Show all posts by user

Re: A large conservative media company dictates content to its radio hosts - how do you feel about that? - 6 days ago

I hope we can look forward to all the hosts complaining loudly, and on the air, about how their First Amendment rights are being trampled.

by Mr Downtown - 'Friendly' Political Ranting

Re: TV tuner vs. converter box - 8 days ago

Brother-in-law is quite adept with electronics of all types. I've seen for myself that the CHANNEL option is dimmed out. I feel confident that this is the tuner version. My question—so far completely ignored—was whether we're getting the same video quality and aspect ratio from an analog converter box as we would get from adding an external tuner.

by Mr Downtown - Tips and Deals

Re: ‘ Behind the viral photo of Rep. Andy Kim cleaning up at midnight after riots ‘ - 9 days ago

Nice—but wasn't that debris evidence?

by Mr Downtown - 'Friendly' Political Ranting

Re: Are formal obituaries not normal practice anymore? - 9 days ago

There was a time when newspapers needed content to stuff in between the ads. As you may have noticed, that's no longer their main need. So obituaries are now like legal notices: you buy space and put in what you want.

by Mr Downtown - Tips and Deals

Re: TV tuner vs. converter box - 9 days ago

Yes, antenna available. Coax connector on back with USB, HDMI, VGA, and audio out jack. Currently, the analog-to-digital converter box is connected there.

by Mr Downtown - Tips and Deals

Re: TV tuner vs. converter box - 10 days ago

Apparently this model is sold both ways. The Amazon page includes two different answers to the question "does this have a tuner?" The manual describes (p. 32) being able to choose the channel as optional (also see p. 24), and CHANNEL is dimmed out in the set's onscreen menu.

by Mr Downtown - Tips and Deals

TV tuner vs. converter box - 10 days ago

In October, I ordered my 93-year-old father a new Sceptre 43" TV. I had no idea they now sell TVs with no tuner. Dad's too cheap to have cable or internet, of course. To get it working, brother-in-law hooked it up to one of the many analog-to-digital converter boxes Dad had in the house. Surely that's not providing the best picture quality—is it? I suppose the over-the-air subchannel

by Mr Downtown - Tips and Deals

Re: What are some simple joys you like? - 10 days ago

A powerful hot shower. Good dark chocolate. Reading about history. Stimulating conversation.

by Mr Downtown - Tips and Deals

Re: GraphicConverter sort by date/time? - 14 days ago

Found it. Thanks. One of those things that's too obvious to put in the manual or help file, I guess.

by Mr Downtown - Tips and Deals

GraphicConverter sort by date/time? - 14 days ago

Using the browser to finally organize lots of travel photos, but once I give a file a meaningful name it immediately moves to the proper place alphabetically—before or after the IMG_00XX.jpg photos taken around the same time. How can I sort by date in the browser view?

by Mr Downtown - Tips and Deals

Re: Warning: Market collapse imminent - 17 days ago

I felt the Dow was overvalued when it hit 2000, and have been waiting ever since to buy on a dip.

by Mr Downtown - Tips and Deals

cheap webcam—that's NOT wide-angle - 20 days ago

I want to be able to Zoom from my Mini, but I have no need to show the entire room around me or a family group. On my MBA's built-in camera, I put one of those clip-on lenses (read about it here a few months ago). Anything under $30 that's the equivalent of a 35mm camera's 50mm lens? (A funny way to describe focal lengths, but it seems to be what we now do.)

by Mr Downtown - Tips and Deals

Re: replacing a failed SSD - 4 weeks ago

Sorry, hal, I'm not quite sure what that means I should do. Bail and buy a new Mini?

by Mr Downtown - Tips and Deals

replacing a failed SSD - 4 weeks ago

After testing lots of possibilities, I'm fairly sure my white screen of death is because the SSD is hosed. I can't see it, even on another machine. The SSD's predecessor, removed back in September, does boot just fine both via both the SATA cable and a USB cable, so I don't think it's the harness or low-level driver. The environment is a 2011 Mini. So I have a fresh new SSD in hand, a Time

by Mr Downtown - Tips and Deals

Re: Do you have an M1, intend to get one or holding out for now (poll)? - 4 weeks ago

Excited for the enhanced performance, but in no hurry to have to replace all my software.

by Mr Downtown - Tips and Deals

Re: getting past white screen of death - 4 weeks ago

Laptop is running 10.14.6. Disk Utility can't see the new SSD, but it can see the old one that it replaced, which I still had lying on a nearby shelf. I wanted to rule out any problem with the USB connection.

by Mr Downtown - Tips and Deals

Re: getting past white screen of death - 4 weeks ago

I can't get it to accept any key presses and do anything other than immediately go white. I mean it goes white simultaneously with the chime, suggesting it's in the initial boot. I took the SSD out and put it on a USB connector. My laptop can't mount it, though it will mount my old (pre-November, smaller) SSD. Could the system update have somehow bricked the SSD? Frustrating, but SSDs

by Mr Downtown - Tips and Deals

Re: Ughhh... anyone know of a good, free alternative to TeamViewer? - 4 weeks ago

