The Naomi Osaka story brings into the sharpest relief how the French Open, joined by the other tennis majors, elevate their greed to the exclusion of the mental health and well-being of a human being. That this human being happens to be the best player in her world merely sharpens the focus of both the callousness and ultimate corruption of those who cannot play any game but profit the most from the one they happen to have bought or bought into. Here's the fitting irony of fining Ms. Osaka for not agreeing to meet with the press: When the French official read his statement to the press explaining the French Open's position on the matter, he refused to take any questions. You can't make this stuff up.
Monday, May 31, 2021
Smart Swimming Equipment
[Prefatory Note: As the weather heats up, many of us are switching from our 1 hour bike rides and runs and 2 hour walks to swimming. While we were napping, smart devices popped up to improve our swimming experience. This article from the WSJ explains]
AS SWIMMERS return to their local pools this summer after a very long dry spell, they’ll have their pick of new tracking and timing technology to improve their strokes. From heart-rate sensors that clip onto goggle bands to smart goggles that project a tally of how many laps you’ve swum directly onto the lens, underwater fitness tech is catching up to its aboveground cousins. Much like Fitbits, these new devices relay via companion apps how hard you worked and whether to take it easy or push yourself on your next swim. We tested some of the most intriguing innovations to see what’s helpful and what’s hype before you invest.
1. To Live Stream as You Swim: Zygo
Tired of having only your thoughts for company in the lanes? Zygo has overcome Bluetooth’s traditional ineffectiveness at communicating through water with its proprietary transmitter that can send sound from your phone, through the water and into the waterproof headset. Just set the walkie talkie-size transmitter at the end of the pool (not ideal for crowded public areas) and pair your headphones to the Zygo app, where you can choose from one of the over 150 available coached training sessions; or any podcast or playlist on your phone. ($299, shopzygo.com)
2. To Tally Your Sets, Smartly: Finis Goggles
With these smart goggles, instead of squinting at the clock every 100 meters to see how fast you’re freestyling, you can look off into your peripheral vision to check your lap tally, set time, rest time and more. We found it easy to take in the display, which lives at the corner of the lens, at a glance. Once you pull yourself out of the pool, log into the companion app on your phone to view other statistics related to your workout, from stroke type to kilocalories burned. The app will also let you share your metrics with friends. ($235, finisswim.com)
3. To Check Your Progress Even More Futuristically: Form Goggles
Like the Finis’s, Form’s goggles will tally your laps and tell you how long it took to complete each one. But here, the goggles use an OLED display to project your metrics in front of you as you swim, giving them the appearance of floating in the water. You can customize the display to choose which stats you see, including stroke rate, pace, distance and calories. And, like the Finis, you can view even more fitness data once you log into the app post-swim. ($199, formswim.com)
4. To Max Out Your Workout Sans Distraction: Phlex Edge
If you want to focus on swimming not data-mining, just clip this nifty little heart-rate, distance and stroke tracker to any goggle strap. Designed by Olympic swimmers and coaches for all levels of swimmers, the tracker will very accurately relay via the Phlex app how hard you exerted yourself. When you check your phone post-workout, you’ll also get a “Splash Score” based on your heart rate and effort to help you improve. ($250, phlexswim.com)
Sunday, May 30, 2021
Sticking It to McConnell and to the Republicans
[Prefatory Note: All the commentators seem to believe that the select committee Pelosi will name will be seen as partisan. As a loyal reader pointed out, she is not bound to name sitting members of Congress. What appears below is the text of a letter to the NYT and, if they don't publish it, it will be sent to the Arizona Republic, setting out what Pelosi should do, to-wit, populate it with real Republicans of experience, respect, and stature. What's not stated in the letter, but should be obvious, it will really stick it to McConnel to have to say the likes of James Baker should be dismissed as partisan hacks]
"The common wisdom, which usually and in this instance is wrong, says that Speaker Pelosi’s select committee to investigate and report on the January 6 insurrection will be partisan as the Benghazi select committee was. That committee was comprised solely of members of Congress. There is no requirement that all members, or even any member, Pelosi names to the January 6 select committee need be members of Congress. Thus, she can, and should, populate it with honest Republicans of unquestioned integrity, stature, and experience who have served this country with distinction and no longer are in office, and she might even do the same in appointing Democrat appointees (if she chooses to appoint any)."
Further Notice to Loyal Readers re Blog Emails
1. I am at a total loss as to what time of day the follow.it emails come out. I set them to come out in the morning, but apparently some loyal readers are getting them late in the day. I am dealing further with follow.it tech support and might have a resolution to this, which, if I do, will mean you should start getting the daily emails in the morning.
2. I think I've found a fix to get rid of the stuff under the posts. Again, you should see that stuff disappear within the next day or so.
3. If you're not getting the follow.it email, let me know, and in that event, let me know what time you didn't get it. Thanks. Okay, that was a joke!
PS: Like I didn't have enough or far better things to do this Memorial Day Weekend than deal with follow.it which is the most user-unfriendly service I've seen, but the price is right.
Pareto Optimal Pricing Our Way Out of the Pandemic
In an ideal world, restaurants, sports venues, concert venues, houses of worship, and the like would prohibit entry to anyone not vaccinated. Unfortunately that is not going to happen. Neither will this alternative, but it certainly makes sense. The anti-vaxxers are an added cost to society (especially to the health care system) as well as being a risk to others. If not banned from attending sports, entertainment, and religious events, there should be tiered charging whereby those who are vaccinated pay the regular amount while an additional amount (call it a tax or not if you want) is charged to those not vaccinated. I like to think of this as a perfect implementation of Pareto Optimal Pricing. The charged premium can be kept by the entity to cover the increased cost to their having anti-vaxxers continue to roam the country or collected to defray the extra burden imposed on the medical system or divided between the two. The point is this: Pareto Optimal Pricing too often is ignored notwithstanding the social good it ably can do.
