This ZD Net article explains the benefits you will see on your Android phone by clearing the cache, and sets out the easy steps to clear the cache. Here's a tip: Instead of playing solitaire while sitting in a doctor's office waiting to be called in, you can clean the cache of every app on your phone. Although not covered by this article, iPhones and iPads also will perform better with periodic cache clearing.
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One of the annoying things about home food delivery is tipping the delivery person. Not that anyone objects to fairly tipping a good delivery person, but often you have to specify a tip before the food arrives and before you know if everything that is supposed to be included is included and in good shape. As this WSJ article explains, just as Waymo eliminated the problem of dealing with ride-share drivers, food is going to be delivered by drones. As such, we are living out my mantra for drones: Make food, not war!
PS: I submit this post notwithstanding the drubbing I'm going to take from a certain leftie in California who seems to object to any constructive capitalism if it means, for example, employees of slide rule companies that go out of business lose their jobs in favor of companies making digital calculators and ultimately computers.
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Yeah, I get it. Old people do email. Everyone else does texting. No one under the age of 60 makes phone calls or talks by phone. Yeah, I get it, most people's voicemail boxes have not been cleared for decades and so no messages can be left. A certain nephew just got reamed out over this because he's going to be dealing with people who actually phone people. Do yourself a favor: Cleanout your phone voicemail so messages can be left. Thank you.
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This WSJ article explains the income tax changes that are made in deductions for charitable donations, and the impact those changes likely will have on charitable organizations.
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As this article explains, Windows is bringing back a dedicated local migration tool for Windows 11 & 10. The tool will transfer essential user folders & settings, but not apps or passwords. It doesn't make setting up a new computer a snap like setting up a new phone, but it makes it somewhat easier.
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This bon appetit article features the Ratio 8 coffee maker. Yeah, it cost a little more than the ugly coffee makers that populate many people's homes, but it's a work of art:
This WSJ article explains all the benefits password managers will give you in terms of storing and retrieving information, and it has cogent reviews/recommendations of the top password managers.
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The catches by MLB outfielders tells you why they are major leaguers and the rest of us aren't. This one by the Orioles centerfielder is as good as they get. But, that's not the intriguing aspect of this Orioles/Blue Jays double-header. The Orioles traded reliever Seranthony Dominguez to the Blue Jays between the two games. Domínguez only needed to walk across the field to join his new team prior to the second game of the day. A few hours later, Domínguez was jogging in from a new bullpen to face the hitters he’d called teammates when he got to the stadium in the morning. Domínguez gave his new team a scoreless inning, ending it with a strikeout. How cool is that!
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This cnet article lists places where you might be able to take computers and printers you no longer want or use for recycling of their parts, and ways to find other possible places.
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Trump has been on a studied course of pressuring Powell to cut interest rates. As Trump sees it, when the Fed cuts its short-term target rate, the entire interest-rate yield curve will fall along with it. That’s critical because the rates that matter most to the economy are longer rates, especially the 10-year Treasury. Those are rates that most affect corporate borrowing and consumer mortgages. But look at what happened when the Fed cut its target rate three times by a total of 100 basis points from September to December. The 10-year yield popped instead of falling with the short-term cuts. On Sept. 16 the 10year Treasury note stood at 3.62%. The FOMC announced its 50-basis-point cut on Sept. 18, and the 10-year began a gradual ascent to 4.29% on Oct. 31. The Fed cut 25 more points in November, and another 25 points on Dec. 18. The 10-year yield kept climbing to a peak of 4.79% on Jan. 14. Makes you think.
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The Phoenix New Times has confirmed that, "as the end of [July] approaches in 2025, temperatures have been significantly cooler than residents have come to expect." If you are living anywhere other than Phoenix, it is likely you are under a dome of heat, with tornados, flooding, and other calamities. We understand the subways in NYC are shutting down as a result of the heat, something that has never happened in Phoenix. We don't understand why anyone wants to live where, unlike in Phoenix, the humidity is such that the heat index eclipses the nominal temperatures to the point of making national news. So, here it is: Put on your big boy pants or move to a climate where the people know what they're doing.
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Seasons 1 and 2 of The Gilded Age were quite insufferable. Season 3, which now is dropping every Sunday night and has dropped 6 of 8 episodes, has gotten somewhat intriguingly favorable reviews from the NYT and others. It's definitely not as bad as the first two seasons were. There will be a fourth season coming as well.
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The alarming truth, as we are now witnessing it, is that it is far easier than anyone imagined for an egomaniacal, ignorant, self-absorbed cultist with very low intelligence to tear down a democracy. The galling irony is that, while it took armies of people and countless deaths to stop Hitler, it would take fewer than five (5) people to stop Trump. Thus, it would take just two (2) Supreme Court Republican-appointed justices to maintain the checks on presidential power and protect the rule of law that the constitution was enacted to do. Similarly, it would take just five (5) House Republicans or just four (4) Senate Republicans to stop Trump's legislative assault on democratic institutions. Who knew that the Founding Fathers left our democracy on such a fragile limb? Apparently, Trump did.
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Chrome took away my favorite extension for designating where new tabs open. My preference has been that, when I designate a new tab to open, that it go to the far right of the open tabs and it be the activated tab. I have not found a single extension that will do that. But, by using Activate New Tab and New Adjacent Tab, that's the result you will see. PTL!
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My understanding had been that a Wordle answer would not be a word ending in ED where the ED is simply changing the word from present tense to past tense. As you can see below from Tuesday’s (July 29) Wordle, two such words (gamed, gazed) were included as possible answers. So, we asked the bot to clarify the matter. The bot does not like to answer questions. But if we get an answer, we'll let you know.
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Short-term rentals (STRs) are notoriously uncaring about nearby residents, city codes, proper manners, human decency, or much of anything else. They might be known to pile up bags of garbage in the front yard intending to have it picked up days later by the recycling truck even though the garbage is not recyclable and, while it sits there as an eyesore, could be attracting roof rats, other rodents, coyotes, insects, and who knows what kind of vermin and nuisances. If it happens near you, do not hesitate to phone the city at 602-534-4444 or email the city at blight@phoenix.gov. They will get all over the violator like a cheap wet suit and write up a violation before you can whistle dixie.
