#267 May 1, 2021 from Don Crowder www.don-guitar.com
First words:
Greetings from Albuquerque, New Mexico! Have you had
your Covid vaccination/s yet? So far, 142,692,987
Americans have been vaccinated, fewer than 600 of
them have had an instantly treatable allergic
reaction to the shot and, in the same time period,
574,000 unvaccinated Americans have died of Covid 19.
Worldwide, the death count is over 3,150,000. Get
vaccinated, whatever it takes.
Seriously.
Here we go . . .
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Did you watch the Oscars? https://www.oscars.org/
I've never watched them and didn't watch them this year
but in that past I've usually at least heard of the movies
that win awards (and get mentioned in the news). This
year, Soul, which I haven't seen, was the only movie I'd
even heard of. Of course we don't subscribe to any of the
many services which provide TV and movies for a fee.
We made a contribution to PBS so we could get a pass to
watch the Masterpiece Theater programs on demand but
everything else we watch comes from the free content
offered by Tubi, Vudu, Xumo, FilmRise, FreeForm, Stirr
or youtube. Even then we only have about 30 minutes
free on weekday evenings so movies have to wait until
the weekends.
All about Jazz. https://www.allaboutjazz.com/
M-Base is, according to the website, 'a nonprofit corporation
dedicated to using music as a tool to aid in the expansion of
consciousness' and it's worth checking out in it's own right
http://www.m-base.org/
but you can also download some really good Jazz music there
too. http://www.m-base.org/sounds.html
All about washers & dryers. https://www.automaticwasher.org/
Here's a rabbit hole for you; the Library of
Congress collection of prints & photographs.
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/
Textile resource for fabrics, apparel, home furnishings and
fabric care. https://www.fabriclink.com/
Spicy (hot) sauce. https://www.fieryfoodscentral.com/
Fun, educational stuff. https://www.funbrain.com/
Open source 3D graphic and art creation. Free to use for
any purpose, forever. https://www.blender.org/
Is your browser up-to-date? https://browsehappy.com/
Short stories for kids. https://www.shortkidstories.com/
The (US) National Women's History Museum.
https://www.womenshistory.org/
Odd musical instruments. https://www.oddmusic.com/
Celebrating the Big Band vocalist. https://bandchirps.com/
Cooking chili is a seriously competitive 'sport'.
https://www.casichili.net/
Gems, minerals and rocks.
https://geology.com/
https://www.gemsociety.org/gemstone-encyclopedia/
https://www.minerals.net/
https://treasurequestmining.com/treasure-identification/gems/
Stuff worth knowing. https://www.thoughtco.com/
Encyclopedia Mythica is an internet encyclopedia on
mythology, folklore, and religion. https://pantheon.org/
Folklore and Mythology electronic texts.
https://www.pitt.edu/~dash/folktexts.html
EPIC is a public interest research center established to
to protect privacy, freedom of expression, and democratic
values in the information age. https://www.epic.org/
EDUCAUSE is a nonprofit association whose mission is to
advance higher education through the use of information
technology. https://www.educause.edu/
An archive of Aesop's Fables. https://www.aesopfables.com/
Find a grave. https://www.findagrave.com/
A search engine for fish. https://www.fishbase.se/
There are newer, fancier Flags of the World sites but the
original is still best. https://www.fotw.info/flags/
And now, for something completely different.
http://www.montypython.com/
http://www.ibras.dk/montypython/justthewords.htm
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGm3CO6LPcN-Y7HIuyE0Rew
Celebrating the best of humanity, one story at a time.
https://myhero.com/
A large virtual library. https://www.thefreelibrary.com/
2000 (UK) English idioms. https://www.phrases.org.uk/
A photographic history of . . .
The U. S. Navy.
https://www.navsource.org/
The cellphone.
https://tinyurl.com/mk95c5xb [time dot com]
Collage.
https://www.eyeem.com/blog/collage-photography
Prohibition.
https://tinyurl.com/22uf7pkh [doyouremember dot com]
Finland.
https://tinyurl.com/56e5rsp6 [yle dot fi]
Pottstown, PA.
http://historyofpottstown.blogspot.com/
The summer of love (1967).
https://www.history.com/photos-of-the-summer-of-love
Personality tests. https://similarminds.com/
A little plain language from the U.S. government.
https://www.plainlanguage.gov/
Most of you probably recall that I'm a Linux user (full
time, since 2006). I think I talked about it a lot for
a few years but I got past that and don't mention it as
much these days. At any rate, I also know that a few of
you are Linux users or have experimented with Linux at
one time or another. This is for you.
https://itsfoss.com/linus-torvalds-facts/
https://itsfoss.com/facts-linux-kernel/
https://itsfoss.com/why-use-linux/
https://itsfoss.com/linux-better-than-windows/
https://www.maketecheasier.com/reasons-learn-use-linux/
Every version of Linux is called a 'Distribution' or
'disto' for short. Every Linux user has a favorite distro.