Buy Nothing and Give A Lot
[The following suggestion for making the world a better place comes from the NYT]
On a quiet night in December, Joanne McClain opened the door to her apartment and placed six plastic containers with neighbors’ names on them into the hallway. Each held a slice of almond-flour cake with pear, pistachio and rose. Ms. McClain had received nine pounds of pistachios from her dad, and had tried a new recipe. It came out amazingly well, but there was no way she could eat a whole cake, she said: “I just had an abundance of ingredients and wanted to share.”
The cake became a “give” on Ms. McClain’s local “Ask, Borrow, Give” group — part of a larger movement, called Buy Nothing, that connects people offering free stuff to their neighbors as a way to lessen waste through repurposing. For many, it’s better to give clothes, household items and even unwanted food to neighbors than to send them to donation centers, which can only resell a fraction of what they get. The main rule is that everything must be given free: no buying, selling, trading or bartering.
The Buy Nothing Project is an international network of local gifting groups that began when two friends living on Bainbridge Island in Washington created an experimental hyperlocal gift economy in 2013. The movement now has more than four million members in 44 countries around the world and has grown by a third over the past year, said Liesl Clark, one of the founders. “It’s not so much about buying nothing,” she noted, “as it is about throwing nothing away.”
The project will soon introduce an app that will help connect givers and seekers in any place, not just communities with organized Buy Nothing Facebook groups. “If you’re going to throw it away, why not give it a second life?” Ms. Clark said. The list of gives on one local Santa Monica, Calif., group varied widely. Mushy bananas for banana bread. A play date with a potbellied pig. Potted succulents. Someone to talk to. Winter gear for a 2-year-old. Feta cheese, mistakenly purchased after a family member asked for “fitted sheets.” Lemons and bay leaves from a neighbor’s backyard.
People often share updates on the items they have been given, and pass them back to group members when they’re done — kid’s clothes and birthday decorations often circulate for years. Ms. McClain still has four pounds of pistachios waiting to turn into some other baked goods. She said Buy Nothing had changed her perspective on old household goods: “I no longer look at things as just trash. Things are now just waiting to find another home for others to enjoy them.”
Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment (Daniel Kahneman, Oliver Sibony, and Cass Sunstein)
[The following are excerpts from the review of Noise by Steven Brill is from the NYT. The book looks to be totally fascinating]
A study of 1.5 million cases found that when judges are passing down sentences on days following a loss by the local city’s football team, they tend to be tougher than on days following a win. The study was consistent with a steady stream of anecdotal reports beginning in the 1970s that showed sentencing decisions for the same crime varied dramatically — indeed scandalously — for individual judges and also depending on which judge drew a particular case. A study at an oncology center found that the diagnostic accuracy of melanomas was only 64 percent, meaning that doctors misdiagnosed melanomas in one of every three lesions. When two psychiatrists conducted independent reviews of 426 patients in state hospitals, they came to the equivalent of a tossup: agreement 50 percent of the time on what kind of mental illness was present. When a large insurance company, concerned about quality control, asked its underwriters, who determine premium rates based on risk assessments, to come up with estimates for the same group of sample cases, their suggested premiums varied by an eye-popping median of 55 percent, meaning that one adjuster might have set a premium at $9,500 while a colleague set it at $16,700. Doctors are more likely to order cancer screenings for patients they see early in the morning than late in the afternoon. In a study of the effectiveness of putting calorie counts on menu items, consumers were more likely to make lower-calorie choices if the labels were placed to the left of the food item rather than the right.
These inconsistencies are all about noise, which Kahneman, Sibony and Sunstein define as “unwanted variability in judgments.” Despite its prominence in so many realms of human judgment, the authors note that “noise is rarely recognized,” let alone counteracted. Which is why the parade of noise examples that the authors provide are so compelling, and why gathering the examples in one place to demonstrate the cost of noise and then suggesting noise reduction techniques, or “decision hygiene,” makes this book so important. We are living in a moment of rampant polarization and distrust in the fundamental institutions that underpin civil society. Eradicating the noise that leads to random, unfair decisions will help us regain trust in one another.
Saturday, May 29, 2021
The Kominsky Method: Season 3 (Netflix Series)
Season 3 of the Kominksy Method is now out on Netflix. Based on the first two episodes, it looks to be another fantastic season. It's really funny in spots and it's even poignant in spots, but the funny parts will leave you laughing through the poignant parts. Some of the lines and dialogue are priceless. For those of you too young to appreciate it, just be sure to come back in 20-30 years and watch it.
IMDb Link to The Kominsky Method
Notice to Loyal Readers re New Blog Email Service From follow.it
I believe I have solved the subscription problem with the new email service from follow.it. You should now have received a blog email from it (likely on late Saturday afternoon because I mistakenly had designated a pm delivery instead of an am delivery time, which now is corrected, so this post you should be seeing Sunday morning). Until you unsubscribe from the original service, you will get one email from each. I suggest not unsubscribing yet from the original service because I’m still working on some bugs in the new service, principally, the stuff that’s appearing after and at the bottom of the blog posts that I don’t put there and I’m trying to get rid of. I appreciate your patience during this difficult transition.