Tyler Perry's Straw is one of the strangest, most intense, and most gut-wrenching movies one can watch. I'm going to say no more other than it is the story of a single mother who tries to navigate a series of unfortunate events. I wish I could tell you whether or not you will like it or even get through it (I almost stopped a few times). You're on your own with this one. The acting is superb.
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They actually can do something you don't see being done by little leaguers (even prodigies coached by Joey Martella's father).
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In Windows 11, the "Show Desktop" button is located at the far right corner of the taskbar, next to the system clock and notification area. Clicking this button minimizes all open windows, revealing the desktop. Clicking it again restores the minimized windows. If the button is missing, it can be enabled in the Taskbar settings. To enable it, go to Taskbar Settings/Taskbar behavior, then check on "Select the far corner of the taskbar to show the desktop." An actual button might or might not appear. But, even if not, placing your cursor to the right of the time/date will enable the show desktop functions.
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The Monday NYT crossword typically is so easy it's boring. Want to make it a challenge: Do it using only the across or only the down clues. It's also fun.
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Washington Black has gotten some good reviews, but, after watching two (2) episodes, we don't get it. Some of the scenes, if not the whole story, seem far-fetched and untethered. And you have to be a big fan, which we are not, of stories told non-chronologically. In short, there's a lot of jumping back and forth, and we are at a loss as to the point in doing that.
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If everything is working fine, in a word: DON'T. By way of example, even a change to the laptop's name can mess things up with one's printer/scanner. This is difficult medicine to swallow for those of us who believe, "If you're not fixing it, it's broken." But sometimes the doctor is right.
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This all recipes article outlines the tasks a dishwasher can perform beyond washing dishes, including: heating up food and keeping it warm (not kidding); washing baseball hats; freshening flip flops; washing the microwave plate; getting grime off garden tools; sanitizing kids' toys; cooking dinner (not kidding again); rinsing produce; washing sports equipment; and cleaning your beauty tools. Who knew?
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Lotte Woad was the top ranked amateur in women's golf just a few weeks ago. Then, as an amateur, she placed second in the Evian, the fourth major of the season, which got her a tour card and a ranking of 10th in the world. Her next tournament, the Irish Open, she won, to become only the third player in LPGA history to win her first professional tournament. Then came the Scottish Open, which she led after the third round. When did the Golf Channel decide to air the final round? At 3 pm EDT on Sunday. What makes that so outrageous? It's 8 hours after the final round was finished. Unless you live under a rock, given how much of a stir she's caused in women's golf, there's no way to avoid finding out before airtime if she won (it would be big news that she won). And she did win. Eclipsing the number one player in the world, Nellie Korda, who has yet to win any tournament this year. So, the Golf Channel, and the LPGA, in their collective wisdom, made sure that anyone with any interest in the LPGA, or Lotte Woad, or this tournament, would not be tuning in.
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The alarming truth, as we are now witnessing it, is that it is far easier than anyone imagined for an egomaniacal, ignorant, self-absorbed cultist with very low intelligence to tear down a democracy. At core, what we need is a series of NATO treaties among the institutions that are the bulwark of democracy. A NATO agreement is one that says, "If one of us is attacked, all of us are attacked," and "we will join together in defense and counter-attack." Hence: all the colleges and universities should have their NATO treaty so that Columbia is not left out on its own to knuckle under; all the media outlets should have their NATO treaty so that AP is not left out on its own; all the law firms should have their NATO treaty so that the firms who knuckled under would have had the reinforcements they apparently needed; and so on. In short, as it turns out, Trump is much more of a threat to the survival of Western democracy than the Soviet Union was. The NATO treaty worked as a bulwark against the Soviet Union (and should continue to work against Russia unless Trump blows it up). It needs to be put in place here and now.
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Anyone watching the Phillies/Yankees game on Saturday, would have seen the below graphic pop up on the television screen highlighting rare feats in MLB. If you had a DVR, you could stop the transmission, rewind to the graphic, photograph it, and display it in a blog for others to enjoy, which is where this graphic came from and how it got here.
Rebooting should always be the first go-to option to fix a problem. We have mentioned here several different kinds of reboots from restarting the computer to restarting Windows Explorer and various others in between. Here's another: Reboot the computer in Safe Mode with "minimal" selected. That may solve a missing driver or driver conflict problem that prevents a program or app from opening along with a whole bunch of other problems.
PS re Samsung Laptop Support: The good news is you can get someone on the line in 5 minutes. The bad news is they have no idea what they are doing and do not understand even the basic Samsung-branded features on their laptops.
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This XDA article describes ten (10) powerful built-in Windows tools. You may not have used any of them and if nothing goes blooey with your computer, you likely won't use any of them. I'm putting them up on this post as a way to store them for ready-reference, which harkens back to why this blog started in the first place, i.e., as a repository to save tips. As a point of interest, that was almost 13,000 posts ago, and it was not my idea.
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If you get a green and two yellows on Step 1, it is tempting to take a shot at scoring a Step 2 win, figuring, even if you miss, you'll learn enough from placement to do okay. Unfortunately, you can end up where you have only 4 shots left in what's called the Fool's Matrix of Wordle (FMOW). An example of the FMOW appears below, where there are 19 possibilities after Step 2 and, as you keep missing, when you fanned out, there were still 6 possible words left. The smart play at Step 3 was to not for a winner, but instead, use the eponymous Step 2 strategy (which is an anagram of FEB) at Step 3. Under that strategy, you would put in a word that is not the answer, but increases the likelihood of finding additional yellows or greens while at least eliminating more losing letters than this nitwit did. Otherwise, you will be the laughing stock of your Wordle buddy.
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As Katherine Bindley explains, ghosting is not an appropriate way to stop seeing someone or to avoid a second date. Instead, a break-up text is the courteous and polite thing to do. No detailed explanation of one's reason is needed. Indeed, the generic formula is a straight forward compliment (e.g., I think you're great, I had a delightful time and enjoyed our conversation), coupled with a it's-not-you-it's-me bowing out (e.g., I know you'll meet the right person for you, and they will be a very lucky person), and ending with best wishes.
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On page 202 of her book on Caitlin Clark, Christine Brennan reveals that Caitlin Clark is a Phillies fan and follows them. Truth be told, this is the result of Clark's boyfriend growing up and remaining a Phillies fan. That said, good taste and good choices are not to be denigrated because they come late or are of a serendipitous origin.
