Category: Technology (Page 1 of 13)
You won’t believe what Sparky did when he found this Cheeto!
Everybody knows that Cheetos burn. I had a cold firebox and cold wood, and 2 gallons of Costco Cheetos that my sausage beagle wouldn’t even eat.
BBC: Are You Dead?: The viral Chinese app for young people living alone
A new bleak-sounding app has taken China by storm.
Named Are You Dead? the concept is simple. You need to check in with it every two days – clicking a large button – to confirm that you are alive. If not, it will get in touch with your appointed emergency contact and inform them that you may be in trouble.
That doesn’t sound bleak to me. Every two days, you affirm that you live. At least Sparky and other pets would have a decent chance of being rescued, and that’s a comfort to anxious people.
Don’t require clicking on a large button. If the phone hasn’t moved in two days, it’s either lost or there’s a man down.
When the power went out a couple of days ago, my electricity was back in a few hours, but my home automation didn’t come back.
The worst thing about the power being out, is not knowing when it’s coming back on. And it’s really boring.
When towing a trailer that weighs over 3000 lbs, a brake controller is required. My new Tacoma doesn’t have one. My last Tacoma didn’t either, but the RV dealership put one on in about 15 minutes because the wiring harness was already there.
Toyota decided to stop doing that. Now they sell Tacomas with a tow package, but no brake controller or provision to install a brake controller.
A few people have instructions online for the installation, but none of them match up. It’s a research project. I’m going to wait for a couple of weeks until Tech Support at the company is back from vacation.
WSJ: Classroom Phone Bans Work. So Why Don’t All Schools Do It?
A large urban district in Florida saw an increase in student test scores. A smaller school district in rural California is experiencing a dramatic decline in student behavioral problems. The reason for both: the absence of smartphones in the classroom.
Public schools are administrated by political animals without the ambition or ability to run for office. Some care about education, but no incentive rewards that.
Parents don’t push for phone bans because they don’t care about their children. A flip phone with no data plan solves all these issues. Parents are so eager to be liked, they willingly put their children in danger.
Detroit Post and Tribune (1882): The First Electric Christmas Tree Lights
A former girlfriend told me that Martin Luther invented decorating Christmas trees. She was a good Luthern, but I was skeptical. She also told me that Martin Luther invented bowling. Who’s to say?
That wasn’t the flex that she intended, because putting tiny candles on dry pine trees, inside the house, has a Russian roulette feel to it.
Winter can be bleak and dreary, especially when the snow is old and the sky is overcast. Nature is shades of gray. That can bring a fella down.
It doesn’t bring me down, I’ve got a beagle, but as part of my Continuous Improvement Plan, I added automatic color.