👍
Kudos to the EEOC
The Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC) has authorized employers to require Covid-19 vaccinations as a condition of coming to work (with some appropriate or at least arguably appropriate exceptions). Let's hope employers rise to the occasion. It would be nice to see event entities, such as sports teams and concert producers, likewise make being vaccinated a condition of entry.
I Bonds
As this WSJ article explains, you might do well to move your cash from a bank account, where it’s probably earning about 0.02%, into an inflation-protected U.S. savings bond, which will yield 3.54% annualized. Buying an “I bond” is almost risk-free and delivers significant tax advantages. Economists say there’s no such thing as a free lunch, but I bonds offer a guarantee from the U.S. government that you can recover your original capital plus any increases in the official cost of living along the way. The only catch is that this isn’t an all-you-can-eat buffet: The maximum purchase is $10,000 per year per account holder (unless you elect to take your tax refund in the form of an I bond).
Friday, May 28, 2021
Senate Republicans' Blocking the January 6 Commission: A Blessing in Disguise
With the bi-partisan bill passed by the House to set up a commission to study the January 6 insurrection, the so-called Republicans might have thought they had their cake and ate it too, but in reality, they might have cooked their goose and hoisted themselves on their own petard. The only reason McConnell and the Republican leadership demanded the killing of the commission was to avoid the January 6 insurrection issue taking front stage in 2022 under the guise of being a partisan and hence fair look at what happened. But, as a loyal reader has pointed out, Speaker Pelosi now can name a select committee to do just that, with a more robust subpoena power, and less check by Republican members, because there is no requirement that she populate the select committee with members of Congress. For example, Pelosi could name James Baker as co-chair or vice-chair and name other Republicans of stature, currently sitting or not, so that when a report is issued, Katy bar the door.
Fixing An Uppity App
Sometimes, you wake in the morning to find out someone or something messed with an app in the middle of the night. For example, you discover you no longer are signed into the NYT app and it is defaulting to an incorrect user name and won't allow you to erase it. Or, your music streaming app is defaulting to a particular station instead of shuffling. The first fix to try (which usually will work and will do so more often than an uninstall/reinstall), which a form of reboot, is to first delete the cache and, if that doesn't work, to delete the data from the app. On most devices, this is done easily by going to Settings/Apps/[the app your dealing with]/Storage and then you'll se the delete options. Don't worry about the warning that you'll lose all your data and settings, because, among other things, it's your settings that got scrambled in the first place.
Thursday, May 27, 2021
Hacks (HBO Max 2021 TV Series)
The good news is the episodes are a half-hour each, which is always a positive. The cast is good, particularly seeing the mother from Mare of Eastown in such a totally different role, along with Lorraine Newman's daughter who has become quite the actress. There are some funny moments, but it's overall hokey and predictable and exxagerated such that likely not something any discriminating viewer would care to watch. Again, though, the episodes are just a half-hour, which is a huge positive.
Worst Play in the History of Major League Baseball
When you watch this short clip, remember three things: (i) yes, Jave Baez is the most exciting base runner since Jackie Robinson; (ii) yes, there are two outs when this play happens and this fact was not hidden from the first baseman; and (iii) yes, this is major league, not minor league, not little league, not t-ball league, baseball.
Wednesday, May 26, 2021
Shiller on the Real Estate Market
[Robert Shiller is considered the guru when it comes to home prices. Here, from Yahoo Finance, is his outlook looking forward]
The housing market is hot as home prices continue to rise, but Nobel Prize winning economist Robert Shiller predicts prices will eventually drop. "They'll come back down, not overnight, but enough to cause some pain," Shiller told Yahoo Finance Live.
The latest S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller national home price index posted a 13.2% annual gain in March, the fastest pace prices have risen in more than 15 years. Last week, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported the median existing-home price in April was $341,600, up 19.1% from April 2020.
"This is not a market that collapses overnight," Shiller said. "It's less short run volatile than the stock market. But you can see that we're seeing price increases now that haven't quite been realized since those years just before the financial crisis."
Shiller said there is no "clean explanation" why the housing market is so hot. He expects it to continue another year or two driven by low interest rates and the COVID-19 pandemic work-from-home revolution.
But Shiller cautions that people are also driven by narratives and market sentiment. It's a topic he wrote about in his book "Narrative Economics: How Stories Go Viral and Drive Major Economic Events."
"I think it is some kind of irrational exuberance," he said. "People are having fun, and they will as long as prices keep going up."
'Aspects of a bubble'
Shiller describes the current housing market as having "aspects of a bubble to it." He compares it to the rapid home price increases seen in the years leading up to the Great Recession, which wiped out trillions of dollars of American family wealth.
Shiller said today's housing market looks similar to 2003. "There is excitement and people are talking and some people are bidding way more than the asking price and that becomes a narrative or a story."
But he tempers his comparison saying the current housing craze is different from the mortgage crisis that caused the last housing bubble to burst.
"So it's not the same as 2003," Shiller said. "It could be stronger. I think we have better protections, we have better supervision of lenders. So I don't know if we should be worried about 2007, 2008, 2009 happening again."
The current run up in prices, according to Shiller, "is disquieting" and he cites Phoenix as an example. "The biggest increase over the last year was Phoenix and home prices have gone up 20% in one year," he said.
Shiller points out that demand in the housing market gets all the headlines while supply tries to catch up. Record prices for lumber, he says, are driving up prices for newly built homes. "The builders might be building to profit from these high prices now. But, it hasn't happened yet," said Shiller and that has him worried.
Shiller helped create the CME S&P Case Shiller home price index futures 15 years ago so people could hedge their risk during housing markets like this one. "So our futures market is now predicting big increases over the next year or more but it's not certain," he said.
