developments in the adoption of the Fediverse.

Normal Maine Winter

Someone told me that “at least you are getting a normal Maine winter”. This is my second winter in Maine. Last winter was very mild.

The funny thing is that people wonder how I’m handling Maine winters. I grew up in Michigan. I’m guessing that they don’t know that Michigan gets snow and cold as well?

So, we have gotten a good bit of snow this year. We got 16.1 inches in January (which is a good bit more than Dearborn received in January of this year – 4.4 inches). So, a good bit of snow, but it’s not like we don’t get snow in Michigan.

Remote Work

One of the things that strikes me is the change in the acceptability of remote work. I’ve had a job where I could work from anywhere for over a decade. Prior to COVID, I tried to get some of the meetings that I had to convert to video conferences. There was much resistance. I would spend over an hour driving for a meeting that took 15 minutes. These were meetings that were very focused. However, others weren’t ready for that.

With COVID, lots of people became comfortable (or at least accepting) video conferencing. So at times, I can work remotely and everyone is OK with that. There is still real value in getting together with people most of the time. However, some things really can be handled via video conferencing. So, if we have a day with lots of ice on the roads warnings, snow safety warnings, or similar, I can take a look at my calendar and decide if I should work remotely. This is a huge change for the good.

AI Continuing Discussions

The AI discussions are continuing. There are lots of blogs, posts, and more about AI. Some teachers are using it for their benefit. Some are freaking out about how they are going to “test kids”.

I’m feeling the discussion will continue. I’m not sure where we’ll all end up. I’ve written about this topic a couple of times already.

One of the posts about AI started with this line:

During my time on this earth,…

I love this line. I may use it in the future.

Bridge Up

My usual path to work involves crossing a draw bridge. I’ve never hit it up on the way in to work, until this week. Of course, this was compounded by a bit of construction. Still, the delay wasn’t very long.

Hazel Update

Hazel loves to run around. She’s not bothered by the snow or cold at all. She is doing really well with her last out of the night.

Cold

This weekend is projected to be COLD. Currently, the temperature outside is sitting at -15 degrees Fahrenheit (-26 Celsius). That’s without the wind chill. The “feels like” temperature is -39. So, it’s cold. Saturday should be rocking a high of 6 degrees.

I don’t have much planned for outside, and Hazel will bummed as I’ll watch how much she is out. But mostly, I’ll be working around the house and layering up if I’m going outside.