My Windows Are Dirty

Well, maybe no so much dirty but my need for Windows is getting smaller and smaller and going away.

I had two system die on me over the last year. One was my main go-to HP workstation class model on which I did video and photo editing. I had an expensive graphics card that was designed to make each of those tasks run more smoothly. That card alone cost as much as most computers.

Then one day, that computer just stopped booting.

It did it in such a way that I knew it wasn't a simple fix. So, I looked around for a solution and that turned out to be the new Mac Mini model; it was a used Apple M2-Pro based computer. Sweet. These were designed to work with photo and video editing software and it did the trick.

I also had an HP micro computer (smaller that a Mac Mini) that does all my day-to-day stuff but only runs Linux. I use it 90% of the time - even for some photo projects.

But back to Windows - that left me with two computers. Why would I want this? I reasoned that you never know, I might just need Windows someday. That hasn't really happened once in the past year.

Last week, one of the two computers just stopped working.

It was my Gateway mini-tower. I think I've had that for about 20 years so it was a really good investment. I had used it as my video and photo editing workstation. I had had it set up to dual-boot and could run either Linux or Windows. When it failed, neither operating system would run reliably past a few seconds. Sometimes it wouldn't boot at all.

So, I've disassembled both computers. They are ready for recycling.

I find myself not really missing Windows at all now. I'm down to one computer - a laptop - that dual boots. So, Windows is still in the mix. Quite frankly, I'm looking for a Mac laptop. I check Craig's List every day looking for a bargain. I'm in no hurry. I still have a Chromebook that my daughter gave me for those times I just need Internet access while I travel. I also have an iPad for that.

I've read that Microsoft will stop supporting Windows 10, officially, in October of this year. I'll probably be done with them and their dirty windows.

A Family Visit

I visited my brother Art and his wife Jeanne in New Jersey a couple weeks back. After that, Art and I came north so we could attend a music festival in Northampton. It's been fun. I had some success with photography, too, both in NJ and here. While in NJ, we came across a roadside diner that was closed and starting to fall apart. We photographed that and what was really nice was the amazing shiny metal siding reflecting a sunset. You can see other images here.

On the way north, we opted to visit one of the NJ coastal areas for a seafood lunch. That was at Pleasant Point where there's a boardwalk/beach. I did photograph that and came away with a nice pano.

Finally, the city of Northampton also provided surprises. The music was amazing and we discovered many artists that we'll certainly look out for in the future. Here's Chatham Rabbits, for example - the first act we saw at the Iron Horse.

But the interesting thing is we also found ourselves in the middle of a political rally on Sunday and it was attended by one of our US Senators (Markey). His speech was inspiring.

I Finally Got It

There have been, in the last few weeks and months, some a-ha moments I've experienced. One happened yesterday. The others had to do with Calculus and Physics. But yesterday's was particularly satisfying. You see, there was a problem posted somewhere a long time ago and it was eventually answered by Marilyn vos Savant. Now, Marilyn is a genius with and IQ, apparently, higher than that of Einstein. (I don't know how they measure such things but lets just say she is special).

The puzzle she solved was the Monte Hall Door Problem where there are three doors and behind one is a big prize. The other two have bogus prizes. You're asked to pick a door but aren't shown what's behind it. Then, Monte reveals a remaining door that has one of the bogus prizes. He offers you a chance to stick with your first choice or switch.

Marilyn says you should always switch. Most people balk at that saying that it's a 50-50 choice at that point and switching doesn't increase your odds...so why switch.

She was right, though. It's been proven through computer simulations and Myth Busters did a piece on it.

I never understood her logic until yesterday. I don't know why it clicked for me. I'm certainly not as Hi-Q as her, but maybe in my older brain, some synapse dislodged enough to make room for understanding.

 The other A-HA's had to do with understanding differential calculus, and whether photons really are both waves and particles. There's that and I like to look at funny YouTube videos.

Thing-A-Day 2025 And Other Thoughts For The New Year

Thing-A-Day Lives, a website that my son-in-law, Patrick, started. He based this on the original Thing-A-Day, which ceased years ago. It was a great idea that continues - for February and for each day, you post something artistic and/or original and/or clever. Patrick sets a theme for the month. I don't; not as clever, am I, so I resort to serendipity.

