Look! There is a thing!

 

A while back, princessofgeeks warned her reading list NOT to update iPhones to 26.2, that the changes in appearance and message were very unpleasant.

I appreciated her warning, and have refused the update 2 or 3 times. But I knew it would keep bugging me, so I went looking for a way to avoid the update permanently.

I found this article, which explains how. The guy says that switching to the "18" track will avoid the "26" track permanently. And if you've already updated, and dislike it as much as PrincessofGeeks does -- if I'm reading it right, setting your iPhone on the "18" track will delete the 26.2 update.

There are probably plenty of people who will like the update. But if not, now there's a remedy. I already have an uneasy relationship with my iPhone. I don't need an update that makes me change how I do old stuff, and learn new stuff, so I've rejected it sight unseen.

If any of your peeps have been unhappy about this latest update, feel free to link to this post.

 

 
So, the computer tech has come and gone (yesterday evening) and replaced the mousepad; we'll see if this one lasts longer.

While he was here, I asked about an idea I had. The thing is, [a] I have a bad habit of resting the edge of my right hand on the edge of the laptop, right next to the mousepad when I'm scrolling, and [b] this pad is much larger than the pad on my previous laptop; it extends about an inch farther to the right of the keyboard, with a 'lip' (non-responsive casing) at the bottom edge that's teensy, barely one-third the width of what I'm used to. Consequently, [c] I often find that my palm-edge is resting -- or at least brushing -- the bottom right edge of the pad without my realizing it.

That's obviously a bad habit -- the mousepad will get competing signals if part of my palm is touching the corner while my finger(s) are scrolling. I'm trying very hard to [a] be aware of where my hand is resting and [b] rest my hand farther away from the pad. But, as well as the pad being much larger than the previous model, the drop-off from casing to pad is also much thinner than earlier models; it's easy to overlook the difference in height/feel that would tell me move your hand! (Especially since the edge of the palm isn't as sensitive as the fingertips.)

So, I had a bright idea, and asked the tech-guy if it was okay to try -- I planned to tape a narrow piece of paper (about 1/2-inch wide {1 cm for those of metric persuasion}) to the bottom edge and right edge of my touchpad, so that area would be 'dead' and wouldn't notice if my hand rested in that bottom-right corner. He said sure, that should work without damaging anything.

So, I spent an hour this morning. Pulled out a piece of typing paper (don't know what 'weight' it is, but it's thicker/stiffer than the average), carefully cut it into strips, laid it on electrical tape (thicker than Scotch (cello) tape, easier to handle then duct tape), and put it all together. It took three attempts to get it as accurate and as neat as I wanted, but it's done, and looks pretty good.

Aaanndd...

It doesn't work! The mousepad can feel/read my finger-movements through two layers of paper + electrical tape!!! How? Why? I thought mousepads and/or screens worked with the electrical impulses of body-moisture. Shouldn't two layers of non-body material insulate from that? I don't even have to press; the pad reads/feels my finger moving over the paper&tape with the lightest pressure I can give it.

*pouts* Also, *sighs*

Well, when I was cleaning up yesterday, I put a paperboard box (thicker than paper, thinner than cardboard) box in the trash. I'll go dig it out and see if that's thick enough to disrupt the signal. But later -- it's lunchtime.

Y'know, I really think it's possible for technology to be too responsive. I want the old days, when things weren't as sensitive as a drop of dew balanced on the edge of a blade of grass. Grr...
 

 
A while back, I posted about my a talent for "fixing" things -- basically making things work for me when they fit don't the way I need them too.

My sis just emailed about a new fridge -- bigger than her old one, with less shelf space; she's pretty pissed. She wrote a long email (she can't do short emails like I can't do short posts) detailing all of the design deficiencies that make it have less shelf space. One of those is the door shelves which can hold a gallon of milk... but she doesn't use gallons, and "the stuff I normally put on the door--ketchup bottles, salad dressing bottles, etc.--will slide around and fall over in that huge space because I just don't have enough door stuff to pack the door shelf full enough to prevent sliding and tipping."

I immediately saw the solution I'd use, and started an email --

Idea for filling the door shelves to leave less space for your ketchup, etc, to fall over -- empty boxes. Something skinny like a box that laundry additives come in. I have a couple of empty boxes of Borax that I haven't thrown away yet; I can bring them next time I come. But maybe you already have something like that.

But then I thought maybe she doesn't have boxes the right size, and it'll be a couple of months before I see her again. So my brain started churning out more ideas --

Or measure the thickness you'd like, then go to Walmart (take your ruler/measuring tape) and buy a couple of cheapie (sterlite - ugh!) flat food-storage containers of the right height to tuck back behind your bottles. (When I say 'height', if you need to fill a two-inch gap, you'll get a two-inch high container, and set it on its side behind the bottles.)

Or if you get a lot of junk mail -- keep all the long (9 inch) packets, put them in a plastic produce bag or shopping bag to keep them from sliding all over. Within a week or so, you'll probably have enough thickness to fill up the empty space.

Or if you have extra towels -- fold one to the thickness/size you need, put it in a plastic shopping bag so it won't get grody. Cut a piece of cardboard box to put in there with it so it won't slump and hang over your bottles, tape over the outside to keep it all together, and use that.

Wow -- I started with one empty box, and then the other ideas popped into my head. That's what you get when you're short, and used to figuring out ways to make the world work for you. (grin) Hopefully, #2, 3, or 4 will work for you. If you need me to save my Borax boxes, let me know; otherwise I'll eventually throw them away before I see you again.