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For under $2,000 on Amazon, you can get a Hisense Laser Cinema PL2, X-Fusion Tech, 80''–150'' Projection Size, UST Tech, 4K. The below photo shows you how it takes up no space and sits right next to a wall, while making movie watching a real movie experience. No screen is required. A wall will do.
If you've had it with struggling to get your peanut butter stirred evenly, your worries are over. This peanut butter stirrer is the perfect tool for the job, and it costs under $4 on Amazon.
Jet lag is temporary but real. When we cross time zones, our circadian rhythm—the body’s internal clock, which regulates just about every function in our bodies—gets out of sync with the local time. That can lead to fatigue, insomnia, headaches, and brain fog. Jet lag is worse heading east than west. Our internal clocks adjust about an hour a day, so transitioning to Greek time, a seven hour difference, can take a week. Not ideal when your trip is only eight days. This WSJ article reviews some travel apps that supposedly will tackle the problem of jet lag, including: StopJetLag, Flykitt, and Timeshifter.
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Market-linked Certificates of Deposit (MLCDs) are a type of certificate of deposit that combine features of traditional CDs with potential market-linked returns. Unlike conventional CDs that offer a fixed interest rate, MLCDs link their potential returns to the performance of an underlying asset, like a stock market index, a basket of equities, commodities, or currencies. When held to maturity, the initial investment (principal) in an MLCD is typically protected and guaranteed by the issuing bank, even if the underlying asset performs poorly. This makes them attractive to risk-averse investors seeking some market exposure without risking their principal. MLCDs offer the chance to earn higher returns than traditional CDs if the underlying market or index performs well. The return is not guaranteed, and it's possible to earn zero interest if the market underperforms. In sum, market-linked CDs offer a way to participate in potential market growth while preserving the initial investment, making them a hybrid choice between traditional CDs and direct market investments. However, it's crucial to understand their complexities, including the potential for capped returns, lack of liquidity, and tax implications, before deciding if they align with your financial goals and risk tolerance. The Google is filled with articles about them.
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Windows 11 tries to default everything it can not only to a Windows program or app, but to the Windows program or app it wants as opposed to the one you want. For example, you might click on a search link and it will open to a page in Edge even though Edge was not open and Chrome is your default browser. Similarly, you might have used and preferred Classic Outlook to the New Outlook or Outlook.com, but Windows 11 doesn't like the Classic Outlook so it will default functions like "send by email" (whether through a Chrome extension or a newspaper e-edition) to the New Outlook. To change the default back to the program or app you want, go to Settings/Apps/Default Apps. And then it gets a little tricky because you have to it by file type or link type as seen here. From there, I'm confident you'll figure it out.
OneDrive infuses itself into and is critical to various Windows functions, particularly in Windows 11. Various icons (check marks, clouds, x-es, exclamation points, etc.) will attach themselves to folders and to the OneDrive icon in the system tray. This MS article explains what each of the icons means and what you need to do when some of them (like a red x or a blue circle with an exclamation point) show up.
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Winearo Tweaker is a free, robust utility program for all versions of Windows. It is an all-in-one application that comes with dozens of options for fine-grained tuning of various Windows settings and features. Click on the link and you will quickly see a listing of all the ways you can tweak functionalities and appearances.
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Some Windows 11 Home installations do not have the Edit Group Policy (EGP) module needed to by-pass the log-on screen, and it cannot be downloaded to or installed in Windows 11 Home. One's only choice is to upgrade to Windows 11 Pro, which has EGP built in. Aside from the cost (a license is $99), there are compatibility risks with whatever programs and apps you are running (particularly older ones). And, if you find Windows 11 Pro not to your liking, you cannot go back to Windows 11 Home without doing a clean re-install, meaning you are back to Day One with your computer. So, as I've advised the person who hates having to put in his pin upon the computer's booting up, to just get over it, deal with it, and move on!
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This cnet article presents a review of the dos and don'ts when it comes to recycling metal cans. Several are obvious and likely followed, but some are not, including the importance of not crushing the can before throwing it in the recycle bin.
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Suppose, on top of all your computer problems, you "fat finger" delete the home page of your phone. Replacing all the icons and clock widget is simple and fast, but Power Widget Lite (which you couldn't live without) will have been deleted and no longer exists. That can be most distressing, until you find Settings Widget. As it turns out, in being handed the lemon of the losing the old widget, you will find lemonade in the new widget which is simpler and better in every way.
Why Settings Widget Is a Must Have: If you are unaware of what a power widget does, and don't have one, you missing out on a great convenience. It is a customizable strip or strips on which you can place action icons to turn on or off or otherwise adjust tasks, such as wi-fi, bluetooth, sound, airplane mode, sync, GPS, etc. Here is what one such strip might look like:
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There's been grousing by commentators as well as loyal readers and others about the two Phillies wins over Boston. What those grouses miss is how special and unique two plays were. They were both a catcher's interference. In the first one, it was interference with a swing where the batter wasn't swinging, he was checking his swing. In the second one, it was interference with home plate where the base stealer was never called safe, even though he was clearly safe. These are things you don't see every day. But these are the things that bring us back to the ballpark, stir much debate, and often lead to rule changes (or at least clamoring for rule changes). And you can thank the Phillies for that.
As this WSJ article explains, a daily pass from your carrier is convenient, but a prepaid, downloadable eSIM can be a lot cheaper.
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If there are two of you traveling, there can be advantages to buying separate tickets. But, at the same time, the price of buying two tickets together might be less than the price of buying two separate tickets. Makes you think.
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As explained in this article, Microsoft is rolling out significant changes to Windows 11 24H2 as part of the Windows Resilience Initiative, designed to reduce downtime and help devices recover from serious failures, as well as an overhaul of the all-too-familiar BSOD crash screens. Microsoft's Windows Resiliency Initiative is a new effort by Microsoft to make Windows more stable, self-healing, and faster to recover from critical failures. This initiative is in direct response to recent incidents that caused widespread disruptions and crashes due to flawed updates, like the global CrowdStrike content update outage. Microsoft also announced the new Quick Machine Recovery feature, which aims to resolve boot failures without requiring manual intervention. When a system is unable to boot and enters the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE), it can now automatically connect to a network, check for applicable fixes from Windows Update, and apply them if available. This new feature can be used to automatically disable known faulty drivers or remove software that is preventing Windows from starting, all without human intervention and with a fix pushed from Microsoft's servers.