It's time to start moving my A$$ as I've been lethargic for the last-half of 2024. It's getting warm enough to start walking. Yesterday, I saw my nephew, who was visiting us, walking up and down the long driveway. I should start with that. It's also time to start moving my A$$ photographically. I've been lazy about this, leaving most of my photography to my smartphone's camera. I need to organize my cameras and lenses and start using them in a more serious way. I've been watching some excellent YouTube videos about a couple British photographers who do single or multiple day trips to the highlands and lakes regions of the UK and beyond. They are very entertaining and inspiring and I need to feed off of their stories and make my own...just not a YouTube channel as I'm not sure I have the smarts for that.

Bags, bags, and more bags. I recently acquired some more camera bags - all preowned - with which to sort and store my gear. I have a spot in the garage for many of them, hopefully filled with not-too-expensive gear. The cameras and lenses would need to be inside where they're better protected. Right now, everything is on the floor of my media room and it's messy. So, I have to address that. So, maybe as I do, I'll grab a bag and go out for a walk or drive and photograph something.

I'm thinking of starting a monthly or bi-weekly Photo Chat online session where interested photographers can participate. The idea would be to just chat about things, show off images and gear, and tell stories about photo treks. I've had an idea to do this before but never got it going. Now maybe it's a good thing to try.

Van Camping And Photography

I've been following a couple photographers on YouTube lately: Thomas Heaton and Henry Turner. Both are landscape specialists and both work in England. They are similar in that they travel around in vans that have been converted into campers specifically for photographers. I also know Scott Erb and Donna Dufault who travel the US in their own camper van. The only time I ever did anything like that was when I rented an larger camper vehicle and headed up to Acadia for a week-long visit with my brother and a couple friends. It was an adventure but we had room to sleep four. These folks have smaller vans and so creature comfort is a bit more difficult to manage.

Heaton and Turner have similar styles in their YouTube offerings. Both are professional landscape photographers and both have weekly YouTube podcasts...

Football, when it doesn't matter, can still hurt

Yesterday, the Pats played well enough to win against the top level Bills. The result affects the Pats' draft position going into the new season. Had they lost, they'd have had first pick. Who doesn't want that.. As they won, they drop to fourth. That hurts.

I can't help wonder if the Bills did that intentionally. It sure seemed so, giving up in the fourth quarter, not being at all competitive. If you aren't familiar with this situation, many top teams rest their good players, saving them for the playoff round that's about to start. That actually makes sense. But, teams are supposed to be competitive throughout the season, and that includes the last game. Yesterday, the Bills - not so much.

I occurs to me that this is a good time for a rules change. How about this. Whatever complement of players you chose for your last half must be the same players that play the first half of the first playoff game.

That sounds fair and competitive to me.

FWIW - congrats the the Pats for playing hard, if only for pride. Had they also not been competitive, maybe they'd lose as everyone expected, and maybe they'd have that first round draft. If only...

2024 - My Year In Review

• January - meh
• February - meh
• March - meh
• April - meh
• May - meh
• June - meh
• July - meh
• August - meh
• September - meh
• October - meh
• November - WTF!!!
• December - no really, WTF!!!

My GE-7

 A had posted earlier that, having played in a large venue and having had problems with amplification, I needed to do something. I offered some alternatives which all cost money. Quite frankly, I'm not that good a guitarist to deserve something like this. So, I looked at what I had and how might I improve my situation.

As it turns out, I already have a Boss Equalizer GE-7 foot pedal...

...which I bought so long ago I can't remember how. I don't know if it was a new purchase or something from Craig's List. It looks new but that could just mean the previous owner took great care of it.

I do remember I'd bought it because I was having trouble with my acoustic guitar using its internal piezo pickup. I wanted something to fix the way it sounded - to make it more guitar-like. I could have bought a device specifically designed for this for a couple hundred, but I probably opted for the GE-7 used for far less thinking it would do the job.

So, yesterday, I decided to test my setup to see if I could better understand how this pedal will work with my guitar and its magnetic pickup. As it turns out, I have a ZZYZX guitar cable that my friend Mark Lammi got me one year for Christmas (well over a dozen years ago). It's a weird two channel cable with lots of different magnetic heads and one in particular was designed for plugging into the USB port of a computer...for recording. Perfect.

I hooked this all up, connected to an audio editing program, and started playing and messing around. It turns out, the GE-7 is a fantastic booster that, had I had it for the gig last week, would likely have resolved any issues. I could have used it off for strumming and on for leads.

Now I know.

