RIP Spider John Koerner.

Does anyone else add columns of numbers this way?

Bookmarks. I’ve tried raindrop.io, omnivore, and pinboard. Pinboard is still my workhorse. Compact and easy to search. Dropped raindrop.io – too noisy for me. Keeping omnivore, but not really sure it’s going to be needed.

Backing off of Python back to Ruby and Pharo. I know Python is more popular, but having objects everywhere helps me think more deeply about the nature of programming problems.

I just loaded up KeyboardMaestro a couple of days ago. I have to say it’s slicker than snot.

Tired of getting up at 5:30 to move the thermostat from 65° to 70° so I installed a new Ecobee thermostat I can control while I’m still in bed. It should “learn” our routine over the next few days.

Currently reading: The World by Simon Sebag Montefiore 📚. Borrowed this from our local library. At over 1000 pages I’m only going to hit highlights this time around. Lots of interesting stories here. Will likely borrow again.

A bit chilly today. Might want to put on a jacket.

Thinking that 2024 might be the year I try cultivated meat.

BTW, a shoutout to Shawn King (@KingShawn@mastodon.social) of BC. Professional explainer. Runs excellent and fun photo walks and beginner photography classes. Look him up if you’re in the Vancouver area.

One of my project for the next year is to move from SmugMug back to Flickr. Yes I know it’s the same company, but I think my style fits far better in Flickr for publishing.

Loading up on photo apps. Thinking of trying out Luminar Neo since it is in Setapp. Since the mods are “AI” powered I would not try to pass them off as original. Any experience with this beast?

Pot roast. Cheesy mashed potatoes. Garlicky carrots. Pumpkin cheesecake. What’s not to like?

Chess with my daughter’s SO. He won. I need to brush up.

‘Twas the night before Christmas
and all through the hall
a soft wimpering was heard
The OS failed to install…

Sigh.

Currently reading: The Man from the Future by Ananyo Bhattacharya 📚. This is an audiobook. I listen to this while doing dishes or some other chore that doesn’t take a lot of mental energy. Decent narration for the topic. I wonder what he would have accomplished if he had not died at 53.

Ann and I can’t be the only ones who celebrate a very quiet Christmas. We’ll go to church in the morning – no Christmas Eve services for us – too noisy. My daughter and her boyfriend will be over for dinner. We have a small tree. We don’t exchange gifts. We give each other gifts throughout the year instead. It will be a quiet day. Might not even turn on the TV.

Currently reading: Tourist Season by Carl Hiaasen 📚. Just started. I pick up a book of his about every 6 months or so. Random note: this one has typewriters.

I should get rid of duplicate apps. Too many do almost the same thing.

Starting to learn Dutch again. I want to be able to understand the relatives when Ann and I visit. Hopefully I can keep it up for a year and a bit.

Taken about a month ago just northeast of Grand Marais MN.

Nearly ready to put the old place up for sale. It’s been a long road.

Time to broaden my point of view. Following a bunch more folks at random on micro.blog.

The Crazy Days are coming to an end. Our move out of our old place has taken months with Ann pretty much out of commission with her nerve pain and me working. Lots of clean up and repair.

Problem: Our new LG G3 TV was turning off after 15 minutes when the HDMI switch is set to the Spectrum DVR. It worked fine when the HDMI switch is set to the Apple TV 4K. It seemed to be some sort of interaction between the TV and the DVR.

Configuration:

• HDMI 4-port switch box
• LG G3 TV (HDMI port 4 to switch box output)
• Spectrum DVR (Magnavox) (input port 2 on switch box)
• Apple TV 4K (input port 3 on switch box)
• All cabling is Ultimate HDMI, suitable for 8K, in wall rated.

Googled several things. Various solutions presented. None worked.

Things we tried:

• Checked all the TV timers, the sleep timer is indeed set off.
• Switched the HDMI cable between the DVR and the switch box to an Ultimate HDMI cable. The entire path is now Ultimate HDMI.
• Unplugged the TV for 5 minutes, pressed the power button for a minute, and plugged it back in.
• Turned off the HDMI-CEC (LG SIMPLINK). It turns itself back in a second or two.
• Unplugged the spectrum DVR, waited 5 minutes, plugged it back in.
• Checked all the DVR settings, none of the timers are set for 15 minutes.

None of the above Googled solutions included multiple inputs through a switch. It turns out that the Apple TV 4K sleep timer was the issue. It was set for 15 minutes. Even though the switch box was set to the DVR, the HDMI-CEC settings of the Apple TV caused the TV to shut down when the (disconnected) Apple TV went to sleep. Somehow the Apple TV was communicating control even though the switch box was set to the DVR.