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There's much positive to say about the Bluewater Grill: the food is very good, the service is excellent, having a water pitcher on the table is wonderful, pleasant ambience, and acceptable noise level )at least in the restaurant section). The only drawbacks are the parking, which can be a bit problematic given a gym that opened in the complex, and the prices are a little steep. Note, though, the appetizers, or at least some of them like the mussels with chorizo, are in essence entrees.
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This Southern Living article provides a step-by-step guide to safely and effectively clean granite countertops.
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This Wirecutter article sets out helpful tips to improve the way your washing machine works.
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This link will take you to a play that happened in the game on the next night after the game featured in the next post in this email. It is noted to hear to underscore the point that great teams don't sit on their laurels. As Willie Mays said, "It isn't hard to be good from time to time in sports. What is tough, is being good every day."
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What you will see by clicking on this link is something that was done for only the second time in the history of MLB. I'll set the stage: It's the bottom of the 10th inning at Citizens Bank Ballpark, the score is tied, and the Phillies have loaded the bases in the game against the Boston Red Sox. I won't spoil the beautiful thing that you will see.
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This PC World article says it’s a good idea to factory reset your Windows 11 computer every so often—ideally once a year, but definitely at least once every few years. It gives you a fresh start, fixes persistent bugs and issues, and clears out any bloatware you’ve accumulated over the years.But re-installing all your favorite and necessary apps can be a right pain, and it even means opening Edge to download Chrome (shudder). Fortunately, there’s an app that simplifies all of that: Ninite.
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While Google lists some phone numbers that supposedly will get you through to Microsoft telephone support, some, if not all, of them won't. But this Microsoft website supposedly does. You click on the Get Help button, and it asks some questions about the issue and confirms you have an account, and then gives you an option for chat or call back. It then quickly you to page that says it will "connect you to the most appropriate support, which may include chat or request a call — we’ll call you, so you don’t have to wait." Upon putting in your phone number, you get a confirmation that says, "A service request is being opened. A support agent will call the phone number provided. Callback times may vary." After 2 hours, they did call back, and 2 hours later, everything on the computer was worse.
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I didn't understand why Windows 11 had such a bad reputation. Having lived with it now for four (4) days, I do understand. Microsoft does everything it can to make it as difficult as possible to use any non-Microsoft program, app, feature, setting, client, browser, or help, or anything else, and they seem to have eliminated any phone support.
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If you have a choice for any peripheral where Western Digital (WD) is one of the choices, you will not from a support point of view be making a mistake. You can get through to a human by phone or chat with amazing speed and they really know what they are doing. Of course, that doesn't mean they can solve your problem if, for example, the problem is one where Microsoft created a barrier to entry (e.g., you need Edit Group Policy to do an install, but it's unavailable on Windows 11 Home as opposed to Windows 11 Pro).
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If say your Chrome taskbar icon changes into something weird, and your trying to change it through Properties/Customize/Icon Change doesn't work, try a File Explorer restart. Open Task Manager, scroll down to Windows File Explorer, right click, and hit Restart.
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Arizona Electric Services (480-458-7352) was recommended to us, and we just used them. They were exceedingly efficient, professional, timely, and courteous. They solved the problem we needed solved and put us at ease on the other issues of concern.
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Based on the first episode, Paradise is eminently skippable. It is a confusingly presented story of an investigation into the murder of a president. The characters are boring, and the viewer quickly could care less about anything that is happening.
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Don't do it unless you absolutely have to. Stay away from Microsoft products (e.g., Outlook). Stay away from computer based programs instead of online versions. Don't bother trying to get support or answers from any phone rep. Don't forget to re-install needed drivers. Stay away from any sharp objects or other things that could contribute to self-inflicted injuries.
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I watched very little of the Open Championship, and found the little I did to vary between boring and unpleasant. On the boring side was the lack of meaningful competition because of the superlative play of the current premier pro golfer and, despite his exceedingly impressive skills and apparent sterling character and balanced persona, his total lack of any charisma produces a dulling effect on the viewer. On the unpleasant side was the nattering commentary and delirious gallery that seemed to think they were at a football game or soccer match and not a golf tournament. Athletes are paid hundreds of millions of dollars not because they are skilled, but because they are to entertain. This was not entertaining.
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This NYT piece by Jeff Sommer reiterates, expands on, and more clearly explains that while the U.S. stock market has rebounded, the combination of the Trump tariffs, a volatile dollar, and an erratic bond market has begun to shake global investment thinking, putting the USD's reserve currency status in jeopardy.
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For anyone interested in what the various seemingly jibberish codes mean on a boarding pass, this Arizona Republic article will explain each of them.
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A recent post noted a positive review of this restaurant in the Arizona Republic. We've now had a chance to dine there and we recommend it highly. The menu choices are overwhelming, the food is delicious, the portions are substantial, the service is excellent, the parking is free and close (front and back), and the ambience is pleasant and conducive to conversation.
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In some surprising ways, moving from a Windows 10 to a new Windows 11 computer is easier than what migrating to a new computer used to be. Many of your settings and apps will repopulate automatically during set up. But, do not underestimate the pain that is involved to go from a serene and warm tech setting where everything was how it was supposed to be to a new one where a cascade of countless adjustments which need to be made come crashing on you. At the moment, there is no end in sight to get all the settings correct, to turn off the multitude of annoying sounds and notifications, and to get the zillion other annoyances put to bed. It's an exhausting and frustrating process, especially not being able to get to the desktop without putting in a pin (and don't bother calling for tech help, they know less than you do, which becomes painfully obvious that they can't even do the Google searches as fast or well as you did). Finally, if you can avoid Windows 11, which had been my lifelong dream, you would do well to do so. It's as much a step down from Windows 10 as Windows 10 was from Windows 7, which at least facially can be made less apparent by reverting to a Windows 7-looking desktop and program/app display.
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Costco is my preferred source for computers. But, if your computer blows up as mine did about an hour ago, BestBuy's website will let you find a computer you want, buy it, and pick it up minutes later.
