Occasional Blips – Current

Posted by Grumpy on March 22, 2017
Posted in: Blips, Rants Raves.

Cache dump of thoughts, ideas, and recommendations…

2017.03.30  If you’re in the market for a Bluetooth keyboard for Windows, Android, or Apple (Mac, IOS) check out the Logitech K380.  For just $30 or less on Amazon, it’s a pretty handy thing to have around.  I got mine yesterday and so far have only used it on IOS.  That went well, and I find it to be a sturdy little device that feels like a real keyboard and is comfortable to use.  Here are reviews at ZDNet and CNet.

2017.03.30  The About page for this site has been updated.

2017.03.22  I was reviewing archives looking to clean things up when I found this post originally published on a much earlier version of MDR back in 2003.  It relates to one specific corporate merger of many that a few close friends and I survived, and for me was the most rage inducing.  The interviewee, Charles Grabasse, is a real person (renamed) and was at the top of my list of people that really needed to worry if my doctor ever gave me 6 months to live.  The story is basically accurate, to me.  So I tidied it up and posted it – Interview with a Korporate Kahn.

BLIPS ARCHIVE

Some IOS Apps I Use Everyday

Posted by Grumpy on November 19, 2016
Posted in: Rants Raves, Technology.

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These are some of the Apple IOS apps that help keep an old man organized, on time, and secured.  I basically run my life off my iPhone, and these three apps help.  I have other apps I use daily and will follow up with some of them in future posts, in case they may be of interest to you.

GoodReader by Good.iWare Inc
Every computing platform has its “must have, does it all app”, and for IOS, it’s this one.  It houses files of all types in a standard folder and file structure, and I can transfer or download any of them to and from my desktops and laptops.  I set up a sync arrangement within the app I can run at will to keep a folder on my iMac identical to a folder in GoodReader.  It is a powerful PDF annotator and updater.  I use an in-app security option to have all content in the app encrypted at the hardware level (requiring a password or finger print to get into the app), and selected folders protected by a different password (same fingerprint) as well.  Check this app out in the App Store for a full list of its capabilities.  It’s well worth the $5.

TickTick by Appest Limited
This apps manages my simple ToDo list in a very workable layout.  It has all the usual functionality of a basic ToDo app (date and time settings, alerts, repeats, priority, etc) that you can choose to use or not.  It provides a helpful widget with useful features, and TickTick can manage multiple lists of tasks.  I’m using the free version which caps at 99 tasks (way more than I need), but if you’re still active in the corporate world or your own business, you can upgrade to the Pro version.  This adds almost unlimited lists and tasks, collaboration with others, attachments, a calendar interface, and more.  Note that even the free version provides syncing of the tasks and lists with other IOS devices and the free Mac OS X version of the App, as well as Android devices and a web interface.  Keep me honest and check this app out in the App Store for all the details.  Feature for feature, I think it’s among the best in class.

Enpass Password Manager by Sinew Software Systems Private Limited
This password management app has the most important feature to me – all data within it is not only securely encrypted, but it can be housed locally.  You can still keep devices in sync using WebDav and backup files with this local file feature, or choose any of the supported clouds instead (6 popular choices currently).  The app offers templates for many different account types, and you may also customize any of these templates to your needs by adding fields of different types.  It supports autofill of credentials in the internal browser or Safari, provides a free desktop version of the app for Mac and others, and there’s no signup required or subscription charges.  This full feature app is free to try (with a limited number of entries), and the full Pro version is $10.  A great app, well worth that price to me.

 

Thoughts on the Trump Presidency

Posted by Grumpy on November 18, 2016
Posted in: Culture and Humanity, Life.

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I did not vote for Donald Trump, but he is now the President-elect of the United States of America.  This was 51% of my worse case scenario for the voting outcome, the remaining 49% was ending up with Hillarmungus as the victor.  A “no win situation” for America was all I could see in this election.  Both the leading political parties need to feel shame for not delivering more acceptable candidates to the voters.

I suspect Donald Trump is experiencing surprise and anxiety as he comes to realize what it means to be President of the United States of America.  My hope is he will abandon most of the promises and proposals he arrogantly made during his campaign, but like all, I have to wait to see.  I also want to believe he will stay surrounded and reined in by the more earth bound and responsible Republican leaders, as conservative as they may be.

We were exposed all too often to Trump’s misogynistic tirades and overall failure to recognize women’s rights.  We’ve seen videos of people marching in the streets against the election results.  We’ve read reports of an immediate increase in racial, ethnic, gender, and life style bashing and actual attacks.

As to the bashing and attacks, given my feelings on the ratings driven media, we don’t know how many of these attacks actually happened as some false instances have already been reported.  No matter how many reports are genuine, President-to-be Trump needs to do more than a short exclamation of “Stop it”.  He needs to accept responsibility for this behavior by his welcoming of campaign support from the KKK leadership, and his own racial and ethnic slurs made publicly during his campaign.

