I created an OPML file that includes subscription information for all of these podcasts and have uploaded the file to Dropbox to share with my friends. You can download the file and then use it to add the feeds for these podcasts to whatever podcast app you use.
My Pioneer stereo system lives in an antique wardrobe that dominates a wall in my living room. It consists of a receiver, a 100 CD changer, and an old turntable (we still have some vinyl records).
I replaced the speakers about 20 years ago with what was, at the time, top of the line Bose speakers.
Over the years, I ripped all my CDs to MP3 files so I could sync my music to my Zunes and my Pocket PCs and so I could carry my music with me wherever I went.
Eventually I stopped turning on my stereo.
For a few years I subscribed to music streaming services but was never satisfied with any I tried. Turns out I like owning the music I play and I find streaming music all the time to be expensive (paying for a subscription and a data connection). Wearing headsets get tiresome and the quality of the streamed music is subpar and inconsistent. I’m no audiophile but I know poor quality when I hear it.
I modernized my old stereo system by buying a couple of bluetooth devices and I’m enjoying listening to my music collection through my stereo system more than ever.
My music collection lives on a barebones desktop computer that runs Windows 10 and doesn’t have any native bluetooth functionality, so I bought a TP-Link USB adapter ($11.23) for the PC to give it bluetooth functionality.
Computer Connection: I plugged the tp-link USB adapter into an open USB port on my computer – the computer recognized the new device and I didn’t have to install any software
Stereo Receiver: The Arus bluMe bluetooth receiver includes both analog and digital outputs and I already had an RCA Analog Output cable as well as an Optical Output cable so I didn’t need to buy a cable to connect the adapter to the stereo receiver. I used an analog cable to connect the receiver to an unused port on the back of the receiver – the one I used was originally designated to be used for a DVD/LD.
I paired the computer usb bluetooth adapter with the stereo system bluetooth receiver and I’m listening to the music that is stored on my computer on my stereo system.
I love this setup even more because I’m using the Zune desktop software on my computer to organize my music and podcast subscriptions. This makes it really easy to queue up the music I want to hear into playlists or on the fly.
NOTE: YES I still use my Zune HDs and I sync music, podcasts and audio books to my Zunes via the Zune desktop software – you can see one of my Zune HDs in the photo above.
The Zune desktop software works fine on Windows 10, although I do miss wireless syncing to my Zune HD. I’m not sure if it works on Windows 11. I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it (for future reference).
On December 21, 2023 I found out I had breast cancer. At first, I was facing a lumpectomy, but after more diagnostic tests, my breast surgeon recommended a mastectomy of my left breast and on February 9, 2024, my left breast was removed. (I had a skin/nipple sparing mastectomy with tissue spreader – a replacement left breast is under construction).
I sewed several things that I thought I’d need to have on hand. I created an album on Flickr that includes photos of the items I sewed
You can tap the image to view each photo individually. In each photo’s description, I included information about the pattern and the fabric I used.
We see right through the unshowered soul living in a car by the beach, or by the Walmart, or by the side of the road. But he’s there, and he used to be somebody. He still is. A firsthand account of homelessness in America.
I wonder how many Mr. Fealeys park their cars at the local Walmart parking lot near me.
Under pressure from the SCC, Dominion reveals the true cost of data centers
New filing shows electricity demand would be flat without the industry https://virginiamercury.com/2024/11/26/under-pressure-from-the-scc-dominion-reveals-the-true-cost-of-data-centers/
Microsoft’s Copilot showed up on the app search bar on my Android phone. I don’t want to use it and never installed it. When I reviewed the apps that were installed on my phone, Copilot wasn’t in the list.
I have a personal outlook.com account that I use on the phone via the Outlook and OneDrive apps and I’ve installed the Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote apps on my phone, but I don’t subscribe to Office 365 and I don’t have a work or school acount set up on the phone. I checked and Copilot pro is not activated within any of those apps.
I was baffled for a minute as to how Copilot got on my phone. . . Then I remembered that I also use the Microsoft Launcher app. When I opened up Microsoft Launcher and looked through its settings, I found the answer:
I disabled Copilot by taping the Copilot option and then tapping the on/off toggles beside “Your feed” and “Search bar” on the next screen:
My mom loved the Eskimo people and became close friends with an older Eskimo woman named Mary who shared her family photo album with my mother. Many of the portraits my mother painted were from Mary’s photo album.
My mother passed away more than 30 years ago. Several years ago I created a page here that is devoted to my mother’s art. Several people who were lucky enough to have one of my mother’s pieces have reached out to me after googling my mother’s name and finding that web page. Many of them have shared photos of their art with me and today I spent quite a lot of time organizing my mother’s artwork into this album on flickr.
I started crocheting the blue green hat last month and finished it several days ago Then I crocheted a flower out of some leftover yarn and added it to the red hat that I crocheted a few years ago.