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While the Reps were able to postpone much of the pain in its budget cuts until after the 2026 elections, as NPR reports, health insurance premiums are going way up next year for people who buy their insurance on Healthcare.gov or the state-based marketplaces. The average person who buys Affordable Care Act insurance will be paying 75% more for their premium.
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As it turns out, tearing down things is much easier than anyone could have imagined. All it takes is a despotic, maniacal leader with the ability to attract a rabid cultish following and an insatiable appetite to destroy things. It is difficult to say at this point whether the greatest harm being inflicted by Trump is to our democracy and the rule of law, the environment and survivability of the planet, or the health and well-being of everyone (except maybe the billionaires for a time). But, while the stock market might even thrive should Trump fire Powell and get a Fed that bends to his wishes, should that happen, America will be relegated to third-world country status, the dollar will cease to be the reserve currency, and global economic chaos will ensure. Lest anyone think Trump won't fire Powell, the one self-evident truth at this point would seem to be: Trump thrives on, and cannot resist, tearing down everything, except artifices gilded in gold.
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There's nothing more delicious, healthy, and diet-friendly to have as one's cut-up bowl-full refrigerator snack than watermelon. In general, we prefer the seedless personal size, because they are easier to deal with in terms of storage, and cutting them up (we do one-half at a time, which keeps the other crisper longer). A totally different treat is the black diamond watermelon which are prized for their sweet flavor and bright red color inside and dark green to black rind. They are huge and expensive.
As this WSJ article explains, emergency medical treatment and transportation that one might need on an overseas trip can be extremely expensive and not covered by one's domestic medical insurance. At the same time, medical-only travel insurance can be exceedingly cheap. I ran one hypo, and, for $50K of medical and $250K of emergency medical transportation on a 10-day trip to Spain, the premium would be $46 with Allianz Travel Insurance, which is a reputable company.
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Given that they are the most coveted, prestigious, and respected awards in sports, I'm sure everyone reading this watched the 2025 ESPYs' telecast and knows the results. But just in case there's someone out there living in a cave or under a rock, you will be not be surprised, but will be delighted, to learn that the Philadelphia Eagles won the BEST TEAM award, Saquon Barkley won the BEST NFL PLAYER award, and Saquon Barkley's backward hurdle won the BEST NFL PLAY award.
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Amazon to eBay arbitrage, also known as retail arbitrage, is the practice of buying products on Amazon at a lower price and reselling them on eBay for a profit. This strategy capitalizes on price differences between the two platforms, with the seller acting as a middleman, buying low on Amazon and selling high on eBay. By way of example, a new Moccamaster KBGV Select 10-Cup Coffee Maker is available on Amazon for $250. The identical coffee maker is being sold on eBay for $350 plus shipping. So, you buy the one on Amazon and sell it on eBay and pocket $100. And there's no risk, because you have a 30-day free return available at Amazon should you not be able to sell it on eBay. I have been advised by counsel that this is legal and ethical, and that one could make a 3-figure return.
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I didn't watch the ASG, but here is the tribute that was done for a huge moment for baseball and the country when, 51 years ago, Aaron broke Ruth's lifetime home run record.
PS: When the ASG's ninth inning ended in a tie, the tie was broken by a "swing-off," a home run derby-style tiebreaker. Each team selects three players, and each player gets three swings to hit home runs. The team with the most home runs wins the tiebreaker and the All-Star Game. No surprise that Schwarber (a Phillie) hit 3 home runs on 3 swings and was named the MVP. But here's the bigger point: This would be a better way to end real MLB games, the only argument being whether that also should include the 7th game of the World Series.
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There are various third-party apps to track price changes on Amazon. One of the simplest is a Chrome extension called Amazon Price Alert. Once installed, whenever you stop on a product, an alert button will appear which, when clicked on, enables you to set your desired alert price. You can easily edit the alert price and see the price history by returning to that item's page and buttons will be there. And the extension itself will conveniently give you the current price of all your listed items without your having to go back to each listed item's page. All the items you have alerts for will be in the extension as well.
You don't stop a college football game just because the band runs onto the field before the last play is over.
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Non-refundable vacations can leave travelers out thousands of dollars. However, buying someone else’s canceled vacation is emerging as a way to travel for less while helping others recoup part of their money. The concept is simple: when illness, emergencies or last-minute changes force people to cancel trips they’ve already paid for, platforms like SpareFare, Roomer, Plans Change, and Transfer Travel step in. These marketplaces allow sellers to post non-refundable flights, hotel bookings, or vacation packages they can no longer use, and eager buyers can scoop them up — often at dramatic discounts, typically between 20% and 30% off the original price.
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Amazon Prime members can activate a free Grubhub+ membership to enjoy $0 delivery fees on eligible orders. This is a perk of Amazon Prime and is an ongoing benefit, not a limited-time offer. To activate it, visit Amazon's Grubhub+ page and follow the instructions to link your Amazon and Grubhub accounts. Once activated, you can order food through Grubhub on Amazon.com, the Amazon Shopping app, or the Grubhub app. While this Prime benefit eliminates the $8.99/month Grubhub+ membership fee and delivery fees, there still is a service charge and it often is the case that items ordered through Grubhub are higher than they are if ordering directly from the restaurant.
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This CNN article paints an unpleasant picture of the ramifications for PBS and NPR should the senate claw back funding.
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Yesterday, a post was put up here about the number of 5-letter words. A sporadic reader pointed out that the post did not hold water, and a simple Google search would prove it. He was right. All we can say is: Our fact checking department let us down, as it has in the past, and likely will do again in the future. So, don't judge us by what we say, judge us by our admissions of incompetence and errors along with our apologies. In short, then, as to that post, we were incompetent and wrong and we apologize.
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Vayala's Indian Kitchen doesn't have tandoori dishes, but the dishes it does have look great. This Arizona Republic article does a detailed favorable review. We have had an email exchange with one of the owners on a tangential matter, and we are extremely impressed with how cordial, professional, and caring he is.
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Most people think there are millions of 5-letter words, or at least 100s of thousands, or at least 10s of thousands. As usual, most people are wrong. There are only 4,000. And 1,700 of those are plurals and past-tense words, so there are only about 2,300 possible Wordle answers. As a result, daily Wordle players should get a Step 1 win about every 6.5 years.