<g> I'm a little puffed; I hope she can use one of those ideas. (Sis tends to decide, "No, that won't work," and not even try to experiment.) But maybe she'll be motivated to try one of them; it's a real pain in the butt when something you're looking forward to turns out to be such a disappointment.

She's also pissed that it's stainless steel instead of white or cream. BUT -- she's just had her floors redone with wood-look vinyl (after a flood a few months ago) -- and the people have been very accommodating with some small "honey-do" jobs in her house. They're not done yet -- she'll have the bathrooms done with a marble-look; I'm going to write and suggest that they might put the vinyl on the outside of the fridge -- or be able to suggest an alternative covering.


As for me... I'm having my furnace replaced, so the gas is off, so my planned grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch aren't happening. Poot. I guess it'll be canned beef stew, that I can put in the microwave. Well, at least I have a microwave. Cheese sandwiches tomorrow.

 

 

After I made my post about the oriole, I wondered if there was a way to keep him or them around. Some research and an online question pointed me to an oriole feeder -- like a hummingbird feeder, but with holes big enough for their beaks to fit into. So I ordered it and another thingy, with a cup in the middle for grape jelly and two spikes for impaling half an orange, both of which orioles (and other birds) apparently like. But the order won't be delivered 'til Friday or Saturday. How to keep them around until then?

Put on my thinking cap. They can't get to the nectar in the hummingbird feeder, but how about a... bowl or a cup? But that would tip over unless... I anchored it with mounting tape! (Thick strips that are sticky on both sides.)

Dad made my honeysuckle planters very large with a trellis on two sides. I measured the distance from corner to corner, then went to my 'leftover wood' in the barn and found a 2x6 board the right length. I placed it on the trellis slats and tied it down with string so the wind couldn't blow it over. I have a number of sturdy, yellow plastic cups from a local BBQ place. I don't eat there, but Nancy does, and she 'donated' a dozen or so to me a while back. She asked first -- they were taking up space -- and I said yes. Didn't know what I'd do with them, but when you're into 'fixing things', you never know what will be useful.

Turns out, one of the smaller cups (there are two sizes), cut down so it's only 2 inches (5 cm) deep, and affixed to the 2x6 with mounting tape, makes a perfect nectar-holder. (And there's room for a 2nd cup when I get to town to buy jelly.) I put everything together Monday evening, filled the cup half full of nectar. Got up Tuesday morning and looked out the window just in time to see Mr. Oriole finish a snack. He lifted his head, I saw his beak glistening with wetness, and he flew away; no time to grab the camera. But he/they must have visited several times, by Tuesday evening, the nectar was 80% gone. So I added more nectar for Wednesday (today).

Last night, we had a wicked storm -- heavy downpour with hail. It actually woke me up -- and I've been known to sleep through a fire alarm. (In college, and we had so many fake bomb scares in the middle of the night that I started sleeping through them; my roomie had to wake me.) This morning there was 1.1 inches in the rain gauge -- I thought it would be 3 inches, at least -- and the (small) pea-sized hail was lying in drifts like snow. As I suspected, the nectar-cup was full of pink-tinged water; I suppose the falling hail bounced the nectar right out. So I unstuck it from the board, brought it in to clean it, put on another piece of mounting tape, stuck it back on the board, and filled it half full with nectar.

Then I looked around and... whoa! The area in front of my porch -- about 50 feet out to some bushes I have planted -- looks bare! I leave the bottle of nectar on the little side table I have next to the front door (very handy for holding packages as I unlock the door) and went to examine the situation.

We had good growth last spring, but then a long, very hot summer with no rain, so of course everything dried up and turned brown. But those brown stems-and-leaves were still sticking up, creating a fuzzy layer over the dirt and softening the outlines. No more. I guess the hail broke all the dead stuff and pounded it into bits; now there's an expanse of bare wet dirt leading to the bushes, that looks so much bigger. It's kind of weird; I almost don't recognize the area.

As I'm walking back to the house, I see movement on the porch -- a bird, but I'm too far away to tell if it's the oriole. I s-l-o-w-l-y ease forward -- don't want to scare it -- until I can see clearly. Yes, it's Mr. Oriole -- and he's on my side-table, hopping around the nectar bottle, trying to figure out a way to get a drink. After quite a long time -- at least a full minute or a little more -- he gave that up as a bad job and flew to the hummingbird feeder. That still didn't work, so he didn't stay long; he finally flew to the nectar-cup, hopped onto the edge (good thing I used the mounting tape; I thought they'd stand on the board), and took a drink. Six sips (yes, I counted), then he flew away.

And as I said -- I didn't have my camera! ARGH!!!

Well, there'll be other chances -- I hope. I did clean my front door windows, so I won't have to focus through the spots.

In other news, there's a big brown duck swimming in my pond. I don't know if it's a wild animal, blown here during the storm, or belongs to the neighbor. They used to have one white and one brown duck, but I haven't seen the brown one in some time, and this one seems bigger... Logically, I'd expect that if one duck got out from the neighbor's pen, the other would follow, but animals don't need to follow human logic. <shrug> It'll stay or go without my input, but it's fun to see it.

ETA: An hour later, the duck is still there, ducking its head underwater to look for food. Poor thing -- nothing there except for some underwater bugs; no fish, no plants. I'll toss out some milo seed later; I don't have any cracked corn. I suppose I could get a bag when I go to town tomorrow... but the duck will have to compete with the chickens to get any.