Category: Technology (Page 2 of 13)

Project I’m not doing.

December 29, 2025 / Richard Nestoff / 0 Comments

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.

Classroom Phone Bans Work. So Why Don’t All Schools Do It?

December 27, 2025 / Richard Nestoff / 0 Comments

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.

From 1882, the first electric Christmas Tree.

December 25, 2025 / Richard Nestoff / 0 Comments

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 Color project

December 23, 2025 / Richard Nestoff / 0 Comments

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.

Don’t talk about ‘Pride’.

December 22, 2025 / Richard Nestoff / 0 Comments

Guardian: Revealed: how big businesses are rolling back public support for Pride

The Guardian analyzed the number of times that ‘Pride’ was mentioned in a social media post by major American and UK companies. The results are hard to believe.

Sparky is a good listener.

December 17, 2025 / Richard Nestoff / 0 Comments

Every morning, I read my new text messages to Sparky.

Ninja Coffeemaker

December 14, 2025 / Richard Nestoff / 0 Comments

A month ago, after my Keurig shit the bed, I replaced it with a Ninja. When Hertz was the biggest car rental company, Avis advertised that, “We’re number 2, so we try harder.” Maybe Keurig had been slacking.

The Ninja is a good setup. I am not a coffee snob, but figure the Ninja has enough brewing options that anyone should be able to dial it in.

The ISS is full.

December 8, 2025 / Richard Nestoff / 0 Comments

Space: For the 1st time ever, 8 spacecraft are docked to the International Space Station

This is one of those, ‘We really are living in the future’ milestones that it’s easy to miss because it’s getting routine.

The International Space Station has eight docking ports, and all of them are in use.

Jensen has a helluva life.

December 5, 2025 / Richard Nestoff / 0 Comments

This is incredible. Jensen went from being the poorest person I’ve ever heard of, to the richest man I’d never heard of.

Rolling back the CAFE standards for cars.

December 4, 2025 / Richard Nestoff / 0 Comments

CBS News: Trump administration moves to roll back fuel economy standards set under Biden

If finalized, the plan would relax fuel economy standards by setting the industry average for light-duty vehicles at roughly 34.5 miles per gallon through the 2031 model year, lower than the 50 miles per gallon outlined by a Biden-era rule.

For fifty years, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) set fuel economy standards that car companies had to meet. It was a type of magical thinking. The NHTSA would issue a new fuel economy standard, and like Captain Picard on Star Trek, say, “Make it so.”

The NHTSA didn’t have to worry about physics, they just had to wish for it. The engineering teams had to figure out how to pull another rabbit out of the same old hat. The rabbits were getting smaller and harder to find.