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We wouldn't be putting up this post if the person who submitted it, and demanded that it be posted, wouldn't fall to pieces psychologically and then likely sue us as if it were our fault that he became unhinged. This is the photo and quote he submitted. And as a bonus treat for those of you who viewed it, we reward you with this special treat from Yankee Stadium.
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This cnet article gives an overview of SPF (sunscreen gradings) and explains what the ideal SPF to use is. Hint: higher is not always better.
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In reaction to a recent post, we've been inundated with requests to see the finish of the Evian Championship. Here are the two playoff holes, which are amazing in themselves--but remember, Grace Kim went birdie, birdie, par, eagle just to get to the playoff.
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The Waterfront is promoted as a Succession-like series focusing on a fishing family "empire" in a small North Carolina town. It's really bad. Unlike Succession, the characters are totally unlikeable, and the plot makes no sense, and it's hard to understand what's going on in many of the many subplots. Whatever you think about fish, this series should be confined to Davy Jones Locker.
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As this CNN article reports, it’s looking more and more like Trump has botched an issue--immigration--that, by all rights, should have been a great one for him. ICE’s actions appear to be a big part of that. The most recent polling on this comes from Gallup, where the findings are worse than those of any poll in Trump’s second term. The nearly monthlong survey conducted in June found Americans disapproved of Trump’s handling of immigration by a wide margin: 62% to 35%. And more than twice as many Americans strongly disapproved (45%) as strongly approved (21%). The linked article has further details.
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The Grand Canyon Lodge on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon was a magnificent building. It was destroyed by fire this past weekend. It didn't have to be. It sits among billions and billions of trees, and if anything, that's an undercount. In the late 1980s, the National Park Service wanted to do restoration work to protect it given the deterioration of the building since it was re-built in 1937, and nothing done since. The project would have required cutting down 14 young trees, none of which was even 10' tall. The Sierra Club went to court, and, with no legal basis, opposed the project. The Sierra Club's "theory" was that the proposed project was outlined before the environmental impact statement was done. If you're scratching your head, you get it. Here is all you need to know about the merits of the case: The National Park Service lawyers asked for a judge-view of the area involved and The Sierra Club opposed that request. But, here is all you need to know about the judicial system: Sometimes it goes off the rails. The bottom-line is this: That Lodge should still be there.
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On Her Game is exceedingly well written, powerful, eye-opening, informative, and enjoyable. Caitlin Clark is clearly an amazing person, in addition to being a 1 in a generation athlete who transformed her sport. Particularly intriguing is the way the book depicts the ironies of life. For example, if Caitlin had gone to one of the basketball powerhouses (Notre Dame, South Carolina, Connecticut (which didn't recruit her), South Carolina) instead of Iowa, she would have been on a dominant team, but unlikely to have been able to be the overwhelmingly dominant conquering-underdog presence she was; or if she hadn't had to play her freshman year in empty arenas because of the pandemic, she would not have had the chance to hone her skills away from a crushing spotlight. The impact of Title IX is illuminating. For example, over 50% of women holding C-suite positions played college-level sports and over 92% played sports, notwithstanding the likes of Bo Schembechler who took the position that women varsity team members were not to get the same Michigan M for their sweaters that men varsity team members got. Bottom-line: It's a terrific read.
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This SciTechDaily article reports that recent research is turning heads with evidence that watermelon isn’t just a hydrating summer snack — it may actually boost heart health and improve overall nutrition. Keeping cut-up chunks in the refrigerator also a delicious, diet-friendly way to snack during the day. It's even fewer calories than scooping pico de gallo with celery stalks as one's go-to snacking dish.
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This Southern Living article explains how to clean windows with vinegar without leaving streaks.
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Re TSA Pre-Check: This SF article echoes the point we made that, with TSA's eliminating the removal of shoes requirement, it has reduced the incentive for people to enroll or renew their TSA PreCheck status, bringing into doubt whether or not the TSA PreCheck will be terminated. Many of us hope it stays in effect, while fewer people choose to enroll or renew.
Re the Montini Tribute for Steve Benson: The link in the original post went to an article about drone deliveries. My bad. Here is the correct link.
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Most Bosch owners run the Speed 60 cycle which cleans as well as the Normal cycle, but does so in half the time, using less water and electricity. But many decline to use the AutoAir feature thinking that, because it might take 45 minutes for the door to pop open, that it defeats the purpose of using the short cycle. Actually, virtually nothing happens between the time the short cycle finishes cleaning and the door pops open other than waiting for the dishes to cool down. Here is a fuller explanation:
How AutoAir works: AutoAir is a feature that automatically opens the dishwasher door at the end of the drying cycle to release steam and circulate fresh air. This helps to dry dishes more effectively, especially when the dishwasher isn't unloaded immediately after the cycle completes.
The drying process: After the main wash and rinse cycles are finished, the dishwasher enters a drying phase. In models without AutoAir, the drying phase might be shorter, or you might need to manually open the door to help dry the dishes. With AutoAir, the dishwasher continues drying, and then it waits for the interior temperature to drop before opening the door.
Temperature-sensitive door opening: The AutoAir feature doesn't just open the door at the end of the drying cycle; it waits until the interior temperature has reached a certain point, usually around 120°F, to prevent a burst of hot steam from escaping, which could damage nearby cabinetry.
Extended cycle time: Because of this temperature-dependent door opening, the AutoAir feature can extend the overall cycle time compared to a cycle without it.
Benefits of AutoAir: Despite the added cycle time, AutoAir offers the advantage of better drying results, especially for those who don't unload their dishwasher immediately.
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Narvik is an incredibly intense WWII movie based on a true story about a Norwegian town’s efforts to stop the Nazis from being able to ship needed iron ore. While exceedingly intense, it is not unduly violent or gory. It is powerful beyond words available to me to describe. It's not your usual war movie.