"It kind of reminds me of the spirit that ended after World War II," Shiller said. "There was a spending spree by people. They were jubilant the war was over," he said comparing the mood of the country then to the mood now as the United States emerges from coronavirus pandemic.
Notice re Email Subscription Change: Possible Good News
As we explained a short while ago, Feedburner, which is the service that sent out daily emails to loyal readers notifying them of new blog posts, is terminating its service. Our staff believes they have found an excellent substitute called follow.it, which actually takes one through the transition from Feedburner to it. We will be making the transition in the next several days, and apologize in advance for any glitches. You can read about the new service by clicking on this link. Until we are sure that follow.it is working correctly, you might be getting two daily emails, one from Feedburner which we'll keep active until the transition is complete, and the other from follow.it.
Newman's Own Thin and Crispy White Pizza With Spinach Found
While making one's own pizza is the recommended option, the favorite frozen pizza of many loyal readers and others is Newman's Own Thin and Crispy White Pizza with Spinach, especially for those who are looking for a delicious choice but want to avoid the acidity of tomatoes. Unfortunately, at some point during the pandemic, Fry's stopped carrying it. We sent out our Food Out-of-Stock Oy Locators (FOOLs) to track down where one might get it, and the good news is we found two outlets (in Central Phoenix) but the bad news is they are AJ's and Basha's, two places we dread going into.
Phone Etiquette in a Caller-ID World and a Bonus
How to Answer a Call: When you receive a call from an unidentified source, the better and safer practice is to not answer (e.g., answering unwanted telemarketing calls confirms the robocallers they have reached a live line). But when the caller is identified on the Caller-ID screen, the serious etiquette issue is raised as to whether you should just say "hello" or should say "hi [name]" given that you know the name of who is calling. Saying just "hello" is misleading but fools no one because the caller knows you know who is calling. Saying "hi [name]" is a little jarring and if two people share the same calling land-line number, you might guess wrong as to which is calling. A good compromise is to develop a warm and somewhat drawn-out "hellloooh" which lets the caller know you know who they are and is a welcoming sound and is not jarring and it doesn't matter in the ambiguous case which one is calling.
Whether to Call Back When No Voice Mail Message Is Left: With Caller-ID, you will know if someone called but did not leave a voice mail message and the caller will know that you know that they called. Whether or not you should call back is situational. If you genuinely believe it was a butt-call, there's no need to call back. But if you think the caller is being polite by not forcing you to waist time listening to a voice mail message, then you should call back.
Bonus: Before Caller-ID, it was polite to answer the phone by saying, "hello, this is [your name]." In that way the caller knows immediately if they reached the party to whom they wished to speak. Given the discussion above about "how to answer a call," it no longer is necessarily to answer this way because you will be answering calls only from people you know and in most instances they will know you.
Tuesday, May 25, 2021
Some Laudatory Things to Say About Anti-Maskers, Anti-Vaxxers, and Republicans
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State of the Housing Market
Perhaps the most interesting fact of all when it comes to housing market, is that there now are more realtors than houses available for sale.
Latest iOS Updates
[Prefatory Note: Being a devoted fan of the Android, I know nothing and do not give a fig about iPhones, but I do recognize that some people, including a couple of loyal readers, still use them. As a courtesy, this blog covers some iOS stuff]
Apple's new iOS 14.6 update arrived Monday, about a month after the iPhone-maker's big iOS 14.5 update landed at the end of April. iOS 14.6 appears to be a far smaller update than 14.5 -- which included the ability to unlock your iPhone with Face ID while wearing a mask, stop apps from tracking you for advertising purposes and choose from four different Siri voices. The new iOS 14.6 includes another way to locate lost AirTags trackers and high-fidelity Apple Music support, as well as bug fixes.
Lindsay Lohan Is Back: Merry Xmas
We cannot be more pleased to announce, as reported here, is that Lindsay Lohan is returning to her craft in a Netflix romcom to be screened at Xmas. The only thing that would make the holidays even more festive and lend further proof to the existence of God is if Amanda Bynes were to make a comeback as well.
Good News re the War on Cancer
As if Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz weren't spreading good cheer enough, as this article sets out, in the war on cancer, science is winning. Specifically, there are new vaccines in late-stage clinical trials, simple blood-testing to detect cancers in their early stages, and crisper gene-editing technology advances.
Monday, May 24, 2021
Our Education System Is a Complete Mystery
Trump's getting into and through Penn and Bush's getting into and through Yale can be explained by the money and pedigree that greased the skids. Patrick M. Byrne, the founder and former CEO and Chairman of Overstock, leaves us head-scratching. Now leading the charge and donating millions of dollars in support of the various efforts to prove that Trump won the 2020 election and that it was stolen from him, Bryne got a BA in Philosophy and Asian Studies at Dartmouth, a MS in Mathematical Logic at Cambridge, and a PhD in Philosophy at Stanford. The lesson we take from this is not to listen to the suggested parenting advice here and instead keep your kids away from prestigious schools and high falutin majors.
Caution re Frank & Albert's at the Arizona Biltmore
The Arizona Biltmore was closed for several months for remodeling, and now purports to have re-opened. A pleasant casual restaurant there, Frank & Albert's, at first blush seems to have not undergone any substantial changes. But, if you are looking for outside dining on the patio, and you make reservation for such, it turns out that, while they know how to take the reservation, they don't know how to hold the reservation, for when you arrive, you are told that one cannot reserve patio space, it's on a first-come, first-served basis, and while it is empty you arrive, they are holding it for a party of 30 which will take up all the tables. Would it occur them to seat you at the tables just outside the front door where others are sitting? No, but if you ask, then they will give you a table, although the bar tender will apologize in advance for her slow service because they don't have actual food servers for out there, although as it turns out, they do, and the service is just fine. Finally, do not rely on the online menu. It's not operative. It does not have the calamari or the mussels which the website menu said it does. The food though is good, and be sure you host has a glass of wine or two to get over the reservation snafu which should make for a delightful evening, and they will validate your parking ticket but it's actually easier just to park in the little triangle or the Adobe Restaurant parking lot.