My Acoustic Guitar Quandry

This past Saturday, Ken and I (of KenCasey fame) were a sort-of opening act for a brass band from Springfield. We were at a Toys-for-Tots gig in Chicopee and we played the before-dinner time slot. It turned out to be about 45 minutes and when we arrived, we didn't know how much gear to bring. We brought it all. In fact, I bought a used microphone mixer a day or two before so we could use Ken's PA speaker. We were ready for anything.

Why did this matter? We were told that there would be around 400 people in attendance. (I'm guessing it was closer to 200, but I could be wrong.) The small amps we normally use are enough for a lounge, but not a dining hall. Fortunately, the Brass Attack of Springfield were already set up and they let us plug into their PA. Nice! ...and thank you very much...

The Gig We Did Last Night

The Portuguese American Club in Chicopee held an event to support Toys for Tots. It was a large crowd and KenCasey (Ken and I) were asked to play an early set as folks were milling around getting ready for dinner to be served. We were lucky to have a fine band there already set up as we were allowed to plug into their PA system. That meant we could use leave our amps in the car. At my age, that's a good thing.

But...

Although the microphones worked out well, my guitar and its pickup didn't. I could barely hear my playing and I need that to be able to do it well. So, I'm going to have to come up with a new strategy for this kind of thing. That's because, I thought I was the only one who couldn't hear and it turns out Ken, standing next to me, also couldn't hear me. So, the instrumental parts were at best, "eh". He told me later that he just looked over to see if my fingers were running over the neck frets and, if yes, he assumed I was doing a lead. Ugh. That's not a good way to do this kind of thing.

We hadn't played for such a large crowd before and, at the onset, opted not to plug into our own gear. We thought the venue might be too large for that. There were several hundred people there. Now, we either have several hundred new fans or, worse, the exact opposite. Ugh. 

Next week, we do a gig as a much smaller venue, The Crest Room, in West Springfield. We've played there before and the room is smaller and our gear fills the room quite nicely. So, a reprieve of sorts.

TSO - Better Than Every!!!

Yesterday, we went to see the Trans Siberian Orchestra, or TSO, at Mohegan Sun. I have been a fan of theirs ever since seeing a YouTube featuring their song, Wizards in Winter...

...which is likely to have happened 25 or so years ago. After watching the video about a hundred times, we managed to see them at one of the arenas. (Lee says it was Hartford.)

The Day After Black Friday

I usually don't do anything on Black Friday. My family takes advantage of the sales but I hunker down with my odd and ends projects. This year, it was organizing the music I'd be playing with my friend Ken and next week's Toys for Tots event at the Portuguese Club in Chicopee. We compared song lists and then songs to make sure we were in sync on keys and whatnot. I think we're in good shape. FWIW - we'll be opening for the Brass Attack Of Springfield band. Opening is a bit strong in that we'll be playing during the events less busy times (just before dinner, for example). Anyway, that was my Black Friday activity for this year.

I did manage to actually buy a couple things. I needed a hand vac and opted for a corded Dirt Devil. I'd used a Dyson in our staircase but, apparently, it's only good for 15 minutes per charge. That wasn't enough and I had to use our large corded vacuum cleaner, which is awkward on stairs. So, the smaller one should do the job.

No Photographs For Thanksgiving

It's Black Friday as I write this. I have no need to go shopping so I'm just sitting around doing the normal stuff I do. I realized that, this year, I did not make a single photograph for Thanksgiving. Usually I'll at least shoot some food that's laid out in front of me. Nope. This year, I just ate it. Or I photograph the people who've come to visit. Nope. I just enjoyed myself and them. Maybe that's that Thanksgiving is about in the first place.

I'm thinking today may be more photographic. I hope so.

My Favorite Fall Leaves

I have been posting foliage photos in various places online and I notice that many have been taken in my own yard. I guess I'm lucky to have this. I suppose, though, that many can say the same and all it takes is to be aware as you go out and about. This time, as I was walking across the front of the house to retrieve an Amazon package, I looked down and saw the interesting patterns that the dead leaves created. The light was diffuse so I didn't have harsh shadows to worry about. It won't be long before these will be snow covered and yield even more photo ops.

TIK Intros

During the 2000's and early 2010's, Lee and I had a couple TV shows that we produced for Spencer Cable Access. This is back when we actually lived in Spencer. One was Bloomin' with the Bemis', a gardening show hosted by Bemis Farms Nursery featuring Ed and Tina Bemis. This was very successful and even got us an award from a New England wide cable TV conference.  The other was a cooking show, Time In The Kitchen (TIK) featuring Lee Danek, Pam Leck, and Sylvia Gruner.