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Kerr County is at the heart of where last week's devastating and tragic flooding occurred. It voted overwhelmingly for Trump in 2016, 2020, and 2024. In 2021, it was awarded a $10.2 million windfall from the American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, which Congress passed that same year to support local governments impacted by the pandemic. Cities and counties were given flexibility to use the money on a variety of expenses, including those related to storm-related infrastructure. Corpus Christi, for example, allocated $15 million of its ARPA funding to “rehabilitate and/or replace aging stormwater infrastructure.” Waco’s McLennan County spent $868,000 on low water crossings. As this Texas Tribune article reports, Kerr County did not opt for ARPA to fund flood warning systems despite commissioners discussing such projects nearly two dozen times since 2016. In fact, a survey sent to residents about ARPA spending showed that 42% of the 180 responses wanted to reject the $10 million bonus altogether, largely on political grounds. “I’m here to ask this court today to send this money back to the Biden administration, which I consider to be the most criminal treasonous communist government ever to hold the White House,” one resident told commissioners in April 2022, fearing strings were attached to the money. “We don't want to be bought by the federal government, thank you very much,” another resident told commissioners. “We'd like the federal government to stay out of Kerr County and their money.” Don't cry for me Argentina.
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TabsPlus is a Chrome extension that allowed you to set where new tabs appeared (e.g., forcing them to appear at the end of the tab string) and whether or not they would be opened/activated automatically. Chrome has declared TabsPlus unsafe and stopped it from working. Activate New Tab is not quite as good as TabsPlus, which was perfect, but it's good enough. And never forget: Don't make the perfect the enemy of the good.
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Kernel_mode_heap_corruption (Blue Screen of Death or BSOD) is a critical Windows error that occurs when the operating system's memory (the kernel heap) is damaged. This damage can cause system instability, crashes, and potential data loss. It's often related to faulty drivers, outdated hardware, or software conflicts, especially within games or anti-cheat systems.
Here's what to do about it:
Before the Big F-ing Bill came along, gamblers were able to deduct losses from winnings to determine their income tax liability. So, if a whale's betting resulting in $1M of winnings and $1M of losses, there would be zero income tax owed. That beautiful big f-ing bill made a slight change: only 90% of the losses are deductible. So, the whale who made $1M on winning bets and lost $1M on losing bets would owe income tax on $100K ($1M x 90% = $100K). As this WSJ article notes, some gamblers and some gambling interests are going nuts. I know I feel their pain.
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Caution re Sprouts: Sprouts is my favorite store for several reasons (including, lack of shoppers, easy close in parking, quality of produce, availability of items not found elsewhere (e.g., elote, apple & kale quinoa, pico de gallo, and much more), no-wait and easy self-checkout, incredibly friendly and helpful employees, $5 sushi Wednesday, and much more). But, while Sprouts pricing generally is reasonable, the one thing to be careful about is that there are some products where their pricing is over the moon. For example, a personal watermelon at Sprouts is $6 where at Fry's they are under $2. Also, by way of a PS, when Sprouts marks an item as Xfor/$N, where X is a number 2 or higher and $N is the price, buying just 1 of that item is no more expensive on a per item basis than buying X of that item.
Caution re Fry's: Some items, especially perishables, often will be afforded a steep discount. I bought such an item that typically cost $7 but was discounted to $3. I discovered immediately after checking out that the discount had not been applied, because I mistakenly had scanned in the old bar code instead of the discounted bar code. So, the better practice is to double check that you get the steep discounts you are entitled to. If you make a mistake, the help desk will arrange for a rebate. Turns out, they can mess up as well, and refund you $10 instead of the $4 you were owed.
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The Gilded Age on HBO/MAX is a terrible series but it gives a sense of how the ultra-rich, robber barons lived in the late 1800s. The gilded age we are living in today is even more disgusting. Weekly on Fridays the WSJ features house sales that often are over $100M (as in one hundred million). But wait, there's more. As this WSJ article details, it takes a village (and sometimes millions of dollars) to keep luxury properties running smoothly. Typically, the hierarchy of staff includes a director of residences, who can earn $350,000 to $600,000 or more a year and oversees a portfolio of real estate. Often, wealthy property owners have full-time caretakers, jacks of all trades who change light bulbs and handles small repairs. Upkeep on mansions is an expensive and a labor intensive job frequently outsourced to an army of property managers, decorators, housekeepers, chefs, landscapers, and more. Affluent buyers have scooped up second, third and fourth homes that are increasingly larger and more complex. But wait, there's more. As this other WSJ article details, RV parks have gone upscale gilded, with million-dollar parking spots and resort-like amenities, such as private pools, casitas, and fire pits, driving up costs at motor coach communities across the country. And traveling from one to the other is not your horse-drawn carriage or your $500K RV ... it's your $2.5M motor coach.
There’s a problem with Wordle’s "dictionary," which we alerted the NYT about. Here is the text of the email we sent: "As you can see, after Step 2, the bot said all that was left was the answer. Then, I put in a word that was accepted by the bot, which was a perfectly good word (haler) but it wasn’t the answer, so again the bot said there was just the answer left. Actually, per Merriam-Webster, there were 3 more possible answers (taler, daler, and waler (paler had been eliminated on my step 1 word)). Here’s the real problem: Once the bot says there is only 1 word left, it should not “accept” a word that is not the answer. It should say, as it often does, 'not a word on our list.'"
If you live or have lived in Phoenix, you know who Steve Benson and Ed Montini are. But even if not, if you appreciate words well said, this tribute is a masterpiece.
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A House committee is investigating a suspected conspiratorial cover-up of Biden's declining cognitive condition when in office, and subpoenaed his doctor to testify. The doctor refused to testify based on doctor-patient privilege grounds which is understandable. But he also refused to testify on 5th amendment grounds. We (and that's me and legal counsel with whom I've consulted) are at a total loss to explain that latter ground. And as our consultant legal counsel noted, a grant of immunity would get around the 5th amendment objection. Finally, to put a fine point on our befuddlement as to the quality of the doctor's legal representation, the doctor's "attorneys noted in their statement Wednesday that President Trump has also previously exercised his Fifth Amendment right, highlighting a 2022 deposition in a New York State Attorney General investigation, where Trump said that, 'anyone in my position not taking the Fifth Amendment would be a fool, an absolute fool.'"
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If you like the troubles that have befallen the law firms that capitulated to Trump, you'll enjoy this Politico article. Things aren't getting any better for them and things very well might get worse.
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About a year ago, we bought and recommended this Zwilling Enfinigy Coffee Maker. Most of all we like how good it looks on the counter, but we also appreciate how fast it makes the coffee and how the coffee tastes. These positives outweigh the difficulty in understanding the instructions for setting the time and other things and the forced decalcification mode. All that said, here is our big warning: There are no replacement parts available for sale anywhere. So, for example, while Zwilling will send you a free replacement carafe should you drop yours and it breaks, you have to go through a complicated process with them and it will take days if not weeks to arrive. So, when considering buying this thing or any product for that matter, take into account the availability and ease of getting replacement parts if needed.