PS: I photographed the interchange with the hostess about not holding the patio reservation, which you can see by clicking here.
PPS: Whatever this is, which you would have gladly chose, you will not find on the menu:
How to Make a Brand More Appealing: Give It a Feminine Name
As this article from the WSJ explains, when it comes to marketing products that are not purely functional (like bathroom scales) or are designed for men (such as men's sneakers), feminine brand names appear to have greater appeal. This is just the kind of study that draws social scientists out of academia and into marketing research.
Sunday, May 23, 2021
How to Get Your 5-Year Olds to Put Their Clothes in a Hamper
From the NYT: Telling your kid that the hamper loves to eat clothes just might do wonders in getting the hamper filled with and the room cleared of dirty clothes. It actually works with some adults, especially those who like to engage in anthropomorphism.
Now Is the Time to Go for a Bold New Look (in Hairstyles, Tattoos, and Piercings)
Working with one's stylist, inker, and piercer and do wonders to create and project both a new look and a new outlook on life. After counseling many loyal readers and others, we asked the NYT to write an article summarizing the tips we have, and as you can see here, they did a nice job doing so.
Stopping System and Other Notifications
If you get notifications on your device such as "Sign in to Samsung Account," here is how to stop them: Got to Settings/Notifications/System Apps (likely under 3 dots in upper right)/All and then push the slider to turn off notifications. You cans do the same for all the other apps (system or otherwise) you see there.
Saturday, May 22, 2021
Bitcoin Revives Old Power Stations
As this article from Grist explains, Bitcoin has given new life to old power stations that had ceased to be profitable, but their mining of bitcoins has turned everything around. People who don't understand what cryptocurrency is might be puzzled by this turn of events. But those who do now understand why Tesla no longer will accept it as payment.
Breeze Airways
Breeze Airways is the newest airline start up, and it's hitting the market with ultra-low fares and other incentives. Unfortunately, it doesn't fly anywhere that would seem of interest. Here is its flight map:
Home Buying Slowing, Prices Up
As this article lucidly explains, home sales (except for homes over $1M) slowed last month for the first time since the mad rush to buy houses started. Median prices were up and inventory of houses for sales dropped, and new home starts ebbed as well. This is not to say this recent data portends anything, particularly as long as mortgage rates remain as low as they are.
Friday, May 21, 2021
Cellphone Keyboard Settings
When it comes to keyboards for your cellphone or tablet, you can use the one that's loaded by default or choose from any number of keyboards including Gboard. That said, whatever keyboard you choose, it merits spending some time going through the settings because there almost suredly will be one or more in there you were not aware of and wish you had been. By way of example, Gboard (and others as well) has a setting to automatically put a space in after you insert a comma or period, which if not set that way, you have to hit the space bar, as well as a setting to let you double tap the space bar which automatically will add a period and a space.
New Cox (and Likely Other ISP) Phone Troubleshooting Option
If you have Cox Digital Telephone (or what they call Voice), and something goes blooey, like Caller ID stops showing incoming calls, before doing anything, try a re-boot of your Voice modem. But if that doesn't work, call Cox, follow the prompts for technical service, and then choose to accept the Troubleshooting option when it is given. In many instances, this will fix the problem. In all events, you should know within about 15 minutes, when you will receive a text saying the troubleshooting is complete. It is likely other digital land-line providers provide the same service.
Outlook: How to Deal With "This Message Has Been Changed and Cannot Be Sent"
For whatever the reason or cause is, sometimes one hits Send in Outlook and gets a "This message has been changed and cannot be sent." You can copy the text of the message and paste it into a new blank email and send it. But the easier and quicker way is just hit the Forward button and then hit Send. ONE IMPORTANT CAVEAT: If there's an attachment included with the email, do NOT use the Forward option because the attachment might and usually will fall off the email and not be received by the recipient.
High-End Phoenix Real Estate Market per the WSJ
Everyone in Phoenix knows how crazy the Phoenix real estate market has gotten, now the world knows thanks to this article from the WSJ. For anyone moving somewhere less expensive or who can find a place to rent, there has never been a time like this to sell. For now it puts the pre-2008 mania to shame. How and when it ends no one knows.
Arizona Restaurant Week
Click here to see all the restaurants participating in Arizona Restaurant Week. It runs from May 21 to May 30, some restaurants are dine-in only and others are dine-in or take out. The prices are $33/person or $44/person but some are $44 for 2 persons.
Thursday, May 20, 2021
Some Notes on the PGA Championship
1. Showing its jingoism, introductions of American players on the first tee include their city and state of residence, while introductions of non-American players include only their birth country.
2. If a players hits a ball into the gallery stands, he gets a free drop at the point the ball entered the gallery stand. In any place where that drop area is clear, such as on 18 which is the toughest hole on the course, the best play is to aim one's drive for the gallery stand and thereby avoid all the other trouble that plagues the tee shot.
3. All week the jabber has been about what a monster the course is at 7,800 yards. Interestingly (for lack of any other word to describe the move), the course was set up at 7,600 yards.