After our move to Feeding Hills, we continued TIK but by then, Sylvia had moved away - too far to commute to continue with the show. Our own commute wasn't as bad and we spit doing shows between Pam's home in Spencer and our new home in Feeding Hills. But the number of shows dwindled and finally ended after a couple years.

One of the things that was quite pleasing, for me, was the opportunity to create some fun skits to be used as intros to the shows. We'd do them for Bloomin' as well as TIK. Lee mentioned recently that I should put the shows up on YouTube, which I interpreted as put the intros together into a new show and put that on YouTube. So, I did.

Later she said that was not what she'd requested. But, too late, I'd already done the intros show by then.

So, here's TIK Intros for your consideration...

Free Speech!!!

Actually, by "free speech" I mean I just learned that AWS (Amazon Web Services) has a free text-to-speech generation program called Polly. As I already have an AWS account for my cloud storage, I thought I'd give it a try. It actually worked nicely. The program starts off as free but I think you end up paying after 12 months. After that, I think there'll be a pay-as-you go kind of subscription. I don't have a lot of need for this so I don't think it would be prohibitively expensive. Also, there are many other similar programs so this could get interesting.

For now, I'm thinking of taking some of my older TIK ( Thyme In The Kitchen) videos, clipping out some of the funny intros that Lee, Pam, and Sylvia made, and putting a video together with just those. Lee's already asked me to put the TIK shows up into YouTube and I'll probably do that project next. There are a lot of these shows and it'll take some time to get them all loaded.

I think it's a good winter project.

I'm Getting Lazy As A Photographer

I find that, lately, I've been relying more and more on my iPhone for photography. Sometimes it's just an opportunity that comes along and I only have the smartphone to take advantage...

My New Protest - Too Much Lettuce

 Why is it that we always get too much lettuce in store bought sandwiches when we don't even ask for it? It doesn't have a strong flavor and, especially the shredded kind, falls out of the sandwich at every bite.

What's up with that?

I've made it a practice at, for example, Subway, to never ask for lettuce. I prefer spinach. Why? ...well, it's large and leafy and doesn't easily escape the bread boundaries. If they had leafy lettuce, I might give that a try. (Well, at Subway, I'd probably ask for both."

But otherwise, I make this a nation-wide appeal. Either only serve leafy lettuce, or don't default to lettuce at all. If someone wants this all over their shirt and laps while they eat, give it to them in a cup and they can just throw it into the air as they eat. It accomplishes the same thing. 

Remembering

I do videos for my cit/town, Agawam. For the past few years, I've done Memorial Days, 911 Remembrance Days, and Veterens Days. They each go through the same kind of program - flag ceremony, speech, bell ringing, and payers - and I try to get creative in how I record the events despite the seriousness of the day. I don't mean creative in a funny way. I mean creative in a respectfully different way.

This year, I was able to position myself almost perfectly for the key moments of the Veterans Day Ceremonies and that's only because I had to learn the hard way during the previous two times. Each one of these has been special and I often have come close to tears despite never having served. The way the vets go through the solemn moments, remembering and reflecting, is heartfelt.

Thank you, each and every one of you, for your sacrifice and service. 

Is The World Laughing At Us?

Unless there was a truly rigged election, the results from last week indicate a highly split voter population. In reading about or listening to the poll analyses, I have to wonder what's become of commons sense. On one side we have the conservatives who say they want things to go back to where they were. No one bothers to say what/where/when that is, but back to something. Then there are the progressives who say we can do better and somehow that's a bad thing? Better is bad? Hmm...maybe?

We have elected a man who I personally would never say was a good man. He has too many character flaw marks chalked up against him. So, does that mean that my side - the side that dislikes him - has marks, too? Are we just as bad when the other side complains about us? What do they see about us that we don't see? ...how will history view us?

NOTE: The image here was created by Haiper AI with the text input "vitriolic behavior of a world leader"...that's all it took to bring DJT into the frame.

And what about the rest of the world? What do other countries think? Are they just waiting for us to fall apart from the crush of our vitriolic nature. Are they laughing at the once, great, powerful nation that thinks it can dictate its rule everywhere...and now we will crumble?

We live in interesting times.