As this Southern Living article explains, fruit flies lay their eggs on the skins of bananas, so we ultimately end up bringing them home with us from the grocery store. Give your bananas a quick rinse under the faucet before placing them in your fruit bowl or on your counter, which will rinse the eggs away.
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A loyal reader, a SF Giants fan, might take issue with the subject line of this post. But, no one can deny that a walk-off, inside-the-park home run, by a catcher, is about as exciting as baseball gets, and that this happened in Tuesday night's Phillies game at Citizens Bank Park, the Phillies home field.
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When critical Windows system files are missing or corrupted, some Windows features may stop working correctly, Windows may stop responding altogether, or your computer might start rebooting on its own. If this happens, you can use the Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool (DISM) and the System File Checker tool (SFC) to scan your system files and restore any corrupted or missing files. The scans don't take unduly long (and you can continue with other tasks while they run), and this Microsoft support page will walk you through the easy steps to execute them.
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The partnership of professional sports and gambling is bound to corrupt the sports.This WSJ article focuses on what's called “spot-fixing,” which is the practice of manipulating small, discrete events that have little to no bearing on the outcome of a game—the timing of a yellow card in soccer, a wide ball in cricket, a single double-fault in tennis, or a single pitch in baseball. What makes spot-fixing so insidious is how inconsequential the occurrences appear in real time. It doesn’t require throwing a game, like traditional match-fixing, or convincing a group of players to collectively shave points. All spot-fixing needs is a lone bad actor intentionally committing a small, common mistake, making the offense easy to commit—and perilously difficult to stop.
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With the TSA's announcement that removing one's shoes no longer is necessary to get through security, the incentive to go through the hassle and pay for TSA Pre-Check has been substantially dampened. So, we likely will see few people enroll in TSA Pre-Check for the first time and many people not renewing when their term is up. One of two things will happen: Either the TSA Pre-Check lines will get shorter and faster, or TSA will determine it is not cost effective to keep the TSA Pre-Check option available. Let's hope for the former.
PS: Besides being able to keep one's shoes on, TSA Pre-Check lets you keep your laptop packed and your belt on. It would not be surprising to see these other two perks be dropped by TSA.
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If you love the idea of a massage, but are not fond of having a stranger's hands all over you, there's great news. As this WSJ article reports, the machines are here and will treat you as good or better than any human, and you don't need to talk or listen to or tip them.
The word on the street is that Wordle has gotten harder. A sporadic reader has figured out an appropriate metric to confirm it: He reports that the bot's average for the past several weeks is 3.9, compared to what it had been, which was 3.5 or lower.
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No less an authority than Travel & Leisure says to always have a print copy of your boarding pass with you. Here's why: your phone could die; you could lose data or wi-fi connectivity; airline apps are notoriously glitchy and error prone; and the printed boarding pass has your ticket number and other information on it that the mobile boarding pass does not have.
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A post the other day highlighted a runner preventing a double play on a ground ball by fielding (i.e., touching) that ground ball. An astute loyal reader has pointed out, as the rules confirm, when a base runner or a batter-runner deliberately and intentionally interferes with a batted ball or a fielder in the act of fielding a batted ball to deprive the defensive team of an opportunity to complete a possible double play, the runner is out and the umpire will declare the batter-runner out. This must be why, to answer another reader's inquiry, Joey Martella's father did not teach us this loathsome tactic.
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Load Utensils Handles Down: The better approach for thorough cleaning is to place forks, spoons, and other silverware with the handles pointing down. This lets the washing jets reach the eating surfaces without obstruction. Knives are the exception. Always load knives with their blades pointed down and the handles up to reduce the risk of accidental cuts when unloading. Most importantly, no matter how you load your silverware, make it a habit to wash your hands well before unloading the dishwasher or handling clean dishes. That simple act makes a bigger difference for your family’s health than any utensil loading strategy.
Use Auto Cycle or Quick Cycle: Some dishwashers have an "Auto" cycle, which is specially equipped to scan the load using built-in sensors and adjust for the mess accordingly. If your dishwasher has an auto mode, that’s your best bet for a consistently clean load. If it doesn't, try the quick/eco cycle. If that doesn't do a good enough job, use the normal cycle.
Do Not Overly Pre-Clean: Scraping (not rinsing) large chunks of food off the dishes should be done to avoid clogging the dishwasher’s filters, and pre-treating any heavily greasy or grimy dishes. However, don’t get every food stain off the dishes before they go in. Modern detergents and dishwashers are designed to work with food residue, and pre-rinsing can actually hinder their cleaning performance. The enzymes in dishwasher detergents need food particles to latch onto and break down. Further, a small amount of food residue is actually what helps initiate the sensors in auto mode on modern dishwashers. And pre-rinsing just wastes water which is not good environmentally speaking.
Load the Racks Properly: Bowls and cups should be facing downwards. The spray arms and detergent dispenser shouldn’t be blocked. Glasses should be placed between tines (not over them), and larger items should be placed on the bottom rack with smaller items on the top shelf. Take a course on the Bernoulli Principle.
Avoid Overcrowding: Overcrowding the dishwasher is one of the most common issues that cleaning experts encounter, and it’s especially important to avoid for the top rack. When faced with a mountain of dishes, it can be tempting to make everything fit so you won’t have to run a second load. But taking the time to load the dishwasher correctly —ensuring that dishes aren’t touching and the machine isn’t overcrowded —will save you time, water, and energy in the long run.
Run Hot Water at the Sink Beforehand: Running hot water at the sink before starting your dishwasher is a quick and easy way to ensure cleaner dishes. This will ensure the dishwasher begins the load with hot water, rather than cold water, resulting in reliably cleaner dishes.
PS: For more detailed help, see this article from The Spruce.
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Before you leave for vacation, place a sheet of paper over each sink drain and set a glass filled with water upside down on top of it. This simple barrier slows down evaporation by sealing the drain in an airtight way, helping that water in the trap stay put longer. The glass serves a dual purpose—helping weigh down the paper and sealing off any gaps to block gases from escaping.
