Friday 5 + 5 : Two for May

Friday 5 for May 27: Double Stuff

As usual all of the questions are from Scrivener's Friday 5 blog.

1. What do you have two of because while you knew you had one, you couldn’t find it so you bought a new one?

Got plenty of these. They include combs, scissors, keychains, scotch tape, thumb drives, SD cards, batteries, and a number of other small items that I misplace and find it easier to buy a new one... most of the time.

2. What do you own none of because it’s convenient to borrow it from someone else?

Nothing at this time.

3. What do you own an old version of because it still works fine even though it’s very old?

My 1993 Toyota Corolla. Still works. Still goes. Why should I buy a new car with all that computer crap built in that is destined for obsolescence on the next software upgrade???? Look at those cars that have components that become or will become obsolete soon because they have 3G technology built in. 

Electric cars will become prohibitively expensive after their batteries die. So what do you do? Fork over $8000 to $10000 for new batteries or just scrap your old Tesla or whatever and get another new $50,000 one???? Yikes!!!! The whole EV thing is a huge conspiracy to put you on an endless upgrade trail just like computers and cell phones. Ugh!

I also have my old Power Mac G4 computer, Chromebook from 2013, 2013 iMac and a 2011 MacBook Pro...

And then there are cameras... digital: Canon 600D, Canon S5iS, Canon Powershot G5, Canon Powershot S9000, Fujifilm HX10, several others... Film cameras... Olympus, Minolta (many), Yashica GS. Old records. Old CDs. They all work just fine.

4. What do you own identical versions of because you like to have one in different places?

Two Amazon Echo Smart speakers that are not very smart. Ugh!

They were on sale this past Christmas and I got them for a good price... less than $24 each. They are a blessing and a curse. Good for listening to music you don't have... plus audio books, news, etc. Plus you can also stream other bluetooth devices to them such as a phone or computer... whatever. 

They do have some huge privacy issues, most of which I turned off. I also don't like the ads they throw at you to buy this and that from Amazon. I am not interested in buying ANYTHING through those speakers. I turned that function off and it still bombards me with ads.

5. What are you most likely to upgrade when an upgrade is available, even if you’re happy with the one you’ve got?

I probably am going to have to bite the bullet and get either a new Mac computer and/or a newer Chromebook. Still deciding. Ugh!

Friday 5 for May 20: Do-Re-Meme

1. When have you yelled at a cat?

I like cats. I don't yell at them. 

I don't like dogs. I usually try to avoid them. I've had to yell at one last month after he bit someone who was walking in front of me. The dumb owner could not control her stupid dog. Those kinds of dogs should not be allowed out in the public.

2. Would you please tell us you’re looking forward to the weekend without telling us you’re looking forward to the weekend?

Relaxation?

3. What first-world problems have you recently complained about?

• Not in order but all first world problems.
• Biden (he is also a 2nd and 3rd world problem too)
• Inflation
• Gas Prices
• Shut off of Keystone Pipeline by Biden
• Illegal immigration
• Crime
• Environmental extremism
• Green agenda
• AOC
• Price spikes for groceries, consumer goods
• High priced new vinyl records (I stopped buying years ago)
• Smartphone Tracking
• Intrusion on our Privacy
• Built in batteries that are next to impossible to replace
• Taxes
• High cost of living in Hawaii
• Constant Upgrades to Devices
• Built in obsolescence
• Amazon orders being messed up
• Jumping through hoops on phone system calls
• Call centers
• Spam calls
• Spam emails
• Phishing Scams
• RAIL (Honolulu, Oahu only)
• Democrats
• Progressives
• The Left
• Socialism
• Y2K generation embracement of socialism
• Assholes
• There is plenty to complain about!!!!

4. You have one job this weekend: what is it, and how might you mess it up?

One of them is putting together the monthly newsletter for Assistance League of Hawaii. The occasional typo might slip through, even though we proof it a few time.

5. What did you learn when you were today years old?

I'm old. There is always something new to learn. Like this past week I learned how to whisk whipped cream. Never did that before! (See photo above - Orange Jello with Whipped Cream).

Friday 5 for February 5, 2021: Big Game

This weekend it's all about the BIG GAME... sports fans know it, advertisers love it, the network showing probably loves it the most.... revenue, ratings, money! It's Super Bowl weekend and Scrivener has a game themed Friday 5 for us. So here goes... may your best team win! 

1. What item in your house recently ceased (or is likely soon to cease) Operation?

Total failure: Air Bed. Good thing it is backed by a 5 year warranty. 

Likely soon to die? My Samsung Galaxy J7 smartphone. The back panel is cracked, the battery needs replacement, and today I found a small hairline crack on the bottom of the screen. These damn things are not built to last. For the price you have to pay for them, even on the low end, with my J7 costing $265 back in 2016, it is still disappointing that I may have to replace this smartphone with something else.

Granted for someone who resisted the thought of owning a cell phone of any type over the years until mid 2014, I have to admit, I now have two of them. The Samsung is the primary phone. 