4. Golf is a great teacher in that, like life, it's not fair, so learn to deal with it. When you add wind to a golf course, it becomes a ridiculous game, and not fun no matter how spectacular the course (which is why no one in their right mind takes their sticks to Kauai). That said, you would think the TV production crew could shield their microphones from the howling of the wind to prevent the headache it produces with the TV audience, along with the stupid things yelled out by and howling noises and over-the-top whoops from the gallery, making you miss the halycon days during the pandemic when no patrons were allowed, leading Jim Nantz to say golf was then a tradition like none other.
Mac Book Air vs. iPad Pro
In the old days, Apple's computers and tablets were two different things. Now, not so much. So, if you have a $1,000 to spend, you might choose an iPad Pro even though you first thought you would want a computer. Here's the deal:
Maximize Battery Life by Putting Unused Apps to Sleep
Most cellphones and tablets have a setting that will put apps you have not used for a while to sleep. This will maximize your battery life. While the setting to do this varies depending on the device, generally speaking, go the Battery setting on your phone and you should be able to find it there.
Pessimistic View of Cryptocurrency
The only thing more fun than watching the housing market is watching the cryptocurrency market. If you think the housing market has been soaring like a rocket, it's been like a Phil Mickleson jump compared to the cryptocurrency market. Wednesday's 30+% plunge in several cryptocurrencies has brought out the naysayers, as this article from the WSJ explains (although it skips over explaining what cryptocurrency actually is):
Wednesday, May 19, 2021
Forsooth--Stop Playing With Republicans
At this point, the Republicans in the House and Senate are simply a proxy for doing whatever placates Trump and trying to stop anything that might upset him. There is no point to continuing dickering about a supposed bipartisan commission to investigate the January 6 insurrection. There's no chance that the Republicans who would serve on that commission would function in good faith. It is time to immediately set up a Select Committee in the House, with subpoena, to do the investigation, and a firm December 31 deadline, and let the Republicans squeal like the greased pigs they are as Kevin McCarthy and Donald J Trump are subpoenaed to testify. Let's please get to it.
Those Who Wish Me Dead (HBO Max 2021)
It's got your Angela Jolie, and its got your beautiful scenery, but the story seemed so stupid and hokey that it might lead you to give up and shut it down after about 20 minutes. If you do, you will not be alone.
Tuesday, May 18, 2021
Onions, Garlic, Shallots, Leeks, and Ramps
One need not go to culinary school to know ones vegetables, but apparently our public education system has failed many, as we have been inundated with requests to explain the difference and different uses of some very common things, to-wit: onions, garlic, shallots, leeks, and ramps. Sheesh. Oh well, this article will tell you what you need to know. BTW, don't store them in the refrigerator.
Alexa as a Security Camera
If you have an Alexa with a smart display, you can use it as a security camera to see what's happening in the room from anywhere. You can read all about it by clicking on this link.
My Favorite Google Map Tricks
Google Maps has some really cool features such as enabling you to find parking and letting you see where you're walking without looking away from your phone, not to mention using it even without any online connection. To learn how to do these and other things with Google Maps, just click on this link.
Change to the Samsung Clock Timer Dismissal
If you use the Samsung clock (i.e., the clock that comes with a Samsung device), you might notice when the timer gets to 0, the sound notification is the same but the way to turn it off has changed. There used to be a flashing circle but now there's a pull-down from the top. It's not as pretty but actually seems easier to use.
When the Republican Party First Made Its Hard Right/White/Delusional Turn
The so-called Republican Party has taken its final steps to becoming ultra-right, ultra-white, and ultra-delusional. Although he manipulated this move brilliantly, and solidified it as a cult, this did not start with Trump. Nor did it start with rise of the Tea Party which certainly ushered it along. In terms of its modern iteration, it started with Barry Goldwater, and the call to abandon your brain and trust that "in your heart you know he's right." While he was defeated at the polls, his appeal to cultism has blossomed into full flower. And now we are at a point in history where there is no way to understand how any supposedly intelligent elected Republican adhering to and espousing what they espouse can live with themselves. It truly is time for term limits, at least for Republicans.
The Feeling of Post-Pandemic Euphoria
A loyal reader ventured into a grocery store for the first time since the pandemic-enforced lockdown and lockup. Although the context is a bit different, this link well captures the feeling.
Renaming Bluetooth Connected Devices
When you connect and pair a Bluetooth device for the first time, the device will set a name for it. Sometimes the name accurately describes the device (e.g., Bose Mini-Speaker which speaks for itself). Other times the name is just made up (e.g., Hands Free for a car). Renaming each such device is easy. Just click on the device and its settings, and usually in the bottom left corner will be an option to Rename. Click on Rename and type in the name you want (e.g., Camry instead of Hands Free).
Generic Fixes for Smart Devices: Different Levels of Rebooting
When something goes blooey with a smart device, e.g., it loses Bluetooth connectivity or wi-fi connectivity or an app doesn't work or doesn't work correctly, rebooting the device is the first fix to try. Generally speaking, there are two different reboots, one where you just restart the device and the other is where you do a simulated battery pull. Going slightly deeper, clearing the cache for the app that's working and clearing the system cache is the next level to try. Going a bit deeper yet, clearing the data for the balky app is the next level to try. Going a bit deeper yet, uninstalling and reinstalling the balky app is the next level to try. Going a bit deeper yet, resetting the system settings is the next level to try. Finally, doing a factory reset, the soft one will not delete your apps or dat or the hard one that will take you back to the day you first turned on the device, is the last level to try. For each of these different reboots, The Google will have instructions as to how to do them for your make and model device. Just remember, each of these might require that, after the balky app is fixed, you reset any customizable settings you had before the fix.