Whether or not some of his disturbing proposed and actual appointments to his team add to the likelihood his promises will be acted upon is unknown, again related to the influence of Republican leadership in the houses.

All this hope and anxiety over what will happen under the Trump Presidency will last years for all of us.  If he doesn’t deliver on enough of the promises he made to his followers regarding changes he would make, the more hard core part of that bloc will also strongly take to the streets.  So regardless of what his Presidency proposes, attempts, or passes, we’re looking at a stressful four years ahead.  Voters split down the middle in this election, and the issues and fundamental beliefs contributing to this split are strong enough to make it all turn pretty ugly.  Like Viet Nam War ugly.  And like the 60’s Civil Rights Marches ugly.

On the Road #3: Another Market Stop

Posted by Grumpy on September 28, 2016
Posted in: Culture and Humanity. Tagged: .

Background for the On The Road series.
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This stop gave me another up close and personal cultural experience, but one quite opposite from what I described in On the Road #2: Schooled at the Corner Market.

My target stop was a small market in a run down section of the city.  I found it operating out of the first floor apartment in an old, dilapidated building.  While getting my paper work together, I noticed a group of children playing in front of a building about two doors down from where I parked.  Before I left my car, a boy in his mid teens walked out of an alleyway next to the market and set his gaze on me.  He wasn’t wearing a shirt, undoubtedly to advertise the results of some intense body building.

Inside the store it was very dark, with just a few bare light bulbs hanging from the ceiling.  Some customers were talking with an old man who was working the register and they all gave me a quick once-over in a manner which increased my feeling of not being welcome.  To avoid catching grief back at the office for not completing this stop, I decided to wait for the customers to finish their business and leave.  It was a very long wait.

Just as the last customer in the store was getting ready to leave, the teen I saw outside entered with what seemed to be the entire group of kids I had seen playing in the street.  There were a dozen or more and he had them line up single file at the counter, which pushed me further back into the store.  He told the old man to give them each the candy or soda of their choice, leaned up against the counter facing me directly, and  glared at me nonstop.

I decided this visit was not worth possibly getting my ass kicked, my car damaged, or being relieved of my earlier collections, so I left.  Being a short, lean, 65 year old man, I would not be able to defend myself against this kid.  After I started my car I looked back and saw him leaning out the door, arms crossed, with a smug look on his face.

This story may seem overly dramatic, but it is how it occurred.  Blatant intimidation worked well for the teen, and the use of his young gang to block me from getting to the old man at the register was a pretty slick move, one I imagine he had used before.  I have no guilt or shame over my reaction to it all – I felt threatened, eager to leave, and never wanting go back.

I did not take anything positive away from this experience.  It was my first exposure to a bully since my college years.  It felt just as uncomfortable as it did back then.  I did encounter this type of behavior on later runs, but none quite so “in your face”.  It was often just ignoring me until I went away.

 

Lenovo Ideapad 100S

Posted by Grumpy on September 25, 2016
Posted in: Technology.

Lenovo Ideapad 100S

I had a Fusion (VMWare) virtual machine running Windows 7 Pro living in my iMac, that I upgraded to the free Windows 10 Pro.  As this was my last Windows instance in the house I decided that if I was going to have only one Windows machine, it might as well be the latest version.

Windows 10 did run in the virtual environment but not as well as Windows 7.  It took longer to start up, ran somewhat slower, and glitches with the display and sound drivers which did not occur with Windows 7 were annoying.  I don’t rule out that living in the iMac had a lot to do with the poor driver behavior.  Around this same time, I happened to cruise the laptop aisles at Best Buy and saw laptops under $300 that seemed to have enough oomph to support the kind of things I would use a Windows lap top for.

I ended up purchasing a Lenovo Ideapad with Windows 10 Home edition installed, for about $245.  It has a 14″ screen, 2 GB memory, a 64 GB SSD (solid state drive), a microSD slot, 3 USB ports (2 USB 2.0 and 1 USB 3.00), and an HDMI port.  Also included are a Celeron Dual Core CPU, Bluetooth 4.0, and 802.11 a/c WiFi connectivity.  The purchase also qualifies for a free 1 year subscription to Microsoft Office 365 Personal if you sign up for it within the first 6 months of ownership.

I’ve had this machine for about 2 months and I like it.  Its main uses up to now include getting to know Windows 10, cruising the web and updating web sites, and getting back into coding with Windows Powershell and VBScript.  It performs all these functions in a snappy fashion and starts up from the power off status or a sleep fairly quickly.  

Admittedly, this is not a gamer platform, or suitable for applications needing high CPU usage or more than 2 GB memory, but for web surfing, email, and other activities where almost all the heavy lifting is happening on a web server somewhere else, the sturdy and light Lenova Ideapad 100S is a great machine for the price.