Last year I bought an Alcatel flip phone for only $20 at Target. Good thing. The Alcatel has emerged to be my primary carry around phone. Being an old school flip phone device, it is small and convenient to pack away. It seems to be durable, has a removable battery and I don't worry about it breaking. Plus it is 4G LTE compatible and has a low end operating system known as KaiOS. 

KaiOS can do internet. So the phone is not as dumb as it seems. It has simplified, web based apps that can stream music, play podcasts, YouTube videos and Twitter among other things. Runs on its own network (TracFone in my case) and can connect through wifi or its own data-stream.

The Tracfone plan is not bad. Unlimited talk and text for only $21.18 a month with a 1GB data plan for each month if you use their network. Unused data is carried over to the next month and the next and the next.... so after several months now, I have close to 6GB of data stashed on the phone. The cheap phone also doubles as a mobile hotspot, so I guess if Spectrum goes down I can use their data to run m Chromebook or something. 

The $21 is cheaper than the nearly $30 I was paying for a basic landline. So that went, and I now have two cell phone plans. The other is from T-Mobile and on my shared 55+ account, I pay my portion of $35/mo. Not too bad... Unlimited talk, text and data. Oh well.

I have gone beyond the scope of this question.

2. If someone were to poker ’round in your refrigerator, what item might he or she have questions about?

Whatever forgotten food is fermenting in the back of the fridge will be the item or question. Toss it!

3. What’s in your backPac, Man?

I have never ever owned a backpack. I have played PacMan in the past but I am not good at it. I become lunch for the PacMen very fast. Not good.

4. When did you last run into an old Flame?

I have been lucky enough to avoid "old flames" except for one that I re-connected with on Facebook. I would not consider her to be an "old flame" per se, but she comes the closest for purposes of this question. Luckily for me nearly all of them live far, far away from Hawaii. They are not on social media so that is good.

5. With what object are you frequently playing Hide-and-Seek?

This is worthy of a top 10 list... top 10 items that I frequently can't find when I most need them.

1. Wallet
2. Keys
3. Comb
4. Scissors
5. Scotch Tape
6. Remote Control
7. Garage Door Opener
8. Mask
9. Memory Cards for Cameras
10. Flash Drives - all in a drawer unlabeled... where did I put the back-up installer for OSX??? That kind of stuff.

11th hour prediction (Sunday 2-7-21 @ 7:30am HST): Tampa Bay by 3. I suck at this stuff. CBS will be the big winner ($$$$) if the game is exciting and the AC Nielsen numbers are high. The advertisers have more to risk than the two NFL teams in the game.

Friday 5 for August 25: Five of Whatever

From Scrivener's Friday 5 blog:



1. How tidy are your kitchen cabinets?

Not too much food, so it is not very messy. I have plates, cups and a few other things in the other cabinet.

2. What’s an art project you did in school that you remember fondly?

In "Summer Fun" classes way back in 1965 we did two wood pieces that I still have back home on the Big Island of Hawaii. I think I may also have a ceramic truck and ash tray we made in 5th grade. Gotta look for that. Took photography in college, learned how to do black and white processing and still have plenty of my negatives and contact sheets. Slowly scanning those old negatives in to digital.

3. What’s the best thing you ate on your most recent trip?

Probably some cake & ice cream at my sister's place back in February since it was around her birthday.

4. What’s the dumbest non-political thing you’ve seen lately?

RAIL... oh that's political.... sorry I can't shake that one since it is the biggest, most expensive and stupidest mistake of the century still costing us way too much money and creates more problems than it solves.

Other than that I can't think of anything else.

5. What’s soemthing in your home that’s lasted longer than you expected?

I tend to buy or keep things that will last a long time. I hate built in obsolescence. That said here are photos of some old things that have lasted a long time in my home:



Above: I bought this 1950s era Kodak Brownie Hawkeye flash camera at the Salvation Army store in Honolulu for $4 back in 1979. It still works and I currently have a roll of old 620 film in it. Below is the 1960s era Minolta SRT-101 35 mm SLR camera that I've owned since buying it used in 1978 for $70. I have taken many pictures with it through my college years, and even use it from time to time today. I have since massed a small collection of manual focus Minolta 35 mm SLR film cameras over the years.





One of the best things I ever bought brand new is this Realistic 4 channel stereo mixer. I've had this thing since 1985 and it still works just fine today. There are a couple of things wrong with it... the headphone monitor output seems to have lost it, and one of the knobs broke off when something hit it in 2016.



This is probably the last of the 5 or so stereo cassette tape decks that I have owned over the years. This one still works and I should use it more often to transfer the content of some of my cassettes over to a digital format before the belts inevitably break someday.

Top photo: My 1993 Toyota Corolla which I bought used in 2000 is still runs with only 101,200+ miles on it. I drove it from Honolulu to Waimanalo Park just the other day to catch some sunrise and beach photos.

Other old things I have around my home which are over 10 years old now include: Power Mac G4 tower computer, Macintosh Plus computer, many vinyl records, cassette tapes, and even CDs, old photos, negatives, cups, plates, an old pot, and a Sears Kenmore refrigerator.