Monday, May 17, 2021
Why the CDC Changed Its Mind on Masking
Given all the noise on the CDC's changing guidelines re masking, we've stayed above the fray (we're not doctors and we don't play infectious disease or epidemic specialists on TV). That said this article from the NYT entitled "Why the CDC Changed Its Mind on Masking" appears to make sense and is simply and clearly written.
Two Notes re Sports: One Sad, One Happy
Sad Note: We mourn the passing of Joe Valerio. Many of you knuckleheads likely have no idea who he is. But if you grew up addicted to The Sports Reporters on Sunday mornings you know what a fabulous and informative show he put on. It was certainly was way better than the dribble that now floods Sunday mornings with inane interviews and plebian commentary. Some Tributes to Joe Valerio
Happy Note: We rejoice at the induction of Mike Wilbon into the Basketball Hall of Fame (HOF), and cannot begin to express what a thrill it was to be there Saturday night. Many of you knuckleheads likely have no idea who Mike Wilbon is, which means you don't watch (which is best watched on a DVR basis) what is now the most entertaining and enlightening sports talk show on television, to-wit: PTI or Pardon The Interruption with Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser, both of whom appeared on The Sports Reporters and one of whom coined the term "knuckleheads."
Voter Fraud in 2020 Presidential Election
There was voter fraud in the 2020 election where a Colorado man cast a vote for his dead wife in favor of Trump. And there's a good chance when it comes to sentencing, the sentence will be at the upper end because of what the judge might see as an aggravating factor, to wit: The wife was dead as the result of having been murdered by the very person who cast her fraudulent ballot, her husband. Link to Story Clearly, we need a national commission to determine just how widespread this kind of pro-Trump voter fraud there was.
Free and Paid Photo Backup Options
From the WSJ (click on article here or on blog website to enlarge):
Fix When Bluetooth Stops Working
It is not uncommon to find one's Bluetooth not working such that your paired devices no longer appear and the Bluetooth symbol itself is gone and you cannot pair to anything. This is not a good state of affairs if you listen to music through your phone with ear buds or some external speaker and it is not good for making and receiving phone calls on a hands free basis in your car. The linked article is specific to a particular family of Galaxy phones but generally applies as well to all cellphones. Link to Article re Fixing Bluetooth For your particular phone, put "[Make/Model bluetooth not working" (without the quotes and inserting the make and model of your device).
Sunday, May 16, 2021
Ava (2020 on Netflix)
It is a complete mystery as to how this got on my watchlist (I'm not a fan of action movies and certainly did not put it there). And it's completely ridiculous both in terms of its main plots (the assassinations) and it's subplots (the one sister getting involved with the assassin's ex-boyfriend), and the assassin's recovery from addiction, and it's weird in terms of the wonderful cameo of Geena Davis not to mention the more than cameo of John Malkovich. Some of the fight scenes are done in weird ways. All that said, not that bad a way to spend 1.5h, even if the subtitles are several seconds delayed such that some viewers might find very annoying.
Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened (2016 on Netflix)
Even if you hate documentaries, if you have any affection for the theatre or a true story well told, you will love this one. It starts slow for the first minute or so and then, as a former president would say, it takes off like a rocket ship. It grabs you and, while it might a drag just a bit time-to-time and especially around the half-way mark, it does not let go as it entertains and teaches up to the very end. Unlike the Producers which was the story of trying to make a Broadway flop, this is the story of Stephen Sondheim and Hal Prince teaming up for what they thought would be another of their smash hits that ends up closing shortly after it opened although that's not the end at all.
Saturday, May 15, 2021
The Woman in the Window (2021 on Netflix)
Is it possible not to thoroughly enjoy a movie with Amy Adams and Julianne Moore? The Washington Post trashed this movie. And for good reason. The answer is yes, because it's slow, creepy (not in a good way), boring, and stupid. The only saving grace is that Marisa Tomei did not stoop to appear in it. It would seem it's a take-off in some way of Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window, but that's actually giving it too much credit. No spoiler alert needed here ... I have no clue what happened after the 50 minute mark and I don't care and I'm not even clear what happened during the 50 minutes I watched.
Chlorine Tab Shortage and Price Increase
One of the many supply chain disruptions and shortages has now reached chlorine tabs, which are used to chlorinate pools. There is both a shortage and a substantial rise in their costs. If you service your own pool, please don't horde. If you have a pool service that includes the cost of chlorine tabs in its monthly bill, whether or not the service might raise its rates, you should alert that service that you have no objection to a rate raise to cover the increase cost.
How to Hide "No Sim Card Inserted" Notification
When you get a new cellphone, your old cellphone, which won't have a operable sim card, can do anything but calls and texts (or anything requiring a data connection), i.e., everything you do with wifi will still work. So, it can be convenient to hold on to that phone and use it around the house. The only problem is there will be a notification in the notification bar saying that "no sim card is inserted." There appears to be no way to get rid of it without putting the phone into airplane mode which will knock out your wifi connection. There is an app, which cost $3, which supposedly will eliminate the notification. Link to Hide Persistent Notification App Our lab has not bought it or tried it yet, and might not ever.
Some Really Good Tips re Travel This Summer
From the WSJ (click to enlarge here or on blog website):
Why Good Moods Can Lead to Bad Decisions
From the WSJ (open in blog website and enlarge if too small and won't enlarge here):
Persian Garden Reinvented (Phoenix)
What became the Persian Garden at 15th Avenue and Thomas Road started somewhere further North under a different name and was fabulous. Then it moved to that location and it was still fabulous. Then it changed its name and perhaps ownership and was okay but the prices rose dramatically without a commensurate increase in serving size or enhanced taste. As a result of the pandemic, it went out of business and closed. Now it has reinvented itself by doing a Middle-East cuisine take-out or delivery business. Where you pick up food is not mentioned on the website and the menu is skimpy and the prices don't look great. I'm sticking with Khyber Halal.