You might try Chrome Remote Desktop. I think you'll first have to tell him how to allow Chrome to install the extension on his end. Only problem I've had with that is that my desktop has two big monitors, so Chrome Remote Desktop puts them side by side on my laptop, very hard to navigate or read. That's probably not an issue for a guy still using a flipphone, though.

by Mr Downtown - Tips and Deals

Re: getting past white screen of death - 4 weeks ago

Ooooh. Just remembered something from last night. After the apparent software update, my Mac showed me two big, alternating, icons that meant nothing to me. One I finally decided was the underside of a mouse, with an arrow pointing to the power slide switch. The other was a flat rectangle with some sort of green slide switch on the left, arrow pointing to that, and a low rectangle like a CD s

by Mr Downtown - Tips and Deals

getting past white screen of death - 4 weeks ago

My 2011 Mini (running High Sierra) had been bugging me all week about wanting to do a software update. Last night i decided to restart the machine for other reasons, and to my frustration it seemed to be doing an update. I went and watched some TV. When I came back, it was showing a pure white screen. Unsure if it was still updating, I turned off the monitor and went to bed. When I turned

by Mr Downtown - Tips and Deals

Re: Slides to Digital. Any recommended sites? - 5 weeks ago

"Real" slide scanning at home is indeed time-consuming, but a workflow like SlideScan just uses the increasingly good cameras on an iPhone and some sort of backlight—just a monitor, for instance—to get a "pretty good" image very quickly. You'll still need to get the dust off the film, and a lot of slides will need to be lightened and made less contrasty using some sort

by Mr Downtown - Tips and Deals

Re: Slides to Digital. Any recommended sites? - 5 weeks ago

I've had good experience with ScanCafe—years ago. But I wonder if the SlideScan app might more easily do what you want. If you along the way find a couple dozen slides that are worth extra care, you can send those off to ScanCafe or ScanmyPhotos.com.

by Mr Downtown - Tips and Deals

Re: I have a serious question - 6 weeks ago

I'm a little frustrated that the WaPo decided to make a big deal of this today, rather than 10 days from now when the presidential election has actually taken place.

by Mr Downtown - 'Friendly' Political Ranting

Re: JENeration next?!....Jeopardy! first 'guest host' named..... - 7 weeks ago

Promising. I think Jennings—with whom I've had a tiny bit of real-world interaction—will be an excellent, quick-witted host. I always thought his response, during his original record-setting run, "what be Ebonics" was the very definition of quick-wittedness.

by Mr Downtown - Tips and Deals

Re: Anyone use and like the new Magsafe charger for iPhones? - 8 weeks ago

I didn't know such things existed until seeing a recent 13Deals promo. I decided to see what was out there, and found this one really cheap. I've had trouble with (offbrand) Lightning connectors, and I thought one that you keep inserted might be a good idea. Hasn't yet arrived.

by Mr Downtown - Tips and Deals

Re: Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse released from jail on $2 million cash bond - 8 weeks ago

I've been interested to see the folks in my Twitter feed who normally are fervent about bail reform—that bail is not for punishment but merely about ensuring the defendant appears in court—so upset that the kid posted bail.

by Mr Downtown - 'Friendly' Political Ranting

Re: How many people were actually at the DC MAGAt rally today? - 2 months ago

I saw a great description of the event: White Lies Matter.

by Mr Downtown - 'Friendly' Political Ranting

Re: Do cities usually have an "Uber" for pickups? - 2 months ago

Well, you've got lots of "guy with a truck" listings on Craigslist. If you prefer to rely on ratings given by other users, then you turn to the apps like Dolly, Lugg, DudeINeedATruck, Fetchit, GetBurro, Haulor, or Zapt.

by Mr Downtown - Tips and Deals

Re: Do cities usually have a "Uber" for pickups? - 2 months ago

Apps like Dolly give you truck+driver, so that's most like Uber or Lyft. In-town (as opposed to airport) rent-a-car locations sometimes have pickups, as do some U-Haul locations. The home improvement stores do have them available—but you have to show you already have car insurance, so that's useless for someone like me with no car.

by Mr Downtown - Tips and Deals

Re: What would be in your ultimate EDC (“Every Day Carry”) messenger/shoulder bag? - 2 months ago

Mine might be more lightweight items, as I actually walk for significant distances wearing my daypack over my shoulder. It's also optimized to some degree for foreign travel: power bank/flashlight Lightning cable earbuds pen wet-naps bottle opener emergency glasses Olfa Touch-Knife safety pin two strips of duck tape, cable tie small binder clips, paper clips, rubber bands (for resea

by Mr Downtown - Tips and Deals