Linux Mint with Xfce is mine. https://linuxmint.com/
How secure is your internet service provider?
https://isbgpsafeyet.com/
Youtube-dl is a command line app that downloads files
directly from youtube (and a few other places) and it
can be run on Linux, Windows or Mac. That being said,
using this app requires more computer savvy than I
personally possess, by which I mean to say that I've
installed it but haven't figured out how to use it yet. :)
https://youtube-dl.org/
Advertising has been a part of everyone's life for a very
long time. Most of us have learned how to tune out the ads
that surround us but some of us, for whatever reason, can't
do that and find ads to be horribly annoying. Ad blockers
were made for such people. I've never used an ad blocker
but I totally understand why some people do. This is, by all
accounts, a very good one. https://ublockorigin.com/
If privacy is something you value highly, this may be the
browser for you. https://www.torproject.org/
The FCC's consumer guides can help you learn to better
protect yourself . https://www.fcc.gov/consumer-guides
If your cellphone service is bad, they even have an app
you can use to inform the FCC just how bad your service is.
https://tinyurl.com/3js54afk [fcc dot gov]
I still subscribe to the Highland Lakes Computer Club email
list (based in Marble Falls, Texas). Here are a few links
I snagged from that list.
Make Text on Windows 10 Easier to Read
https://tinyurl.com/ns22utn6 [thundercloud dot net]
Speed up Windows 10.
https://tinyurl.com/9365pns8 [thundercloud dot net]
Recommended reading from Computerworld.
https://tinyurl.com/4n42z4db [computerworld dot com]
Interesting weekend reading.
https://tinyurl.com/3j9bh426 [thundercloud dot net]
Three quick Windows 10 tips.
https://tinyurl.com/4rpu578y [thundercloud dot net]
How to add control panel to your Windows 10 start menu.
https://tinyurl.com/znp569s [thundercloud dot net]
How to reset Windows 10, keeping files, apps, and programs.
https://tinyurl.com/rbznmyf3 [thundercloud dot net]
Scan Your hard drive(s) for errors on Windows 10.
https://tinyurl.com/4xbw9zn2 [thundercloud dot net]
Hat tip to Dale Cockle who posted these to the HLCC list.
I'm a Tracfone customer. I hate recurring monthly costs
so I'm strictly a prepaid cellphone user (and my phone
averages costing me well under $10 a month). I bought a
brand new Samsung J2 on Black Friday 2019 for a little under
$40. Four days ago it stopped charging. Still worked ok,
just wouldn't take a charge and the state of charge was
slowly sinking. On the Tracfone website a refurbished J2
was $15 but I had to buy a $15 service card and pay a
little extra for expedited shipping. It all came to about
$42. It came in yesterday and it took me about an hour to
follow the enclosed instructions and get it working (on
the same number I've always had) but this J2 has a more
recent version of the Android Operating System on it so
it works a little better. My average monthly cost for the
balance of 2021 is going to be a little higher (up around
$12 a month) but I can't complain, it's a decent phone.
https://tinyurl.com/jrsex3k5 [tracfone dot com]
Over 30 years ago, when I broke my fourth or fifth
wristwatch by getting it hung on something when I was
working, I found a lightweight, low profile, digital
watch in Kmart for just under $10. It was a Casio F-28W.
It had no protruding buttons and almost nothing for things
to get hung on. I wore it until the band broke and tossed
it in a drawer. A couple of years later I noticed that it
was still running and was even showing very nearly the
correct time. Remembering that, when I saw another one in
a display case at Walmart I bought it. By then, I had
access to the internet and, after careful measurements
in millimeters, ordered a couple of leather bands on eBay.
When the band broke on the second one I replaced it with
a leather band and went on about my business. After retiring,
in 2010, I stopped wearing a watch so the second F-28W went
into the drawer with the first one. I couple of months back
I decided I ought to wear a watch once in a while but the
batteries on both my Casio's were dead. I found an F-91W
on eBay for $7 (delivered) but didn't like it when it came
in because it's got three buttons sticking out of it and
the third time I wore it the band broke. I reluctantly
popped the back of of my oldest F-28W to find out which
battery it took (CR2016 Lithium), found the batteries on
eBay for ninety nine cents each (delivered), ordered two of
them and now I have two fully functional Casio F-28W
wristwatches. I assume it was so popular that Casio added
a dash-one to the model number and resumed production of
it but they seem to have trouble keeping them in stock.
https://www.casio.com/products/archive/watches/classic/f28w-1
Of course you can find used F-28W watches on eBay for between
$30 and $50. Go figure. :)
Incidentally, any time you're trying to set the time on a
clock or wristwatch, it's easy if you can get online.
https://www.time.gov/ ;(US)
https://time.is/ ;(world)
https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/ ;(world)
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Last words:
I haven't mentioned it in this publication before now (I
don't think) but Lisa Miller and I separated on April 8th
of 2020 and I moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico (which I
have mentioned). Our divorce was final on November 23rd
of 2020. On June 5th of 2021 I'll be married to Holly
Sylvester (of Albuquerque, New Mexico) in a small ceremony
in the home of a good friend with a few friends and,
possibly, family members in attendance. Holly and I will
spend the following five days in a cabin, on a creek, in
Jemez, New Mexico with no phone, no internet and no cell
service. Holly and I are already cohabiting and jointly
caring for her elderly mother. Because the week prior to
the wedding will be a whirlwind of frenetic activity,
there may or may not be a June 1st issue of this
publication. I don't know. I'll do my best but no promises.
Meanwhile, as always, I wish each and every one of you the
very best of love, luck, health and happiness.
Don Crowder
Friday, April 30, 2021, 11:05 PM (MDT/MST)
Albuquerque, New Mexico
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The Internet: A Weapon of Mass Instruction.