Stop Grumbling About Medina Spirit
We are really tired of hearing the grumbling about Medina Spirit being allowed to run in the Preakness and being permitted to continue his/her quest for the Triple Crown after failing the post-Kentucky Derby drug test. Here's the bottom-line: Maybe the trainer or someone else did something wrong or stupid that led to the failed drug test, but please, don't take it out on the horse which did nothing wrong. It's punishment enough (for the horse--the trainer and vet are another story) that he lost the Preakness.
Cellphone Recommendation
If you want a great new Android phone that's a nice size (5.8" screen) and not some big honker, and you don't give a fig about 5G, you can get a brand new unlocked Samsung Galaxy S10e on The eBay for under $400 (and that includes its built-in screen protector so you don't need to spend another $3 to buy a screen protector and mess up installing it by not getting all the bubbles out). It's a snap to set up, faster than greased lightning, smooth to the touch, darn good looking, chargeable wirelessly, and infinitely customizable.
Friday, May 14, 2021
Setting Up a New Cellphone: Welcome to a Shocking, But Amazingly Wonderful, New World
Let's say you waited to get a new phone until you had many days alone to set it up, here's the problem: It takes about 10 minutes to wait for all your apps (including their settings) to wirelessly transfer from your old phone to your new phone such that all your apps will be placed on your new phone in the identical arrangement as they were on your old phone--and all your apps' settings will have transferred as well, and then a couple of minutes to do the 2-3 simple system setting tweaks that might be called for, and then you move the SIM card from the old phone to the new one, and you are done!
And when I say "identical," I mean identical: Link to What I Mean by Identical
The following how-to article explains just how easy doing the transfer is: Explanatory Article
Thursday, May 13, 2021
Flight Tracker Apps
Before the pandemic, there were a couple of fantastic flight tracker apps including one or two with pro versions to eliminate ads. Something happened and now there are a couple of okay ones but none that have the wow factor everyone wants in a flight tracker app although many are chock-filled with all kinds of bells and whistles. The easiest and cleanest one is Flight Stats but it does not give you alerts, which is just astounding. The Flight Tracker and Flight Aware are okay and do give you alerts, but each has its own clunkiness. So, we don't have a recommendation, except this: Where getting alerts as to delays or changed take-off or landing times or gate changes and such are important, be sure you pick a flight tracker that does alerts and, more important, you should install and use two because they all suffer from not being 100% accurate in pushing alerts. Below are links to two recent articles that review various flight tracker apps.
This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends: The Cyberweapons Arms Race, by Nicole Perlroth (2021)
Highly recommended book by a very well read and discerning loyal reader. It will be recommended to my five book clubs. As described by The Amazon:
"From The New York Times cybersecurity reporter Nicole Perlroth, the untold story of the cyberweapons market-the most secretive, invisible, government-backed market on earth-and a terrifying first look at a new kind of global warfare.
"Zero day: a software bug that allows a hacker to break into your devices and move around undetected. One of the most coveted tools in a spy's arsenal, a zero day has the power to silently spy on your iPhone, dismantle the safety controls at a chemical plant, alter an election, and shut down the electric grid (just ask Ukraine).
"For decades, under cover of classification levels and non-disclosure agreements, the United States government became the world's dominant hoarder of zero days. U.S. government agents paid top dollar-first thousands, and later millions of dollars- to hackers willing to sell their lock-picking code and their silence.
"Then the United States lost control of its hoard and the market.
"Now those zero days are in the hands of hostile nations and mercenaries who do not care if your vote goes missing, your clean water is contaminated, or our nuclear plants melt down.
"Filled with spies, hackers, arms dealers, and a few unsung heroes, written like a thriller and a reference, This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends is an astonishing feat of journalism. Based on years of reporting and hundreds of interviews, The New York Times reporter Nicole Perlroth lifts the curtain on a market in shadow, revealing the urgent threat faced by us all if we cannot bring the global cyber arms race to heel."
Wednesday, May 12, 2021
Cryptocurrency: You Snooze, You Lose ... Tesla Won't Take It as Payment
After spending the last several months mining for cryptocurrency and getting almost enough to buy a Tesla, Tesla abruptly reversed course and won't accept it any more. Here's the story as reported by NPR--and if you thought you understood what cryptocurrency was, you ask yourself if you really do:
"Months after Tesla embraced Bitcoin, CEO Elon Musk said on Wednesday the auto maker would no longer accept the cryptocurrency for car purchases due to its environmental impact. Bitcoin is very energy-intensive. The "coins" are created through a process called "mining," in which powerful computers solve difficult math problems. That requires electricity — a mind-boggling amount of it. "We are concerned about rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions," Musk explained in a tweet, "especially coal, which has the worst emissions of any fuel."
"The tweet comes just three months after Tesla surprised many by saying it would allow customers to pay for their electric vehicles with Bitcoin. Not only that, the company said at the time it also invested $1.5 billion in the cryptocurrency. It was a good investment. In its most recently quarterly statement, Tesla's bitcoin holdings contributed substantially to its net profits. But on Wednesday, Musk also said Tesla would no longer sell the cryptocurrency.
"From the start, the company came under fire for embracing a currency with a substantial carbon footprint even though Musk has said that Tesla is dedicated to fighting climate change."
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